ASRC Benefit

Jazz and Social Justice, ARC and Wirecutters come together in celebration of International Peace Day and in support of those seeking asylum and refuge. The three ensembles will perform at The Jazzlab and raise funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC).

This year's Peace Day theme is: "Climate Action for Peace". It recognizes that natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere, and that the growing tensions over resources and mass movements of people are affecting every country on every continent.

All profits go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), the largest independent human rights organisation for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. This event is kindly sponsored by the Melbourne Jazz Co-op and AustralianJazz.net

Jazz and Social Justice
Jackie Bornstein developed Jazz and Social Justice in 2015 in response to the global rise of people needing protection from war and human rights abuses. The project aims to express the power of jazz as a force for justice, creativity and unity. The program features songs recorded by artists including Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and more, demonstrating the range of social justice issues addressed by jazz artists from the 1930’s to the modern day.

Wirecutters
Wirecutters is an ensemble led by bassist Oscar Neyland devoted to the music of Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Mal Waldron. Paying homage to these great composers, the Wirecutters infuse each piece with their very own adventurous and aggressively creative approach. The ensemble dedicates their performances to all those persecuted or dispossessed, divided from community or deprived of freedom.

ARC - The Autonomous Resilience Collective
Bandleader and saxophonist Julien Wilson launched ARC at the start of 2017 as a direct reaction to world events. ARC looks to global themes of resistance, revolution and struggle for inspiration, while striving to overcome the despair caused by aggression and greed, and offer in their place a myriad of connected moments of beauty, strength and hope.

ARC has no core members but aims to offer a unified channelling of the bonds of conscientious resistance to unchecked power, while simultaneously providing an uplifting balm for weary souls.