ABSTRACT
Two key events drove the first stage of the Austral shift and they occurred almost simultaneously in 1973. The first was the initiation of a tertiary jazz studies course at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, and the second the opening of The Basement, a jazz venue located in the basement of a building at Circular Quay, approximately 500 metres from the doors of the Conservatorium. A common criticism of jazz education per se is that while the number of jazz studies courses has expanded, the number of professional playing opportunities for graduates has diminished. Under Howie Smith’s leadership the new jazz course was an immediate success, attracting ‘around two hundred applicants within a year of commencing’, and at the time of writing the jazz faculty at the Conservatorium is in its 45th year, offering both degree and postgraduate study options.
