There was a genuinely celebratory air to this year’s Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival, and why not, given that the Festival was marking its twenty-fifth birthday. When the city first hit upon jazz as the basis for a festival back in 1989 – a somewhat arbitrary decision, based on the fact that most other musical forms had already been snapped up – few could have predicted it would attain this sort of longevity, let alone develop into an event of international standing that attracts some 25,000 visitors each year.

The Festival’s continued success can be can be attributed to many factors, not least of which is the support and goodwill of the city and its many volunteers. But if pressed to nominate one telling ingredient, I would settle for Adrian Jackson, the artistic director, whose singular vision has steered the Festival for a quarter of a century. Jackson’s push to spotlight contemporary, rather than older styles of jazz, has provided the Festival with ongoing relevance, helping to shape the direction of jazz in this country, and nurturing the growth of musicians and audiences alike.