Legendary music venue shuts its doors

One of Sydney’s best-loved jazz venues, Ultimo’s Foundry616, is closing its doors after 12 years at the heart of the city’s improvised music scene.

The Harris St club, founded by local jazz icon Peter Rechniewski, will bring down the curtain on Saturday with a final gig featuring vocalist Anna Weaving.

Peter Rechniewski has decided its time to get out of the jazz club business.Credit: Janie Barrett

It all started in September 2013 as a “labour of love”, says 74-year-old Rechniewski, also a co-founder of the Sydney Improvised Music Association.

“I wanted to create a really good venue for the scene,” he says. “One that had a good atmosphere with really good sound on stage that could present the best bands on the scene as often as possible as well as internationals.”

Rechniewski built it, and they came.

Over the years, Foundry616 has played host to a who’s who of established and up-and-coming Australian jazz talent such as James Morrison, The Catholics, Barney McAll, Dale Barlow and Sandy Evans. Then there were the international artists including Lakecia Benjamin, Veronica Swift, Wayne Bergeron and Kamasi Washington.

A particular drawcard for many artists was the high-end Yamaha grand piano that Rechniewski installed, which led Kiwi-born jazz icon Mike Nock to make Foundry616 almost his second home for many memorable gigs.

Foundry616 was a favourite venue for legendary pianist Mike Nock.Credit: Roger Mitchell

“There was also a period when we were the main site for the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival, and I was then co-artistic director,” says Rechniewski. “We brought out some really, really good artists who were on the cusp of breakthrough.”

A number of factors have contributed to the demise of Foundry616, including the lingering effects of the COVID pandemic.

“Running these things was always a marginal proposition and it’s been difficult, especially post-COVID,” says Rechniewski. “We recovered partially in 2023, but the conditions seemed to be very, very up and down.”

One widely reported shift in customer behaviour is that people are booking much later, rather than committing in advance.

Customers are also drinking less, which has blown a hole in the business model of small venues.

“In the past, if you got a licence, it was supposed to be the goose that laid the golden egg, but that’s not true any more,” says Rechniewski.

“Rather than have three or four drinks over the course of the evening, they have two or one and then drink water. Most of the ticket price goes to the artists and to cover the cost of presentation, like your sound engineer. So where do you pay for your other staff if they’re not buying? You can’t.

“Last year was not that good, and at the end of the year I decided I had to get out because I just didn’t have the energy to do it any more.

“Nightclubs are a young person’s racket.”