UQ Big Band + ZERO x MACE

UQ Big Band brings ZERO X MACE to Brisbane for one night only

The University of Queensland Big Band (UQBB) will present ZERO X MACE, a boundary-pushing collision of hip-hop and jazz, at Mirrorball Ministries on Saturday 17 October.

The concert brings together Noongar MC Zero Emcee, celebrated for his sharp storytelling and fearless exploration of identity and lived experience, with acclaimed jazz composer and bandleader Mace Francis, whose large-ensemble writing has helped push Australian jazz in bold new directions. Together they create music that sits at the genuine intersection of jazz and hip-hop — urgent, intelligent, and built on improvisation, trust and social commentary.

For UQBB, hosting ZERO X MACE continues a track record no other big band in Brisbane can claim. The ensemble previously staged Christian Elsässer’s ambitious Mirror Suite, and last year flew Austrian musicians Horst-Michael Schaffer and Philip Sageder to Brisbane for a landmark international collaboration. UQBB remains the only Brisbane big band consistently bringing this calibre of adventurous, cross-genre programming to local audiences.

ZERO X MACE has already taken its genre-defying sound across the country, from extensive WA regional touring to the Sydney Con Jazz Festival and a 2025 European tour with big bands in the Netherlands and Austria. This October, Brisbane gets its turn.