The world-renowned organisation Jazz at Lincoln Center will celebrate the achievements and contributions of Australian jazz educator Greg Quigley with an honorary award at its 2025 Gala next week.
To be held on International Jazz Day (30 April) at the Rose Theatre in New York City, the award acknowledges Greg's extraordinary 50 years of service to jazz education in Australia, recognising a lifetime of dedication to nurturing young musicians and championing the growth of jazz across Australia and beyond.Throughout his distinguished career, Greg has been instrumental in building strong educational pathways for aspiring jazz musicians. As the founder and long-serving director of the Jazz Music Institute (JMI) in Brisbane, he has mentored thousands of students, helped develop innovative curricula, and established JMI as a leading institution for jazz study in the southern hemisphere.
Under his guidance, JMI has fostered a vibrant community that bridges performance, education, and outreach, embodying the inclusive and collaborative spirit of jazz music.
"It's an incredible honour to be recognised by Jazz at Lincoln Center. I've been fortunate to spend my life sharing this music I love with so many remarkable people. This award reflects the passion of all the students, educators, and artists I've had the privilege to work with over the years."
The 2025 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala will be hosted by Dave Chappelle and brings together leading artists, educators, and supporters from around the world to celebrate the universal language of jazz and its power to inspire, educate, and unite.
You're about to receive an honorary award at Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2025 Gala celebrating your 50 years of service to jazz education in Australia. For an Australian to receive such an honour from a world-renowned organisation, what does that mean personally?
It means the world to me honestly, and it's not something that I ever expected to happen. To be recognised by Jazz at Lincoln Center is a tremendous honour and I feel very fortunate to be receiving it.
Will you be attending the gala? Do you hope to cross paths with the gala's host Dave Chappelle (or anyone else for that matter)?
Yes, I'll be attending the gala in New York with my wife Tina. Certainly, it'd be great to cross paths with Dave Chappelle. I think he'd be a fascinating person to meet and chat to.
I'm also really looking forward to seeing the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra perform again and having a chance to chat with Wynton Marsalis and all the members of the Orchestra who are all just amazing, world-class musicians and people.
Fifty years of jazz education. . . what are a couple of key elements that have allowed you to maintain such longevity and consistency within the scene?
I'd say the two most important elements for me are just having a love for the music itself, and the desire to keep learning and improving.
Jazz has always fascinated me, trying to understand how to play the music and how to pass that knowledge on to others who are keen to learn. I think that's the key to having longevity in anything, loving what you do and enjoying the process of learning.
Asking to nominate a few career highlights/ milestones across such a long period of time is probably a tough assignment, but are there any memories that stick out, or you look back on fondly?
I've been really fortunate to have many fond memories and have met some amazing people along the way.
I had some great times in Sydney in the late '70s bringing out guys like John Scofield and Joe Henderson. There's some great memories hanging out with people like that. I guess one major highlight was when JMI was finally approved as a higher education provider. That took a lot of work to get through all of those hoops, so to achieve that as a small family business is definitely a highlight.
So many amazing gigs, so it's hard to pinpoint a few. Opening up for Stevie Wonder at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with my big band back in November 1987 was a highlight for me; that was an incredible night.
No doubt you have taught/ been involved with thousands of jazz students; any who have become household names or enjoyed glittering jazz resumes?
There's been some extremely talented people that I have either taught or been involved in some way with their development.
Back when I was running the Aebersold jazz clinics across Australia in the late '70s, early '80s, a lot of the legends of Australian jazz now were quite young then and they attended those clinics and had the chance to learn off these amazing US jazz musicians. So, people like Vince Jones, Sandy Evans, Dale Barlow, Craig Scott to name a few, have ended up having amazing careers.
More recently we've had some wonderful talent coming out of JMI. One of our graduates, Lachlan McKenzie, just released his latest album on ABC Jazz, which sounds amazing, but there's been so many great students over the years; and it's great to see so many great young jazz musicians in Brisbane now that are really starting to forge impressive careers here.
After 50 years, how strong does your passion for jazz and jazz education remain?
As strong as ever to be honest. I still practice every day and jam with friends every week. There's just something so special about this music to me.
Jazz is infinite, you never really conquer or master it and there's always something new to learn. Whether it's a new tune, or a different way of thinking about something in the music, a different way of explaining something or teaching a concept. So I'm still just as passionate as I was back in my 20s.
The reputation you (and your family) have forged with the Jazz Music Institute, to become a leader of jazz curriculum in the southern hemisphere, and to leave such a lasting legacy must be one of your lifetime achievements and proud accomplishments?
That's probably the greatest achievement of my life, is that I've been able to build something with my family, and that my children have taken over and continue to build on what I have done. To be helping musicians develop themselves and see them follow their passions and dreams is really special.
The 2025 Gala will be live-streamed to Jazz at Lincoln Center's jazzlive.com platform on 1 May at 9am AEST.
