Girl Talk

Aired on Saturday 20th June 2026, 10:00AM

SUSAN GAI DOWLINGSydney’s ‘First Lady of Jazz’, dripping with nostalgia and six albums in her back pocket has been in constant demand as a jazz singer/songwriter/pianist at major venues and festivals in Australia and overseas for decades.Susan is also one of EastSide Radio FM89.7’s most beloved presenters, who hosts the “Girl Talk” radio show on Saturday mornings.“Fine jazz singers … are as rare in Australia as driveable roads or drinkable pinot noir. Singer Susan Gai Dowling … a member of this elite club…made cosy music, overflowing with humanity and then spiked with surprises and moments of sadness. Her voice carried a velvet lushness in its mid-range, and a warm, unassuming, non-predatory sensuality…. creating an entire evening of music without even the slightest interference from the great satan of art: ego. So natural did it sound that it almost became jazz as folk music… One left the performance glowing.” – John Shand, The Sydney Morning Herald“It was a joy to encounter once again the easy flare with which she breathes vitality into a song”. – John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald.To contact Girl Talk please send an email to girltalk@eastsidefm.org