2025 Sydney International
Women’s Jazz Fest
Oct 23-Nov 2
Make an expression.
The 2025 SIWJF program invites you to make an expression. Come! Listen! Make Noise! Express your passion for music that is never quite the same twice. These shows are once in a lifetime, and we look forward to sharing these incredible performers with you.
You will hear music that draws on everything from the iconic beating drones of cicadas in the Australian bush, to the quirky poetics of Norwegian improvised piano, to ecstatic meditations from urban Brooklyn streetscapes. We are exploring a jazz world of the 21st Century, echoing what has come before, calling to what is to come.
This festival also brings you the richness of storytelling through the art of song. Samara Joy adds her voice to the lineage of the great women of American jazz, we bring home one of our great Australian Jazz vocalists and composers in Kristin Berardi, The Cloud Maker channel ancient tales of fierce battles and journeys to the afterlife, and Panghalina sing us jazz from the future.
This program reflects the global nature of jazz and centres Sydney at the heart. We give you incredible concerts, delivered by a wonderful diversity of musical minds and bodies.
– Jess Green, Program Director
Blending the elegance of jazz’s golden era with a modern touch.
Be part of history as five-time Grammy Award winner and breakout jazz sensation Samara Joy brings her timeless voice to Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre for her Sydney debut performance on Thursday, October 23. Celebrated for her rich tone, refined phrasing, and love and understanding of the Great American Songbooks, Samara will be joined by her outstanding seven-piece band for a truly unforgettable evening of jazz… Just Announced: SIMA welcomes internationally acclaimed vocalist and composer Kristin Berardi a special guest performance with long-time collaborator, bassist Sam Anning.
From the NYC underground! Where jazz ancestry and radical innovation converge.
Renowned for her vibrant fusion of jazz, soul, and R&B, Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter Melanie Charles will captivate audiences on Sunday October 26 at Mary’s Underground. Performing with her trio, including Charles (vocals, flutes, effects), Ignabu (drums/percussion) and Paul Wilson Bae (piano, key bass), the group celebrates the legacy of jazz icon John Coltrane. Charles’s bold, genre-bending style has seen her work with Gorillaz, The Roots, SZA, Jean Grae, and Wynton Marsalis… Rising Sydney star, Ella Haber, opens the show, connecting improvisations infused with pop.
An unmissable show from one of jazz piano’s most brazenly virtuosic players.
Hiromi has been thrilling audiences worldwide since her explosive debut in 2003. Over the past two decades, she has refined her virtuosic approach to jazz, garnering a Grammy Award in the process. In this special Australian debut with multi-Grammy-nominated string quartet, PUBLIQuartet, Hiromi will present a boundary-pushing program that spans jazz and contemporary classical spheres for a breathtaking musical ride… Freyja Garbett’s quartet is the ultimate in jazz meets sci-fi meets the power of nature, and includes iconic Australian saxophonist Sandy Evans.
Channelling ancient bloodlines and breathing new life into old stories.
The Cloud Maker’s music celebrates goddesses from each of the five female master musicians’ cultures. Channelling ancient tales of fierce battles, shaman dances, journeys to the afterlife, and a moth goddess singing the most beautiful song of all time, The Cloud Maker harnesses the power of these archetypal stories to transport listeners, using instrumental mastery to weave a tale of love, terror and power… Panghalina sing us jazz from the future, blending instrument and voice into spun textures that glisten and refract a duality of sonic expression.
A moving night of new music connecting Nordic culture with Antipodean spirit.
A rising star in the European jazz and improvised music scene, Liv Andrea Hauge’s music reflects the movement and shapes of natural phenomena; the poetry of fire, the dance of water flowing through rocks. Liv is the most recent recipient of the Zenith Award, created to spotlight a remarkable European ensemble or solo project. She is joined by long-time friends and Sydney stalwarts, Chloe Kim and Jaques Emery, who will explore the poetic tapestry of Liv’s compositions… Hilary Geddes and Nikki Johnston are formidable collaborators who always leave an impression.
German virtuoso pianist and arranger leads an ensemble of Sydney’s finest.
Immerse yourself in a bold cross-continental collaboration as Claudia Doffinger, acclaimed German pianist, composer and conductor, makes her Australian debut at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Sharing the stage are two powerhouse ensembles: the Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra – Australia’s most storied university big band, and Mary Lou and Beyond – an all-female and gender-diverse ensemble featuring the Con’s brightest emerging artists. A show for all jazz aficionados – don’t miss this rare convergence of tradition, innovation, and global artistry.
Latest Past Events
SIWJF25 Afterparty: Lauren White Trio at The Eveleigh Hotel
The Eveleigh Hotel 158 Abercrombie St, RedfernLauren White is a genre-defying bassist and vocalist based in Sydney, known for her grounding bass, soulful melodies and down-to-earth style. Bridging contemporary jazz, Brazilian music, blues and funk, she brings a unique and versatile voice to the Australian jazz scene.
The Cloud Maker (NZ/AUS)
Paddington Uniting Church 395 Oxford St, PaddingtonChannelling ancient bloodlines and breathing new life into old stories.
The Cloud Maker’s music celebrates goddesses from each of the five female master musicians’ cultures. Channelling ancient tales of fierce battles, shaman dances, journeys to the afterlife, and a moth goddess singing the most beautiful song of all time, The Cloud Maker harnesses the power of these archetypal stories to transport listeners, using instrumental mastery to weave a tale of love, terror and power… Panghalina sing us jazz from the future, blending instrument and voice into spun textures that glisten and refract a duality of sonic expression.
Liv Andrea Hauge (NOR)
Annandale Creative Arts Centre 81 Johnston St, Annandale"This trio’s music combines honesty and integrity, producing fearless, beautiful music that grows and grows, like wild flowers in an ever-changing, untamed, natural meadow." - UKVibe Seven years after first crossing paths in Los Angeles, pianist-composer Liv Andrea Hauge (NO) and drummer Chloe Kim (AUS) reunite to fulfil a long-held promise — to make music together. Back then, they […]
About the Festival
For 14 years, SIMA’s Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival has championed groundbreaking artistic innovation, diversity and leading women in jazz.
Festival Team
Jess Green – Program Director
David Reglar – Creative Producer
Nick Pontikos – General Manager
Clayton Thomas – Marketing Director
Emma Collison – Publicist
Nicola Sinclair – Production Manager
Dale Harrison – Art and Design
Luke Tierney – Social Media
Festival Sponsors
