All that jazz for homeless

The music wasn’t exactly out of the hymn book but there was plenty of soul in St John’s Anglican Church in Sydney for the recent launch of Homeless Persons Week , featuring Army jazz band, Camouflage.

The jazz band, made up of members of AAB-Sydney, made the $20,000 donation from the proceeds of their top-selling album Exposed to RecLink, a program aimed at helping raise the spirits and lives of the homeless.

The CD, which has sold all but 70 of the initial 2000 copies, has been in the Top 10 of Birdland Records and is possibly Australia’s largest selling Independent Jazz Album in 2003.

The band’s project officer, Sgt Rod Mason, said RecLink was using an innovative and proactive technique to get homeless people off the streets.

“RecLink is a group of organisations, such as the Salvation Army, involved in creating art and recreational opportunities for the homeless,” he said.

“This is important because the first step in gaining one’s self-esteem back is being creative again.”
Sgt Mason said while RecLink was a well-established cause, the creation of the CD and the $20,000 raised was entirely the work of AAB-Sydney.

“It took about a year to put into action, to gather support from the music industry as well as Defence.

“We’re often travelling abroad, so it’s wonderful to be able to do something for the part of the community that’s sometimes hidden.”

The director of the Manly International Jazz Festival nominated Exposed for the Australian Jazz Awards. It will be judged by six critics from around the world with the public providing one vote.

Votes for the Best contemporary Jazz Album of 2003 can be placed at www.mjif.org

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