The judges
Each year the competition has attracted judges who represent the spectrum of Australian jazz expertise from education, performance, composition, writing and broadcasting; all outstanding in their respective field. This year we continue that tradition with our two judges Gerry Koster and Professor Catherine Cole.
Gerry Koster
Since February 2006, Gerry has produced and presented ABC Classic FM’s new weekly jazz program, ‘Jazz Up Late’. He has been involved with the Australian jazz scene for 20 years, beginning as a volunteer in 1988 at one of the nation’s largest community radio stations, Melbourne’s PBS 106.7FM.
During his time with PBS, Gerry produced and presented the weekly jazz program ‘Dizzy Atmosphere’ as well as assuming the role of Jazz Coordinator. He was later also employed in a variety of roles at PBS 106.7FM including Office Manager, Music Manager and Volunteers Coordinator. For seven years, Gerry was the Manager of the independent Australian jazz record label, Newmarket Music. These roles have seen Gerry personally involved within the Australian jazz community in a multitude of ways, liaising directly with musicians, jazz organisations, jazz festivals, venues, media and the general public.
Although his own reading tastes extend well beyond the subject matter of jazz, Gerry is widely read across the spectrum of jazz-related books, articles and stories, through his interest in the music and his research into the music and its makers.
Being a judge in this year’s National Jazz Writing Competition, says Gerry, is another way to contribute to the to the music that, along with books, is vital for his general well-being.
Professor Catherine Cole
Dr Catherine Cole was recently appointed Professor of Creative Writing at RMIT University, Melbourne. She has been awarded international and local writers’ residencies - the Keesing Studio, Cité International des Arts, Paris, an Asialink Writer’s Residency in Hanoi, Vietnam and Writer’s fellowships in 1996, 2001, 2003 at Varuna, The Writers’ House, Katoomba. She has also been awarded literary grants and a wide range of funding for her research and creative projects.
Catherine has published two crime novels, (Dry Dock, 1999 and Skin Deep, 2002), short stories and poetry. Her literary novel, The Grave at Thu Le (Picador, 2005) examined French colonialism in Hanoi. Her non-fiction work includes Private Dicks and Feisty Chicks: An Interrogation of Crime Fiction (Curtin University Press, 2005) and her recent memoir about A.D. Hope, The Poet Who Forgot (UWA Press, 2008). Catherine is currently completing a novel and an anthology of writing about Vietnam.
