BVJF 2026 presents Daryl Aberhart (NSW) Brisbane Jazz Vocal Festival Workshop

Over a leisurely two hours Daryl will be discussing and workshopping a wide array of topics with a jazz-centric focus. Areas of interest will include concepts such as arrangement of tunes/making them your own, rhythm and phrasing/vocal interpretation, general vocal techniques, and the art of vocalese and its value to the jazz vocalist. There will also be lots of tips and techniques related to improvisation and self-accompaniment as a vocalist, and the use of harmonic knowledge to constantly try and improve in these areas and expand your hearing and connection to the music. As a composer/songwriter across multiple genres, Daryl will also demonstrate his theories and ideas behind writing tunes and lyrics, and will give some insights into how he crafted the words for his album The Cat Within , a vocalese project writing lyrics to the music of American jazz guitar legend John Scofield . (If there are some students that find improvisation daunting, Daryl would be delighted to work with anyone who felt like doing some live learning and exploration towards the end of the workshop. This would really help physically demonstrate some of his teaching concepts when it comes to encouraging students to gain confidence and skills in this area by showing them how to navigate and hear through even the most complex changes and respond with clarity. Vocalists and instrumentalists welcome, including all levels.