Bennett’s Lane, a shrine to jazz
Bennett’s Lane, appropriately tucked away in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, has seen some deities of the music world walk through its doors.
Megg Evans has been managing Bennett’s Lane for 20 years. She has been doing everything from creating the programming, being the security person known as Madam Spankalot, liaising with artists, taking the admission fees and has also had her fair share of surprise visits from big names in the music industry. Plenty of Americans have come and gone, but Megg feels that Australian musicians have equal, if not more impressive credentials than the Americans.
“Pianist/composer Jex Saarelaht is one of the most unknown but one of the most creative pianists I’ve ever had the honour of being able to meet and Paul Grabowsky is just a giant. When he touches the piano, the piano gets hairs standing up on the back of its neck!” Megg said.
When Bennett’s Lane first opened there were concerns about whether it would survive, but over time it has become a global landmark and a destination for jazz in Australia.
One thing that has helped it achieve such success is that, “very quickly the musicians took it on as being a space that they wanted to perform in and that really helped solidify and anchor our place,” says Megg.
Bennett’s Lane exists for the musicians. Its mission is to develop jazz as an art form, and in doing so it does not put artistic boundaries on musicians. It has taken time to gain musicians’ trust and for them to “start trusting that you’re not going to not book them if they won’t get an audience”.
The adventurous audience is in partnership with the musicians, and over the years Bennett’s Lane has been able to develop a culture of listeners where the audience is investing in the musicians’ development.
The ‘creative, sharing, caring audience’ encourages musicians to explore outside of jazz.
Guitarist/songwriter Ian Moss was encouraged to perform newly penned songs at Bennett’s Lane, using it as a kind of laboratory, an ‘incubator of great music’. There are often claims that this detracts from its dedicated jazz venue status and these are countered vehemently.
Megg said, “Some singer songwriters don’t get the chance to play to an audience such as we have at Bennett’s Lane. They’re forced to play in pubs and clubs and so you start getting sad, depressed stories because they don’t get heard, they’re frustrated as a musician. We can help that a little bit. Jazz doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it should be shared with other genres.”
Notwithstanding the high profile Americans that have played there (Prince, Harry Connick Jnr, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland) ninety nine percent of Bennett’s Lane’s performers are Australian.
“As a monument to jazz, we stand solely on the backs of the musicians that perform here. As a shrine, it is meaningful to all the people whose names are written into the walls.”
“After 21 years I think we can say that we are a cultural institution for jazz in Australia, and Australian jazz now has a space in the mindset of a global jazz understanding.”
With plans in the pipeline for a video recording facility on-site, the future for Melbourne’s jazz shrine looks set to continue well into the future.
