Artist Spotlight: Wilma Reading.

It was 1959. A 17-year-old girl from Cairns named Wilma Reading had come to Brisbane for a softball tournament. On a night out with teammates, she heard jazz drifting from a nearby arcade and stepped inside. Someone handed her a microphone. The room went silent.

Her powerful voice stunned seasoned jazz musicians on the spot — and by the end of the night, she had an invitation to join a swing band at the Ritz Ballroom.

That spontaneous moment set in motion one of the most extraordinary careers in Australian music history. A true pioneer, Wilma Reading carved out a space for herself in an era when opportunities for Aboriginal artists — especially women — were painfully limited.

Wilma went on to blaze trails for First Nations performers on international stages across more than five decades. From Brisbane she journeyed to Singapore, then across Asia, then to the bright lights of Las Vegas — partying with the Rat Pack and becoming the first Aboriginal artist that bandleader Duke Ellington ever met.

And that Duke Ellington audition? Legendary. To win the spot, Wilma had to first impress Billy Strayhorn — Ellington's right-hand man and one of jazz's greatest composers. She chose to sing "Lush Life," a fiendishly difficult standard, entirely unrehearsed.

She went on to appear on the famous Johnny Carson Show and was the musical guest on over 30 BBC television productions, including a season on Britain's highest-rated program at the time, The Morecambe & Wise Show.

Along the way she performed alongside jazz giants Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Tony Bennett, and Dave Brubeck — showcasing a breathtaking three-octave vocal range.

Yet for much of her career, Wilma remained largely unknown in her own country — a quiet tragedy for Australian music. It wasn't until August 2019 that she was finally inducted into the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame.