The Vampires (band)

The Vampires are an Australian world roots jazz group comprising saxophonist Jeremy Rose, trumpeter Nick Garbett, drummer Alex Masso, and bassist Mike Majkowski.

History

The band formed in their final year of studying for their Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2005.
The band has released six albums and toured extensively around Australia, Germany, the UK, Czech Republic, Austria and Italy. The band performs mostly original music by Jeremy Rose and Nick Garbett that draws inspiration from their travels around the world and experiences in life. The band has performed at every major jazz festival in Australia, the Love Supreme Festival, Glasgow Jazz Festival, Edingburgh Jazz Festival, Jazzahead Festival, and the Enjoy Jazz Festival.

Members

Nick Garbett
Jeremy Rose
Alex Masso
Alex Boneham
Mike Majkowski

The band members have lived in different parts of the world – bassist Alex Boneham became an established presence in Los Angeles, and Nick Garbett lived in Lampedusa, Italy.
On 1 March 2022, Alex Masso was appointed executive officer of the Australian Music Association.

Collaborators

Chris Abrahams
Jonathan Zwartz
Shannon Barnett
Fabian Hevia
Ben Hauptmann
Lionel Loueke
Danny Fischer
Also one off performances with Matt Smith, Tobias Backhaus, James Greening, Mike Rivett, Peter Farrar, Lloyd Swanton, Max Alduca, Rory Brown, Brett Hirst, Tom Botting, and Zephyr Quartet.

Awards and nominations

The Vampires were a finalist for Best Australian Jazz Ensemble and Best Produced Album at the Australian Jazz Bell Awards and in the AIR Awards.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005. The Vampires were the first instrumental act to be shortlisted for this prize.