Jazz students playing in bands at Jazz Workshop Australia: young guitarist and drummer, youth jazz combo, and adult band rehearsal.

About Jazz Workshop Australia

Jazz Workshop Australia (JWA) is a specialist music school in St Leonards, Sydney, focused on jazz and improvised music. Our mission is to teach jazz by building the knowledge, skills, and character required to develop and excel.

Whether you’re looking for yourself or your child, we offer private music lessons with experienced jazz musician-educators, jazz combos, and camps for children, teenagers, and adults. Our programs are built on explicit teaching and are designed to develop the techniques required to play jazz. They are open to anyone, at any age or level. Wherever you’re starting from, our job is to build you up from there. You can pursue private lessons, join a combo, or both.

JWA was co-founded in 2007 by Dr Saul Richardson and Karen Richards. It is now led by Dr Richardson and Michelle Shih.

 

What we offer

Our programs are built around three core areas: private lessons, jazz combos, and camps.

Jazz combos

Small ensembles of three to eight musicians rehearsing weekly during school terms. Groups are coached in repertoire, improvisation, and small ensemble technique. Combos run at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels for children, teenagers, and adults.
Youth jazz combos / Adult jazz combos

Private music lessons

Lessons in saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass, drums, piano, and jazz improvisation. Available for children, teenagers, and adults at all levels, weekly or fortnightly.
Private lessons

Jazz camps

Holiday programs combining combos, big band, jam sessions, and improvisation training. The Winter Jazz Camp is a day camp in July for musicians aged 8–17. The Summer Jazz Camp is a five-day residential camp in January for musicians aged 10–19. The Adult Jazz Camp is a weekend day camp in July for musicians aged 18 and over.
Winter Jazz Camp / Summer Jazz Camp / Adult Jazz Camp

Find out more about our programs or get in touch.

How students develop

JWA programs follow a structured, sequential approach designed to build the knowledge, skills, and understanding needed for jazz improvisation.

In the combos program, students progress from foundational improvisation to chord-based playing over “changes”, with increasing stylistic awareness and expressive range as they advance. At more advanced levels this can include preparation for HSC performance, university auditions, and early professional work.

Private lesson students work with experienced jazz musician-educators on individualised programs based on their current needs and goals. Some choose to work through AMEB grades; most follow a non-examined pathway. In both cases, the focus is on steady, cumulative development.

The JWA approach

JWA’s approach to teaching is based on a small number of clear principles.

  • We teach through structured, explicit instruction that makes the knowledge and skills required to play jazz clear and accessible.
  • Everyone is welcome, at any age or level. Wherever you’re starting from, the goal is serious musical development. Students progress as far as their commitment and ambition take them, and advanced students are challenged accordingly.
  • Jazz is a way of playing, not a body of work. We teach students how to do jazz — to improvise, collaborate, and develop their own musical voice.
  • Our teaching extends beyond technical skills to include habits of listening, musical awareness, and the ways musicians work together in jazz.

Location

The Jazz Workshop, home of Jazz Workshop Australia's jazz education programs in St Leonards Sydney

JWA is based in The Jazz Workshop, a purpose-built venue in St Leonards on Sydney’s lower north shore, with band rehearsal rooms and soundproof teaching studios. The venue is close to St Leonards station with street parking and a nearby council car park.

We are proud to be part of the TWT Creative Precinct in St Leonards.

Other services

JWA occasionally offers additional programs and services including short workshops, masterclasses, and school visits for teaching, conducting, outreach, or performances. We have also arranged music performance and study tours, both domestically and internationally, for our own groups and on behalf of other schools and community bands.

History

Jazz Workshop Australia was founded in 2007 by jazz educator Dr Saul Richardson and producer Karen Richards. It was established to address a real gap. Finding a quality jazz teacher had long been a matter of chance, with recommendations often reflecting personal networks rather than teaching ability. JWA was created to change that, bringing together experienced jazz musician-educators selected for both their musicianship and their ability to teach.

JWA works with students of all ages and levels. Many alumni have gone on to further study and professional work in jazz and related fields.

You can read a longer history of JWA here.

 

To find out more about joining a combo or starting private lessons, get in touch.

Contact us