John Morrison and Jacki Cooper did their first gig together in 2004 when Jacki was still living in Adelaide, South Australia and John was in Sydney, NSW. As a musical collaboration, the pair both had a passion for classic sounds and swinging standards.

Over the course of a decade, the musical duo have made their mark on the Australian jazz scene not only for their musical exploits, but also for their determination for all children in Australia to be exposed to music education.

 

John and Jacki travel around Australia visiting schools and presenting their "Make it Swing" workshops. As well as visiting schools with established band and choir programs, they also spend time in schools with little or no music program in the hopes that the schools will be inspired to make music part of the curriculum.

 

Besides their educational adventures, John and Jacki are regular performers at festivals and jazz clubs around the country with their Sydney Jazz Band and with John's Sydney Big Band, Swing City. Sharing a love of big band music, they started a big band festival, Big Band Blast in 2013 in Port Macquarie NSW. The weekend is held on the last weekend in May annually.

 

For more detailed biographies:

 

John Morrison bio

Jacki Cooper bio