It’s been one year since Doo-Bop Jazz Bar opened in the Brisbane CBD and they’re celebrating 12 months of music with 12 hours of jazz.
Established in June 2017, Doo-Bop Jazz Bar has made a name for itself with a revolving programme of local and international live performers. “We’ve had some really interesting acts come through in the past year,” Graphic Designer for Doo-Bop Philippa Neller says.
“Recently we had James Morrison, who was probably our biggest act so far, and that was two sold-out sessions in one night, which was a great night.
“We’ve got so much variety; it’s a different act every night and we have our quiet nights but now that we’ve had some big names come in, that’s got us a bit of recognition.
"People are starting to notice we exist and they’re coming in more and more, and we’ve got so many repeat customers, which is great.”
Doo-Bop Jazz Bar will hold its anniversary celebration in June, marking their 12-month milestone with 12 hours of live jazz from acts (22-24 June) such as Ingrid James, Dave Bentley and George Washingmachine.
Reflecting on the past year, Philippa says one of the true successes of Doo-Bop has been the club’s late-night jam sessions, which are open to all players and provide a positive platform for emerging musicians to perform with established ones.
“It’s great because everyone is really enthusiastic, and the more people who hear about it and the more people who turn up then you get some really good vibes in there when you’ve got all the new people making connections.
"It’s really nice to see all different levels of musicians playing together, which is great.”
One such jam session saw Aussie rockers Thirsty Merc flex their jazz chops with some locals last year, so you never know who you might see there.
Though proud of what they’ve achieved in the past 12 months, Philippa says she and her team at Doo-Bop are focussed on what comes next for the club, namely maintaining its presence and continuing to support the local jazz community in Brisbane.
“We want to stay open and keep putting on some great acts,” she says.
“We’re hoping to get a few more big names in as well and obviously we want to support local jazz a lot so we’ve still got our student night every other Wednesday, which is a band from one of the local colleges that come in and play.”
Beyond that, Philippa says she hopes the lasting legacy of Doo-Bop Jazz Bar will entail the venue being recognised as a global institution with a reputation for presenting top-quality jazz performers from Australia and around the world.
“It’s certainly starting to make a name for itself, not just in Brisbane but it’s starting to get known around Australia and of course we’ve had some international acts, so it would be nice to be known across the globe for being an intimate jazz venue and what we hope to be one of the best.”
