Jazz Mass comes to Bundaberg Anglicans

The idea of an Anglican mass infused with Jazz music was a foreign concept for me until  recently. My hometown of Bundaberg hosted the Australian Jazz Convention over the Christmas New Year period in 2011 and one of the elements that I had the opportunity to explore was the Jazz Mass.

Rector Of Christ Church Anglican father Cliff Greaves expalined that in his previous parish in Central Victoria, his rector's warden was the piano player with the Southern Cross Jazz Band. This, combined with the parish wanting to do something a little different in expressing themselves, became the inspiration behind a Jazz Mass in a pub which attracted 230 people. They then used trad jazz to do 2 services a year in the Central Victorian region.

Fast Forward to a new parish for Fr Greaves in the city of Bundaberg and when he discovered that the Australian Jazz Convention was to be hosted there he thought it would be a natural fit for a gospel jazz service as part and parcel of the convention.

Father Cliff Greaves officiates over Jazz Mass.

So how different is a Jazz mass to a normal Anglican Mass? Fr Greaves says its not that different at all. "The elements are exactly the same its just that we use different music and a different setting and a slightly different arrangement of the words that's all. The structure of it is pretty much identical."

Local group "The Trio" provided the music for this mass.

Any church can be uncertain when introducing a new untried concept, but Fr Greaves says the Christ Church Anglican community were more uncertain than concerned about how it would work and what it would be like. "Its almost like an advent happening, the waiting  in faithful expectation of what was going to happen. I couldn't do it alone, its the musicians and the singers and working with them that makes it happen and the people that clearly like the expression of jazz. But we saw today also a greater expression of faith mixed with that liking of jazz."

Fr Steven Threadgill, parish priest co-presided over the mass and said "It was super, there was great participation also as we saw with the number of people coming forward for communion. I thought it was first class, really exciting."




With easily a couple of hundred people in the church for a Wednesday morning mass "no-one was disgruntled and no-one walked out. Everyone was there until the end. It was a wonderful celebration" Fr Greaves said.

The Trio featuring Stuart Wadham on keys, Matt Farthing on Bass and Bob on drums

Jazz Mass Whole World In His Hands Jazz Mass Trio