Jazz Maestro Calls Scarborough Home

With over 50 years of experience in the music industry, Scarborough-based jazz guitarist and vocalist Julian Jones is still wowing audiences with his smooth tunes and passion for performing.

The veteran muso started singing in the mid 1960s and at just 14 years old, joined a band and took off to Melbourne to be their lead vocalist. Julian said he married young and decided it was time to take his talents more seriously by also learning guitar. He moved his young family to Texas, USA where he began teaching music at McLennan Community College.

The ex-wife, kids and I went to America to live out my dream of music,� Julian said. When we came back to Brisbane in 1994 I was shocked by how much the music scene had changed here. Everyone was playing rock and roll ' it was a bit of a culture shock for me after living in a place that had such a wide appreciation for music of all types.�

The music industry is a really different place now. Brisbane in the 1970s was fantastic. We were working five nights a week at dinner dances ' there were no pokies and we played all styles of music. Disco for the people who wanted to dance, jazz and pop. They were great times.�

Julian said he then worked the Brisbane club scene for about 15 years and set up a recording studio at Milton and did a lot of backing tracks. He also toured with the Doobie Brothers and Joe Cocker. While Covid has slowed down many of his live gigs, he is looking forward to performing at private functions and venues again soon.

When I reached retirement age, I decided to be a little more self-indulgent and nowadays I just focus mainly on my jazz stuff. My style is café jazz and Latin with a classical influence. I enjoy playing a variety of styles including pop, rhythm and blues.�

Julian regularly performs with Leena Salim and enjoys his solo performances from the American songbook and prides himself on his professional standard and versatility.

For more about Julian Jones or to hire him for your next function his Facebook page is
www.facebook.com/julian.jon...