The Australian jazz reissue scene has been on a quiet run for about three years now and the back half of 2026 looks like it’ll be one of the better windows yet. Worth taking stock of what’s coming and what’s already moving.

The bigger story is that Australian jazz from the late 1960s through the early 1980s — the period when ABC, ICON, RAVEN and a handful of independents were releasing genuinely interesting work — has finally started getting the reissue treatment it deserves. Some of this material has been out of print for 40 years and was previously only findable in second-hand shops at premium prices.

What’s already in the bins

A handful of reissues from the last six months are worth pointing at. The Bernie McGann discography is finally being addressed properly — original issues of his Spiral Scratch material were impossible to find under $200 in playable condition, and the recent reissue programme has put them back at sensible prices. The pressings are decent, mastered from original tapes where they were findable and from clean original vinyl where they weren’t.

Tony Buck’s solo and small-group work from his pre-Necks period has had its first proper reissue treatment. This material has aged remarkably well — the percussive textures and improvisational approach that he developed in those early Sydney sessions clearly fed into what The Necks would become. For people who came to The Necks via the live shows, hearing where Buck started is genuinely useful context.

Mark Simmonds’ Freeboppers material from the late 1980s and early 1990s has been getting attention. Some of this was on cassette only originally and has been mastered for vinyl from the best surviving tape sources. The pressings vary in quality. The performances justify the work.

What’s coming

A few things I’m watching for in the next quarter.

A definitive box of Stewart Speer’s session work has been rumoured for nearly two years. If it actually materialises in 2026, it’ll be the most comprehensive document of one of the most underrecognised drummers in Australian jazz history. The material is scattered across leader dates, sideman appearances, and a handful of broadcast recordings. Pulling it together as a coherent set is real archival work, not just a repackaging exercise.

A reissue programme for the early Black Sun Music catalogue has been quietly in progress. The label’s run from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s captured a slice of the Sydney scene that doesn’t show up anywhere else. Original pressings are scarce and condition-dependent. A proper reissue programme would be a significant addition to the available document of Australian jazz.

A few of the Lyrebird Records sessions from the late 1960s — recorded for ABC broadcast and never given commercial release — have been licensed for vinyl release. These are not lost masterpieces. They are working professional recordings of working professional musicians, and they’re useful primary documents that have been impossible to hear outside of National Film and Sound Archive listening rooms.

What to skip

Not every reissue is worth the money. A few patterns to watch out for.

Re-pressings sourced from secondary tape generations or from clean vinyl rather than master tapes. The audio is usually compressed and lifeless compared to a good original. The packaging will tell you “remastered from original sources” without specifying which sources. If the price is suspicious for what should be expensive licensing and mastering work, the source is probably the explanation.

Bootleg reissues from non-Australian labels working from radio broadcast recordings. The historical material is interesting; the audio quality and the rights situation are both questionable. Buy carefully and from reputable sellers.

Scaled-back reissues that omit the original liner notes and personnel detail. With Australian jazz especially, the contextual information in the original packaging is part of what makes the reissue worth having. A bare-bones repress that doesn’t include who was playing what is a step backwards from a clean second-hand original.

What to do about it

The honest advice for anyone building an Australian jazz collection in 2026: pay attention to what’s getting reissued, buy the good ones quickly because the runs are short, and don’t write off the second-hand market because there’s still a lot of material that hasn’t been reissued and won’t be.

The window we’re in right now — where Australian jazz from the 1960s through the 1980s is being properly documented and made available — won’t last forever. Master tapes degrade. Licences lapse. People who were involved in the original sessions are getting harder to track down for liner note interviews. The work being done now is going to be what’s available in 30 years’ time.

If you’ve been meaning to buy any of these reissues, May is a good time to do it. The shop is full of them.