The wonderful thing about jazz that contrasts it with other musical forms such as rock ’n’ roll, pop, rap, and classical, is that every live performance is a different encounter, Greg Barker from the Western Plains Jazz Association (WPJA) believes.

Locals and visitors were able to experience this unique folk quality at the third annual Western Plains Jazz Festival in Dubbo which played its first notes on Friday, May 1.

The celebration this year moved from the golf club to Dubbo RSL, and the best news for both die-hard jazz enthusiasts and newcomers, was that it’s all free.

Greg and his WPJA team put together a great series of performances for the festival that highlighted the unstructured and very personal nature of this musical style that is a hybrid of West African tribal music, blues, and European classical instrumentation.

“I like jazz because of the improvisation and freedom; it’s such a personal form of music,” Greg explained.

“You can be on the top of the world one day, and play a piece of music a certain way, and not so much the next, and play it totally differently,” he added.

With a fine collection of local and visiting acts, Greg performed with his own band as well as backing a number of individuals and groups during the three-day event.

“I’m a drummer and will be backing a lot of the soloists and bands; in jazz, depending on how you play, you can make them sound good or horrible. That is because a drummer can add so much more to the music,” Greg revealed in the lead-up to the weekend.

This year’s celebration has been the third year of a revived event that traces its roots back to the long-running Dubbo Jazz Festival that thrived for decades in the Orana region.

“We had a very big jazz festival here that ran for 25 years, and we thought we’d bring it back. It’s been quite hard this year with the fuel crisis and everything. But we’ve booked local and visiting bands from places like Wollongong, Sydney, Melbourne, people who like jazz, or who haven’t heard much of it, will have a good time,” Greg said.

He added that interest in the festival was high with local accommodation facilities heavily booked for the three-day fest.

"The RSL motel is completely booked out," Greg said.

With strong support from the RSL and sponsors, the WPJA dream to bring back top-flight jazz to the region is being kept alive by the commitment of those who love this eclectic musical style.

The line-up included Mike Tovey's Hamfats; The Steel City Sirens; The Hat Swings; Groovin' Together; Steve Jewel; The Scholars; Sim Julivan Experience; The Simons Trio; Side Pockets; MacqCon Big Band; The Con Men; Dubbo Jazz Quartet; and more.