An afternoon of jazz on Sunday, November 22 from 1.30pm to 4pm will get the ball rolling.

It will be held at Club Sapphire, Merimbula, but in the Rockpool on this occasion, with a view to returning to the Sapphire Room as usual in January.

The club hopes all can enjoy an outdoor concert. Due to COVID-19 regulations, numbers will be restricted, so bookings are essential.

An all-local band will perform, with Sam Martin on double bass, Paul Dion on keyboards, Colleen Spillane on vocals and David Ross Macdonald on drums for his first appearance for Down South Jazz Club.

Martin was the young entrepreneur behind a popular soul, rhythm and blues outfit in his final years of high school and went on to study jazz at the Australian National University. He worked as a sideman in the country, bluegrass and folk music circuit.

His experiences in these styles greatly influenced his musicality and understanding of the music industry.

He resides in Candelo with a young family, a part-time teaching job and a full-time commitment to the community around him.

He is known for his band Sam Martin & The Sundowners.

Multi-instrumentalist Dion is well-known in the area and certainly no stranger to the Down South Jazz Club.

Starting out as a self-taught 14-year-old clarinetist he played his first gig in a woolshed.

With the demise of the big bands Dion took up piano at the age of 23 and began working as a pianist/vocalist in the Sydney club scene and major hotel piano bars.

Following study at the Sydney Conservatorium as a voice major he joined the then Australian Opera for five years as a tenor.

It was this period that ignited the desire to compose musicals and he wrote Prix D'Amour for the Spectrum Theatre Group in July 2010.

Spillane draws audiences in with her rich velvety voice and stunning tone.

She moves effortlessly from jazz to pop, blues and gospel. She also appeared in December last year with Sam Martin & The Sundowners.

Ross Macdonald is a very accomplished musician living in Candelo who began his musical career as an acoustic guitarist, an instrument he is still well-known for today.

Born of a jazz musician father he returned to his musical roots after some years underground as a geologist, and now plies his trade not only as an internationally-touring songwriter, but also as a jazz turned folk-roots drummer for the acclaimed Australian group The Waifs.

Tickets are $15 for jazz club members and $20 for visitors. Bookings essential on 6495 9853 or visit www.downsouthjazzclub.org.au.