By Helen Musa

What adjectives come to mind when you think of jazz players? Cool, relaxed, laid-back, perhaps?

Now how about real estate agents? Pushy, cunning, hard-bargaining, maybe?

They’re easy stereotypes to reach for. But they dissolve quickly over a coffee with eminent jazz saxophonist John Mackey, who, after departing the ANU School of Music in June, has retrained and transformed himself into a real estate agent on the Sapphire Coast.

Mackey, of course, is not about to trade in his instrument. Come rain or shine, he’s still playing. Canberra audiences have seen him perform for years with top local artists, but he’s probably best known as a longtime member of the Vince Jones Quintet, touring up and down Australia’s east coast.

Right now, he’s looking for the silver lining in a move made after 25 years of teaching jazz at the ANU. He’s adamant we won’t dwell on that chapter – enough’s enough – but he is keen to point out that there’s more in common between musicians and real estate agents than one might think.

“I love helping people,” Mackey says. “I’m a good listener and I like problem-solving and negotiating, that’s part of jazz, too.”

He sees a clear connection between selling property and performing music.

“Ethics are important in real estate, and they’re important in music, too, so there are a lot of things both industries share. I help people get to their next destination. I receive a base salary plus commissions.”

“It would be good if it were the same for musicians and for artists in general.” It’s a subject he’s been advocating for over many years.

In truth, Mackey was always going to be a sax player. As a youngster he was handy with bat and ball and even played AFL, but he began on the clarinet at age 10 and was performing professionally by 14.

As a teenager, he won a scholarship to study classical saxophone at Churchlands Senior High School’s elite music program before graduating from Edith Cowan University’s Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. There he met fellow student Hugh Jackman.

“I would’ve had more coffee with him if I’d known what he would become,” Mackey jokes.

After graduating, he spent three years based in Sweden, travelling and performing throughout Scandinavia, Europe and the US. Along the way, he shared stages with jazz and blues greats including BB King, Ray Charles and Kurt Elling.

He returned to Australia in the mid-1990s, living in Sydney from 1994 to 1999, before moving to Canberra in 2000 to join the ANU’s jazz department, where he remained for a quarter of a century.

These are chancy times in the arts world, with academic institutions across the country scaling back their arts programs. It’s no surprise Mackey has chosen to diversify. What is surprising is that the new direction is real estate.There’s method in the apparent madness.

He has been based on the Sapphire Coast for about 18 months, drawn by a desire to live closer to the water. After a gruelling search, he and his partner found a renovator’s dream – a house they are steadily restoring, while coaxing the local wildlife out.

Although students he mentored and audiences who have long enjoyed his performances might be startled by the career shift, Mackey actually has a background in property. He previously worked for Canberra agency Sadil Quinlan for four years.

“You don’t just jump into real estate,” he says. “It’s all official now – but there’s ongoing study.”

If music and real estate still seem unlikely companions, Mackey’s broader interests offer clues.

“I’m a frustrated architect,” he confesses. “I love Frank Lloyd Wright – he’s my favourite – and Glenn Murcutt, too. I’m genuinely interested in houses.”

There’s more. He once trained seriously in golf, and harbours a quiet fascination with golf course design. Recently, he even managed a few rounds with Vince Jones – an image jazz fans may struggle to reconcile.

“I’m still playing,” he says. “But I’m going to become much more selective.”