Hilary Geddes is the Freedman Jazz Fellow for 2021.

The Sydney-based guitarist was announced as the winner of the Freedman Jazz Fellowship ahead of finalists saxophonist Flora Carbo, electric bass guitar and double bass player Joseph Franklin, and drummer Maria Moles.

Hilary Geddes

Hilary Geddes. Photo © ABC Jazz

Originally from Griffith, NSW, Geddes has become a key figure on the Australian scene in just a few short years. After studying with Andreas Wahl in Germany in 2016 and 2017, she returned home and graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours in 2018. In 2019 she received the Jann Rutherford Memorial Award, which enabled Geddes to record her debut album with her quartet, Parkside, which was released on ABC Jazz this year.

Throughout 2020, Geddes also received mentorship from Vanessa Tomlinson, Cat Hope and Andrea Keller as part of the Australian Art Orchestra’s and Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA)’s 2020 mentorship programs, and she was one of the three people...