Howdy dear availees, and welcome to a post that's somewhat different to the one I'd been planning to do on this topic...(how so dear heart?-Ed)...well, had intended to pose the question, 'What's happening to the Morrison Jazz Academy?', but events have caught me up and there's apparently gunna' be an 'announcement/statement' released either tomorrow, Saturday 13th November 2021, or on Monday 15th...(and what is that announcement/statement?-Ed)...well I don't know yet, it hasn't been released yet...(oh right, fair enough, care to hazard a guess?-Ed)...well sure, I had been planning to post my prediction about this, based on as thorough research as is possible, which is not much...also, many people have their own opinions about what's happening and/or not going to happen, and have stated/alleged many things to me...so I've cobbled together as accurate a post as I can manage, and I guess we'll know more tomorrow or Monday...
For those blissfully unawares, the James Morrison Jazz Academy was opened in 2015, effectively taking over/replacing the 'Generations in Jazz' course that had been operating at Tennyson Woods (Catholic) College for several years previous...Morrison was given at least $500,000 of seed funding by the Weatherill Labor state government, and Mt Gambier City Council kicked-out the tenants already in the Old Town Hall, and gave it all to Morrison...(it is rumoured that Morrison was paying a 'peppercorn lease', if anything at all, but I don't know how you'd establish that definitively-Ed)...indeed, MGCC have been deliberately opaque, obtuse, and even outright deceitful on this and various other leases they operate in the Main Corner/Old Town Hall/Library/Blue Lake Cafe, etc...anyhoos, it's a minor issue relative to what's happening with the future of the Academy itself...
The Academy opened with approx 50 students, and, as part of it's funding agreement, was expected to expand each year, to be offering approx 200 places by 2020...when student numbers stalled at about 70, Morrison tried to explain that away as being a deliberate choice to give the students a better education experience with more access to lecturers, etc...(why not just get more lecturers?-Ed)...well exactly, it's a classic example of trying to deceitfully reverse justify an unpleasant and unavoidable reality...(was that failure to reach it's KPIs re students, was that anything to do with the Academy's reputation as being an unsafe place for female students?-Ed)...a reputation thoroughly deserved, and I've heard it heaps from other peeps, and I personally believe that it has been the key issue, but how you might prove that conclusively, I don't know...
The Academy was offering courses/degrees in collaboration with UniSA, but in February 2021 it was reported that UniSA chose to "discontinue it's undergraduate and postgraduate program offerings at the Mt Gambier campus"...it appears that UniSA did not provide a specific excuse/explanation, but Morrison himself has tried to blame it on COVID19...(well that's just bollocks, the Academy was already struggling with low student numbers-Ed)...indeed...(and if it was just COVID19-related, why wouldn't UniSA just say that?-Ed)...exactly, it's an obvious nonsense...(it's another reverse justification, something bad's happened, how do we politely explain it away?-Ed)...and the reality, I believe, lies in this bit of reportage, "Last year a man was spared conviction for indecently assaulting a woman while studying at the academy...UniSA did not comment on whether the case had played a role in its decision."
James Morrison has a definable history of covering-up the Rape of students, and/or supporting the Rapists...there are 2 very specific cases that I am aware of, and it beggars belief that these are the only 2...when Morrison's mate and fellow Generations In Jazz member, Graham Lyall groomed and Raped a teenage student, Morrison supported Lyall and continued to allow him unrestricted access to other children/students...and in the case referred to above, Morrison wrote a character reference for the Rapist, got him 'special bail' then took him on tour to Melbourne, and apparently did sweet shreck all to support the young woman who has abandoned her music studies/career...
For a more detailed coverage of these issues, please avail y'allselves of the previous posts on this topic from this 'ere blog...
https://themountgambierindependent.blogspot.com/2021/02/unisa-dumps-james-morrison-academy-but.html
https://themountgambierindependent.blogspot.com/2021/02/unisa-dumps-morrison-jazz-academy.html
For further excellent reading about Morrison's shonky business dealings with his various jazz mates, please read this extensive and brilliantly researched article by freelance journo Matilda Duncan...
https://matildaduncan.net/stories/20/jan/29/business-deals-behind-generations-in-jazz
At the heart of her reportage is the bizarre reality that GIJ has somehow been granted 'Charity' status...("Charity"? but it's a business, a private business that operates at a tidy profit-Ed)...exactly, so how the shreck did they get Charity status?...it's quite a long article, and I had to read it through thrice to get a proper handle on all the info there-in, but it's well-worth the effort...(I see that Ms Duncan has several other articles on Morrison et al on her webpage matildaduncan.net-Ed)...yep, all well worth a read, and having just re-read them myself, I urge y'all to do so...
So, with my 2 posts (above) and Ms Duncan's articles, there's plenty a' homework for y'all to trawl through...I've heard multiple allegations/statements about Morrison selling-up his various assets and/or interests in Sydney and/or Mt Gambier, eg, selling-off heaps of stuff on Ebay/Gumtree/etc, and that he's moving/moved to Melbourne...(I note that there's been no statement about these various other 'institutions' that he's supposedly been in contact with-Ed)..yeah, perhaps that's what's about to be announced...however, almost everyone I've spoken to believes that Morrison is pulling out of Mt Gambier, and that there's every likelihood Generations In Jazz will go with him...(or that he'll take it with him, 6 of one, half dozen of the other-Ed)...
I also note that the Academy's end of year concert last evening wasn't held at it's usual venue, The Barn, the site for GIJ, but at the much smaller Wehl St Theatre...is this an indication that there's been a falling-out between these previously tight business partners?...(and if so, what is the conflict about? does 'The Barn' know something we don't yet know?-Ed)...indeed, hopefully this is all made clear tomorrow/Monday...
Tomorrow: No Prizes For Guessing
'Cos, depending on when that 'announcement' is made, we're almost certainly gunna' be covering that...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...
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