Lofty ideas afoot

Reid + Wolken performing at Grainstore Gallery, a popular quirky music venue in Oamaru as part of the Harbour Street Jazz & Blues Festival. Photo by Cindy Mottelet

Local community member and jazz musician Alex Wolken, along with Ōtepoti Jazz alumni Karin Reid have an exciting new initiative underway.

With the strain on performance spaces across Dunedin and the lack of intimate spaces showcasing artistically diverse and innovative range of jazz, Wolken and Reid have taken it upon themselves to fill that crucial gap with their new project the Albany Street Jazz Loft.

The goal is to turn the quirky underutilised loft above the iconic Playhouse Theatre into an exciting new performance space bringing edgy contemporary jazz performances from local and national musicians to audiences once a month. An initiative run by musicians for musicians which in turn provides a platform fostering both local and national performers to push through their own musical boundaries.

Once the space is up and running the team are hoping to host master classes and workshops too. As a smaller venue ticket sales alone will not cover the operations costs to run the space, so a Boosted fundraising campaign has been launched to get this project off the ground. The goal is to crowd fund $3500 and they’re so close, with just nine days to go the campaign is sitting at 83% (at the time of writing) Boosted is an all or nothing platform so unless the team reaches their target by the deadline they won’t receive any of the funds. If the duo reaches their goal before the deadline a stretch goal kicks in, further allowing funds to put this project full steam ahead!

Please consider supporting what will be an absolute asset to the local music community by donating to the campaign, or simply give it a share! The Albany Jazz Loft is set to launch late July, so keep your eyes peeled for details.