VJAZZ 55AUG 2012

Distribution 650

QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE VICTORIAN JAZZ ARCHIVE INC. PATRON: WILLIAM H. MILLER M.A., B.C.L. (Oxon.)15 Mountain Highway, Wantirna Melway Ref. 63 C8

(All correspondence to: PO Box 6007 Wantirna Mall, Vic. 3152) Registered No: A0033964L ABN 53 531 132 426Ph (03) 9800 5535 email: info@vicjazzarchive.org.au. Web page: www.vicjazzarchive.org.au

Proactively Collecting, Archiving and Disseminating Australian Jazz

The PianistsA new 2CD set

Pg 12

Graeme Bell ATribute Edition

Pg 8

DISCLAIMEROpinions and views expressed in editorial and contributed articles are those of the authors and are notnecessarily those of the Archive. The editor reserves the right to publish abridged articles/special fea-tures due to space restraints. The Archive, editor and the authors expressly disclaim all and any liabilityto any person, whether an Archive member or not, who acts or fails to act as a consequence of relianceupon the whole or part of this publication. The editor reserves the right to not publish any articles,correspondence or illustrations that may be offensive or contrary to VJA practices and policies. Publi-cation of an advertisement does not necessarily constitute endorsement by the Archive of any productnor warrant its suitability. Advertisements are published as submitted by the advertiser. E&OE.VJA BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

VJAZZ 55 Page 2

ContentsContents

02 Letters to the Editor

03 Connections: Australian Communismand the Jazz Convention by Mel Forbes

04 Hot Record Shops—An Odyssey—USAby Eric Brown

05 High Noone by Bill Brown

06 VJA adds to Louis Armstrong HouseMuseum by Ken Brandt

08 Tributes

10 Remembering Clem Meadmore—Artist,sculptor and jazz dag by Bill Haesler

12 Two New CD Releases on the VJAZZLabel by Ken Simpson-Bull

13 Restoration of a Ludwig Banjo by JeffBlades

14 Three of the Best by John Kennedy

15 ‘Coggy’ Review by Ken Simpson-Bull

ImagesJeff BladesDr Pam ClementsGeoff KingTom LucasTerry NormanRay Sutton

Front Cover ImagesDave Eggleton on keyboard (Archive)Graeme Bell (Archive)

Magazine Editorial CommitteeJohn Thrum ChairmanDr Pam ClementsDr Mel ForbesTerry NormanKen Simpson-Bull

Board of ManagementTerry Norman PresidentJeff Blades Vice PresidentRay Sutton General ManagerMel Blachford Collections ManagerGretel James SecretaryLee Treanor TreasurerMargaret HarveyDr.Ray Marginson A MBarry MitchellMarina PollardRalph Powell

LocationVJA Inc. “Koomba Park”

15 Mountain Hwy.Wantirna

Mel Ref 63 C8Open Tues & Fri, 10am-3pm

Good on Eric Brown for correcting the myth about saxophones and early NewOrleans jazz in the latest VJAZZ (May 2012). As Eric says, there is plenty of re-corded evidence that saxophones were used in New Orleans jazz bands in the1920s. Yet apparently the offending statement by Hugues Panassié led to theprejudice against saxophones by revivalist purists such as Ken Colyer. I recall thatsaxophones were also frowned upon by some Australian traditional jazz purists inthe 1960s.

By the way, the saxophone in the 1916 photograph on page of the VJAZZ news-letter, looks too small to be a tenor. It is most likely an alto or C-melody sax. Alsothe ‘trombone’ being played by Freddie Keppard looks like a slide trumpet.

CheersTim Harding

Dear Sir,I always enjoy reading issues of the VJAZZ. The mention of elder musicians bringsback fond memories of the days when I collected Australian jazz 78s and LPs. Andmention of newer musicians helps me to keep abreast of the current jazz scene. Iam proud to be a member of the Archive.

I particularly enjoyed the two recent articles by Ken Simpson-Bull: What is anAcetate? in VJAZZ 52, and Inside versus Outside Start in VJAZZ 54.

The former gives an excellent explanation why we continue to refer to an“acetate record”. I intend to quote this article to members of the jazz-record collec-tors club to which I belong.

The latter article reminds me of the days - in the late 1940s - when I was a stu-dio technician with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Ontario.One of my jobs was to play the phonograph records (hopefully at the correctspeed) over radio stations CBL and CLBC.

At the time, before tape recording became common, radio broadcasts might berecorded on disc for later broadcast. A half-hour program would be recorded at33 1/3 rpm on two 16" aluminium-based lacquer discs, which we referred to as“soft cuts” or “instantaneous recordings”. The common practice was to record thefirst part outside in, and the second part inside out. This recognized the differencein audio quality between the outer diameter and the inner diameter. The changein quality would be gradual throughout the course of the fifteen-minute side. But ifthe second part were to start on the outside, the abrupt change would be quite no-ticeable. When the segue was made from the inside of part one to the inside of parttwo, there would be no change in sound quality.

We also played pre-recorded programs from the British Broadcasting Corpora-tion. These were on three 16" records at 33 1/3 rpm, double sided pressings, con-taining two half-hour programs – one on each side. Parts 1 and 3 were outside inand part 2 was inside out. Thus two segues, both avoiding an abrupt change inquality. It was the studio technician’s job to ensure that he played all three partsof the same program. It was a legend that one technician (not me) played parts 1and 3 of this week’s broadcast, and part 2 of next week’s!

If Mr Ken Simpson-Bull would care to write further articles, I would be delightedto read them.Sincerely yours.SignedJack Litchfield

Letters to the Editor

The practice of playing consecutive discs of long programs first outside start, theninside start, was occasionally also used in Australia. There is a story of an an-nouncer, unfamiliar with inside start, who gave up trying to play a recorded programbecause he could not make it start from the outside.Ken Simpson-Bull

VJAZZ 55 Page 3

The EditorsVjazz

Dear Editors,The March 2012 issue of our magazineBack Beat was given over almost en-tirely to aspects of the role of the saxo-phone in jazz so, over here in Adelaide,we found page 11 of your recent issue ofVjazz fascinating. Eric Brown, as onewould expect, assembles an array ofevidence for the use of the sax in NewOrleans but I feel that Hugues Panassié,whom he is criticising, was not com-pletely wrong. Note that Panassié said:‘Its use in jazz bands did not begin injazz bands until about 1920’. Taken onits own, and in the New Orleans con-text, he is not far wrong. My source isRose and Souchon’s ‘New Orleans Jazz,A Family Album’. Therein one can findonly two pre-1920 photos of a sax inNew Orleans.

The first is of the Happy SchillingOrchestra, a ten piece white groupwhere there are two sax players as wellas a clarinettist. The photo is captioned1915. Frankly, given the size of thegroup and the fact that trumpets, notcornets, are on display, I have alwaysbeen sceptical of the date. The second isthe black Camellia Dance Orchestra of1918 with one George Stewart cradlinga sax with a clarinet beside him.

The sax seems to have entered whatwas then called ‘jazz’ via the Frisco JassBand and its prodigious Rudy Wiedoeft.They recorded in mid–1917 but weremainly from California. Go backthrough Rose and Souchon to say 1910and the sax does not appear at all. Iread somewhere that some of the veter-ans could remember, so rare was it atthe time, who first introduced the in-strument into New Orleans, one LouisWarnick. Yes, around 1918. Perhapssomeone out there can tell me where Iread it.

Great issue. Keep ‘em coming.

SignedDon HopgoodArchivist (SA Jazz Archive) 17.5.12

To the Editor, Vjazz.

A footnote, and I feel there willbe many, to the Clement Meadmorestory (Vjazz 54): the notes accompany-ing the Evan Christopher/Dick HymanArbors CD “Delta Bound,” include aphoto of the Meadmore sculpture “OUTOF THERE-1974; Hale Boggs FederalBuilding, New Orleans.” Christopheruses “Out of There” for one of his com-positions, reversing, rather nicely Ithink, Meadmore’s usual practice.

RegardsIan Pearce 14.5.12

D ID YOU know about the linksbetween Australian Communismand pivotal events in the post-

war history of Australian jazz?In 1942 the Eureka Youth League,

an organization linked closely to theAustralian Communist Party, set upbusiness in Temperance Hall in NorthMelbourne, an irony probably lost onmany people, given the venue’s previ-ous long-term association with the evan-gelical movement. At this time, givenRussia’s emerging role in combatingNazi fascism in concert with the Allies,there was a higher tolerance of theCommunist Party than eventuated in the1950s and 1960s.

According to an excellent article re-cently written by Bill Hannan*, theEureka League supported jazz, and in1944 the Eureka Hot Jazz Society wasestablished. This, despite jazz beingr e g a r d e d w i t h s u s p i c i o n b y“headquarters” in Rus-sia. But jazz repre-sented freedom fromconstrictions of form,and was in line with left-wing themes of rebel-lion. Among the mem-bership of the Hot JazzSociety was a youngbloke called GraemeBell who, by 1946, wasthe main feature of whatwas called the UptownClub, leading a bandwhich included RogerBell, Pixie Roberts andAde Monsbourgh.

The story gets better.Following on a sugges-tion by Ade Monsbourghwhile still on active dutyin 1944 (the VictorianJazz Archive holds theoriginal letter by Ade inour collection), and withthe backing of theEureka Youth League,the first Australian JazzConvention, a gatheringof, for and by jazz musi-cians which has continued annually tothis day, was held in 1946 in the Tem-perance Hall itself.

But wait… it gets better still. The yearafter this ground-breaking Convention,the Eureka Youth League sponsoredGraeme Bell and his Dixieland JazzBand to perform at the World YouthFestival in Prague, an event firmlyrooted in the “dreaming” of Australian

post-war jazz and which definitivelyplaced the Bell band at the forefront ofthe Australian Jazz scene for manyyears. The subsequent tour of the bandthrough Europe and the UK also led tothe establishment of relationships withoverseas musicians which were to reso-nate with the local jazz scene for a longtime to come.

It all fizzled out in the end. The bandhad a falling-out with the Eureka YouthLeague shortly after its return to Austra-lia and, with the rising imperialism of theSoviets during the 1950s, the Commu-nist movement in Australia wasquashed. Nevertheless, this unlikelyassociation between those out-therejazz musicians, a former evangelicalvenue, and a bunch of bolshie youthsremains an integral part of Australianjazz history.

References:*Hannan, Bill, “First sixty years of theTemperance Hall” (Part 2), North andWest Melbourne News, December 2011

Thanks Bill Liddy for drawing our atten-tion to this excellent News article.

Connections:Australian Communism and the Jazz Convention

By Mel Forbes

Thanks to Kim Harris you can find us on Facebook

First AJC 1946 Eureka HallQueensberry St. Nth Melbourne

VJAZZ 55 Page 4

TOWARDS the end of 1961 Itook leave from ICIANZ andtravelled to England with the

Melbourne New Orleans JazzBand on the Aurelia.

While working for ICI in Man-chester I made contact with KenMills in New Orleans. He was orga-nizing recording sessions of NewOrleans jazzmen and promised tolook after me when I visited the city.

After deciding to return home viaUSA I first visited New York andtook a trip to the Jazz Record Cen-ter which was the original of the re-cord shop mentioned by Ralph Pow-ell in VJAZZ 52, November 2011.

Access to the store was up a bigflight of stairs, each step having aslogan like “Everything from Bunk toMonk” painted on it.

On reaching the store on the firstfloor there was Joe Clauberg (IndianJoe) sitting in a big arm chair smok-ing ???. It was a wonderful storewith many desirable records but,being on a strict budget, I went tothe Condon Club where SammyPrice was intermission pianist.

Following New York I went toChicago to meet up with my greatfriend Wayne Jones, drummer withthe original Salty Dogs, and recordcollector. He introduced me to BobKoester and his Jazz Record Martwhich is the home of Delmark Re-cords. After visiting Roses RecordStore we called on John Steinerwhose famous studios were in thenow disused Kosciusko Bath

House. What a treasuretrove of Chicago history!More about these in a possi-ble future article?

Next stop was New Orleanswhere I contacted Ken Millswho invited me to four of hisrecording sessions in the So-ciété des Jeunes Amis Hall.This is an old dance hallwhere, back in those days,the band was located on abalcony over the front door tominimize damage from danc-ers. The bands Ken put to-gether to record for his ICONlabel were mind blowing andsomething I will never forget.

While in New Orleans I did notseek out record shops except forWerlein’s in Canal Street who alsosold musical instruments. However,I did go to Joe Mares recording stu-dios where he produced his South-land Recordings.

Following that I visited the shoprun by the eccentric clarinet playerRaymond Burke. He played cylin-der records for me of various bandsfrom back in the 1910 -1920 era andproudly demon-strated his slide clari-net.

On leaving newOrleans I used my99 days for a 99 dol-lar ticket to travel toLos Angeles byGreyhound Bus.Here I walked out tothe famous JazzMan Record Shoprun by Don Brown.He was a record col-lector and publisherof the Record Finderwhich was a publica-tion which listed auc-tions of 78 rpm re-cordings for collec-tors. He also issuedJazz Man Recordswhich was one of thefirst to issue BunkJohnson’s 1942 Su-perior band.

As I had beenout to Disneyland

that day I didn’t go again thus miss-ing out on Sweet Emma Barrett’sband featuring many famous NewOrleans musicians.

Next stop was San Franciscocourtesy of Greyhound Bus Co. Ihad nearly run out of money so Itook the bus out to Reno sleepingon it and arriving back in San Fran-cisco early in the morning. There Ihad breakfast courtesy of an airlinewho were promoting their flights toBoston by putting on free Bostonbaked beans.

That day I went out to NormPierce’s Jack’s Record Cellar inScott Street. Once again it was fullof recordings I could not afford.Norm was very friendly and he toldme it was he who backed Ken MillsICON recording sessions which Iwas lucky to be at. He also told mehe had been made an honorary citi-zen of Mexico but didn't explainwhy.

Next was to board the Himalayaand sail back to Australia. Beingbroke, except for ₤10, needless to say I wasn’t a social success on thevoyage.

Hot Record Shops - An Odyssey - USA 1962

By Eric Brown

Manchester England

Chicago

New YorkSan Francisco

Los Angeles

New Orleans

Melbourne

Original Jazz Record Center secondhand store 47th St.New York where many a rare disc is found.

Source: JAZZWAYS Ed. George S. Rosenthal & Frank Zachary .Greenberg Pub. NY 1946 p89.

VJAZZ 55 Page 5

WHEN Jazz collectors runthrough the pantheon of thelegendary clarinet players of

the Golden Age, the names of JohnnyDodds, Omer Simeon, Sidney Bechet,Albert Nicholas and Barney Bigard usu-ally get a Guernsey. One fellow, some-times overlooked is Jimmie Noone. Hewas a very sophisticated player, famousfor his trills and swoops. This relegatedhim to the ‘sweet’ category in someminds of a more ‘purist’ inclination. Hemade a few records with the legendaryKing Oliver Creole Band in 1923 andalso played in the bands of Freddie Kep-pard, Doc Cook and Ollie Powers.Eventually in tandem with alto sax manJoe Poston he started a long residencyat the Apex Club (originally The Nest) inChicago.

This band at times containing thegreat pianist Earl Hines recorded quiteoften over this period. My interest inNoone was rekindled by listening to aset of four CDs put out on the JSP re-cord label. This collection covers hiscareer on record up until 1943 and hasvery thorough sleeve notes from theEnglish critic, the late Sally-Ann Wors-fold. Poston in my opinion was a lesserlight than Jimmie, a bit like the way thatMezz Mezzrow was in Sidney Bechet’sshadow, but like Sid and Mezz Jimmieand Joe worked well together. Poston’svocals were not great but then a lot ofthe male singers of that twenties perioddid sound as if they had tight under-wear.

Volume four of this set covers thethirties and early forties. Poston wasmissing and Jimmie used a trumpetplayer in the front line. Some of thosetracks are among my favourites withtrumpeters Charlie Shavers, Guy Kellyand Jimmy Cobb on hand. GuitaristTeddy Bunn is in the rhythm section and

is prominent in a ver-sion of Jimmie’s ApexBlues (sometimesknown as Bump it orthe Bumps). Most ofthose tunes are onNevill the Swaggieman’s label S1226.

Jimmie also ap-peared on two trackswith trumpet man NattyDominique and guitaristLonnie Johnson. NewOrleans Hop ScopBlues and KeystoneBlues were a sort ofprecursor of the greatjazz revival that wasjust around the corner.

By the early fortiesNoone had a trio orquartet at the Yes YesClub in Chicago. In

1943 he appeared with a varied groupfeaturing the star trombone man JackTeagarden and trumpet man , futureband leader Billy May. This aggregationrecorded under the name of the CapitolJazzmen. He was next a member of theKid Ory Band. They had a regular spoton Orson Welles radio show, sadly on19th April 1944 Jimmie suffered a heartattack and died. That day’s broadcastwith Wade Whaley filling in on clarinetOry’s band did a moving Blues ForJimmie Noone. Ory recorded this num-ber a few times in future years andmany bands play it to this day.

It would appear that Jelly Roll Mor-ton, Johnny Dodds and Jimmie all diedat a time just before they could benefitfrom the World Wide movement thatwas the Revival pertaining to the earlierhot music that was to be called the Clas-sic Period.

Although Jimmie probablydidn’t have the acclaim ac-corded to the music of Dodds orthat other New Orleans heroGeorge Lewis, there were clari-net men who admired his work.Benny Goodman certainly didand I think Pee Wee Russell,Bud Freeman and probably JoeMarsala worshipped at theshrine. European revivalistsrecognized Noone’s prowess.Bent Persson, the trumpet manand his other Swedish cohortsoften refer to him. In the UKWally Fawkes clarinet andBruce Turner alto sax also nod-ded in his direction in the re-cording studio. Writer and criticAlbert McCarthy referred toJimmie’s music in that album’ssleeve notes.

However the story doesn’tstop there. In the eighties there

emerged another Noone, Jimmy Noonejunior, Jimmie’s son, also a clarinetplayer who doubled on various saxo-phones. Swiss writer/critic Johnny Sim-men tells how he heard about Jimmy’sactivity in following his father’s footstepsfrom US drummer Hal Smith.

Seemingly Jimmy recorded withSmith’s group doing a reprise of KidOry’s forties band with Noone senior.Then during a trip to the UK, Jimmymade a record for Stomp Off Recordswith various UK players such as KeithNichols and that doyen of historic vin-tage jazz John R.T. Davies. The LPcalled rather obviously ‘Jimmy Remem-bers Jimmie’ certainly captures the feel-ing that the Noone band created in thatearlier era.

Jimmy however played in a variety ofjazz genres and made a few recordingswith a swinging blues band called theSweet Baby Blues Band co-led byhusband and wife team Jeannie andJimmy Cheatham. Jimmy played trom-bone and Jeannie played bluesy pianobacking her raunchy vocals. JimmyNoone fits in well along with more con-temporary jazzmen like reed playerFrank Wess and trumpeter SnookyYoung. I possess two LPs and one CDof Noone in this lusty aggregation. How-ever, sadly, although the son inheritedhis father’s prowess in music, his genesetup was similar as he too died from aheart attack in March 1991 aged only52.

I recall many years ago a UK maga-zine which had a reputation for gettingjazz musicians’ names wrong talkedabout Jimmie No One. How wrong couldthey be. In my estimation Jimmie Noonewas definitely someone.

HIGH NOONEBy Bill Brown

Jimmy Noone Jr.

Jimmie Noone

AFUN musical cross-cultural event took place Wednesday 2 November 2011 at the Louis Armstrong House

Museum (LAHM) in New York City. The VJA augmented the LAHM's already huge collection of LouisArmstrong music, photos, and memorabilia with a Louis Armstrong tribute album by Melbourne'sSyncopators Jazz Band and photos of Louis Armstrong's 1954 trip to Australia. Satchmo toured

Australia four times.

The LAHM and VJA have worked together a bit in the past and want to continue to strengthen their ties.Ken Brandt, a lifetime VJA member and member of the LAHM since its founding, was planning a trip to NewYork and offered to go on a musical “ambassadorial” mission for the VJA. Ray Sutton, Terry Norman, MelBlachford, and Ralph Powell brainstormed a bit, then Mel and Ralph came up with the gift ideas and createdthe photo CD. Mel handballed the CDs to Terry at the VJA, Terry handballed them to Ken at their Wednes-day night trad jazz rehearsal, Ken’s partner Judy created the commemorative presentation covers, and thenKen presented them to the LAHM on behalf of the VJA. The Australian Consulate General’s New York of-fice headlined the event on their web site in an article entitled:“AUSSIES ADD TO LOUIS ARMSTRONG JAZZ ARCHIVE”

http://www.newyork.consulate.gov.au/nycg/consulatenews.html (go part way down the page).

The donations were unique additions to the LAHM collection and were greatly appreciated by the LAHM.The event was attended by representatives from LAHM, VJA and the American Australian Association, aswell as a mix of Louis Armstrong fans from New York City and Atlanta, Georgia. Following the presentation,attendees were treated to a private tour of the museum and archive material, and a ride in the Satchmobile.

At the museum, the group listened to an Australian TV interview in which Satchmo and his wife each pickeda horse to win the 1954 Melbourne Cup. Ken explained the importance of the Melbourne Cup, which pro-vided some much needed context to the LAHM archivists. We then listened to the flip side of the record(recorded by Louis), which was the calling of the race – documenting for his fans that Louis had picked thewinner.

For further information: http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/

One of the photos donated by VJA to the LAHM: Louis being welcomed on his 1954 arrival at Melbourne's Essendon airport.

VJAZZ 55 Page 6

VJA ADDS TO LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUMBy Ken Brandt

VJAZZ 55 Page 7

Ken Brandt (2nd from right) on behalf of VJA presenting the music and photo CDs to LAHMmuseum director Baltsar Beckeld (right) and Ricky Riccardi (2nd from left) LAHM archivistand author of the Armstrong biography "What a Wonderful Life", accompanied by BrendanMoffit (left) chairman of the American Australia Association's Cultural Committee.

Travelling from the Louis Armstrong House Museum to the LAHM archives in the Satchmobile.

Jim Loughnan by Graeme Pender

YOU were born in Richmond on 30 December 1928. It wasn’t until your teens that you became interested in jazz music;especially the music of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. The music of these geniuses inspired you to learn the clarinet.During the late 1940s and early to mid-1950s you went to the Collingwood Town Hall each Saturday night to listen to

Frank Johnson and his Fabulous Dixielanders. It was there that your love of traditional jazz began to emerge, and yourplaying of the clarinet was inspired particularly by the playing of Geoff Kitchen. You knew every recorded solo of Geoff’s off byheart. In 1949 you began playing with jazz bands which included Ron ‘Zeke’ Williamson and Graham ‘Smacka’ Fitzgibbon asmembers.

Jimmy, you were the first Melbourne musician to start playing the soprano saxophone in local jazz bands around Mel-bourne, and I think you told me a few months ago that you had recently donated your soprano to the Victorian Jazz Archives. Iwas saddened to hear that, my old friend, because that signalled to me that you had given jazz performance away. I know howmuch Sidney Bechet meant to you as an influence in your playing, and how you especially enjoyed playing the soprano in jazzgroups and trying to emulate his style, much to the chagrin of any trumpet player in your band!

During the 1960s you played and free-lanced in various local jazz groups around Melbourne, including the Southern CityJazz Band, and Sny Chambers’ Bayside Jazz Band. Both of us had the pleasure and privilege of playing with Sny. Suchfond memories.

I met you in 1979 when I was just 19 years old at the infamous Lord Jim’s Hotel, North Fitzroy where you played each Sat-urday afternoon with Jimmy Beale (drums & leader), Jan Tankard (vocal), Barry Webb (piano), Ronnie Williamson(sousaphone) and Alfie Hurst (trombone). Both you and Jimmy Beale graciously allowed me to ‘sit-in’ with the band and learnthis marvellous music. Lord Jim’s became my regular haunt, and it was there I learnt some of the most wonderful jazz tunesever written. You took me under your wing, and it was at Lord Jim’s and under your keen tutelage that I began to learn thebasics of jazz clarinet playing. Eventually I became a member of the band and played with you each week for about six years.

I will never forget your wry sense of humour and sense of the ridiculous, inspired by Monty Python and other comedians.Your wit amongst your peers during breaks was hilarious. I used to just sit there and listen. It was not unusual for people likeAde Monsbourgh, Neville Stribling, Roger Bell, Frank Johnson and others to regularly call in to Lord Jim’s for a sit in. I believe‘Smacka’ Fitzgibbon used to as well, although that was before my time. To hear you all chat about the Melbourne traditionaljazz scene in between brackets was truly inspiring. For me, as a young jazz musician trying to work out what everything wasabout, I found you and most of your friends truly supportive in my desire to be a jazz musician in the traditional style.

I remember fondly after each Saturday gig at Lord Jim’s, you, Bonny,my mum Joan, my sister Tracey and I would always head to the VictoriaPolice Club at Russell Street for dinner and a beer or three! Our meal atthe Club became a weekly Saturday night tradition which lasted until wewere eventually sacked from Lord Jim’s in the mid-1980’s due to newmanagement policies.

After Lord Jim’s, you followed me around every now and then and satin with my groups playing in the style of Benny Goodman and ArtieShaw. That was a privilege. Unfortunately, you seemed to slowly retirefrom the music business; although your love of reel to reel movies neverwaned. I recall fondly the many nights I spent at your apartment watching‘Key Largo’, ‘The Maltese Falcon’, ‘Casablanca’, ‘The African Queen’,numerous Chaplin movies, Laurel and Hardy movies, and the amazingSpike Jones movies over a ‘red’. Thank you for sharing your love of cin-ema with me. Because of you Jim, I have a wonderful collection; albeit onvideo.

Jim, I loved being your friend. After my mother’s sudden death, youcalled around to see me. You were always there to offer advice about lifeissues when I needed it and you continually helped me in the musicgame. You were a good friend, a wonderful musician, and you will besadly missed.

Rest in Peace Jimmy. Your friend always, Graeme Pender

Jim Loughnan was a volunteer and regular visitor at the Archive until hishealth deteriorated. As a continuing legacy to Jim, the Archive exhibits aCD in the shop—VJAZZ 010, Jim Loughnan's 'Indigo Five', recorded liveat the "Le Pion" Coffee Lounge, Rochester Road, Canterbury by Ron Hal-stead on 27th Feb. 1964.

Jim was proud of the recording and occasionally remarked that he didn'tknow he was being recorded. The band consisted of Jim Loughnan (ss, cl);Paul Martin (cl) Ross Collins (p); Keith Cox (sb); Wes Brown (d).

VJAZZ 55 Page 8

TRIBUTESThe Legacy of Graeme Bell AO MBE

(7 Sept 1914 – 13 June 2012)

IT is with a sense of loss and a desire to mark his life that the next issue of our Magazine No 56 is dedicated toThe Legacy of Graeme Bell.

Ideally we would like it to include a number of writers that will bring together information and an appreciation ofGraeme’s life and work. If you would like to contribute please email your contributions by the end of August to

clem1@ozemail.com.au For further information contact 9758 5273 or 9800 5535

I first met Rex Green in 1951 inShepparton. He was a teller at the Com-monwealth Bank there. I was working as

a pupil to the local Surveyor. Myself andThe Chairman were on pauper’s wages sowe sold hot dogs at the week-end footballmatches to help make ends meet!

On Mondays I took our hot-dog takingsto the bank in a calico bag and tipped thebooty into Rex’s highly polished brass in-tray. Our takings were covered in hot dogfat which clung tenaciously to Rex’s brass.His wife Helen supplied Rex with cottoncloths to clean up the in-tray; she also,bless her, mothered me at 19-20 years ofage with roast dinners on a Sunday.

This then enabled me to stand behindRex at his piano and study his style. Rex’sexpertise was already famous in the jazzscene at that time. At nearly 30 years ofage his style was well set and developed.His love of Earl Hines was apparent, but hewas very much his own man, not just acopiest.

I loved the sounds he made and wasvery fortunate to see at close quarters justhow he made them. You see, you have themix of melody, harmony (chords), andrhythm using two hands on the keyboard.To understand and achieve it, gradually atfirst, is exhilarating.

Rex taught me all this and I will remem-ber and honour him forever for it.

VJAZZ 55 Page 9

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: “APEX ANTICS OF 1952”In Shepparton, like many country towns, there were various Associations thatraised money for charity and projects. One was the Apex Club. Rex Green and Iwere asked to produce some sort of ‘act’ for their 1952 Fundraiser, so we asked inturn for the Apex Club to provide two pianos. And they did! Before our ‘act’ wepracticed playing our duets and planned piano set for the show. Here we both aretaking a bow at The Apex Antics of 1952. Rex Green on the left and GrahamCoyle on the right.

Maurie was a great friend to the VictorianJazz Archive. For several years we wouldknow when he arrived when his booming

voice resonated “How are you going Sport?” or“Mate” – or “How the bloody hell are you”?

A friend to everyone, he would be at the Ar-chive either to play or deliver something. He per-formed regularly with his ‘Jolly Rollers’ for ourgroup visits. Not only did he play, in his inimitablestyle, but he would also give a potted version ofthe history of jazz to the audience, in his own col-ourful vocabulary. Doreen his wife, always atMaurie’s side, made sandwiches etc. for thosesame groups over many years. He never refuseda request – if it was possible to help he was there.We were lucky to have him as our Musical Directorat the Archive.

Maurie loved his jazz and was never happierthan when he had an audience. His own personalmotto was ‘Drink wine, make love, play jazz andhave a happy life’. We know he lived by that ruleuntil the day he died. We were all lucky to haveshared in (some of) these experiences with him.He was always generous to a fault lending theArchive a very good keyboard (on permanentloan), which is used constantly for the Musicians’Workshops.

We have to thank Maurie for cementing themost favourable relationship between the VictorianJazz Club and the Victorian Jazz Archive. TheBoard of Management and members of the Ar-chive send their deepest sympathy to Doreen andthe Fabrikant family on their, and our, sad loss.

Remembering Rex Green by Graham Coyle

Maurie Fabrikant and the VJA by Gretel James

Message of Thanks from Doreen, Ruth, Sue & SimonFabrikant & Family

To our many friends in the jazz world, friends from his school days atRipponlea Primary and Wesley College, friends from Melbourne Univer-sity, Caulfield Technical College and Monash University, our wine-gathering group, cards and scrabble friends and many others. We thankyou all from the bottom of our hearts, for all of you and your high regardfor our darling husband, father and grandfather – Maurie

Thanking you all once again Doreen and Family

The following article is based on an un-published obit I wrote in April-May 2005after news of Clem Meadmore’s deathappeared in the Sydney Morning Heraldon 21 and 22 April 2005.

I CAN’T recall exactly when or where Ifirst met Clem Meadmore, but will

never forget the tall, quiet, bearded manin his distinctive long black coat. It wason the Melbourne jazz scene sometimein the late 1940s.

My introduction to jazz music was in1944 when I first heard Bob Crosby’sBob Cats records. Then, in 1946, I dis-covered that the same music could befound in Melbourne after hearingGraeme Bell’s Dixieland Jazz Band atWilliamstown Town Hall. It was one ofmany fundraising dances the bandplayed in preparation for its proposedtour to Europe and Britain. But I wasn’taware of this at the time.

A mate and I shadowed the Bellseverywhere until their departure in July1947 then continued to follow jazz musicacross Melbourne during the band’sabsence. And found jazz on radio, theTony Newstead and Frank Johnsonbands and jazz concerts.

I had just started work where I metan older apprentice who had been to the

first Australian Jazz Convention in De-cember 1946 and seemed to know eve-ryone. We formed a close friendship,and he introduced me to some of thejazz ‘big kids’. I attended the 3rd Con-vention at Prahran Town Hall in Decem-ber 1948, helped on the door, met oth-ers my age with the same passion forthe music, and mingled with the musi-cians in the adjoining pubs. With the Bellband away I followed Frank Johnson’sDixielanders and by the time they re-turned in August 1948 was a young ad-dition to the Melbourne jazz family.

The Bells promptly rejoined the localscene alongside the Newsteads andJohnsons (as they were all affection-ately called), the emerging Barnardbrothers’ South City Stompers and theirjazz followers. Collingwood Town Halland the Maison de Luxe Ballroom wereour weekend stomping grounds andClem Meadmore was a member of theolder mob. We knew that he was anartist, furniture designer and sculptorand that his dad owned the legendaryMeadmore model shop in ExhibitionStreet, Melbourne; with its wonderful

shop window display where a coin in-serted in the shop-window slot activatedthe magnificent train layout.

However, in those days, the egalitar-ian Melbourne jazz clique was moreinterested in playing, listening and en-joying the music than in the private livesand occupations of its individual mem-bers.

At this time a larger-than-life charac-ter, Alan Watson, held what appeared tous to be a continuous ‘jazz rort’ at thelarge family mansion in Rockley Road,South Yarra where he lived. Alan washeir to the famous J.C. Watson WineMerchant business and wine bar restau-rant, Jimmy Watson’s, in Lygon Street,Carlton.

Watson’s, as Alan’s home wasknown, became a musicians’ paradiseand home to numerous itinerant musi-cian-boarders and jazz characters, sto-ries of which comprise a whole chapterin John Sangster’s musical autobiogra-phy Seeing the Rafters (1988. PenguinBooks). I lived at home with my parents,had a day job, was studying at Mel-bourne Technical College, and tooyoung to take part in the legendaryevents there, apart from several memo-rable parties.

Clem, a teetotaller who only drankwater, had discovered the First Austra-

lian Jazz Convention in 1946 and owneda trombone. But that was before mytime. When I finally got to know Clem hewas living in the turret of a large man-sion at Fawkner Park, Melbourne.

By then he was playing drums andits washboard alternative popular on thelocal jazz scene in those days. He wasan extremely good exponent of it but, tomy knowledge, never belonged to agroup. Out of this mix of enthusiasticamateurs emerged a new generation ofjazz musicians who formed bands,found venues and became competentsemi-professionals, working by day andplaying jazz at night and weekends. Mydear friend Nevill Sherburn, anotherMelbourne Tech alumnus, budding pian-ist, banjo player and eventual band-leader was one of these.

The Bells went back to Europe andBritain in March 1951, returned trium-phantly in April 1952 but, musically ex-hausted, disbanded by mutual consentlater that year. In mid 1954 Nevill Sher-burn purchased the Swaggie Recordlabel rights from the Graeme Bell bandcooperative. About this time I took over

editorship (and became the owner) ofthe Australian Jazz Quarterly magazinefrom my jazz mentor, William H BillMiller, the elder statesman of Melbournejazz, record collector and producer,washboard player and solicitor.

Swaggie’s first 10” LP 1001 wasreleased by Nevill at the 9th AustralianJazz Convention in Sydney in Decem-ber 1954 and was reviewed in my firstissue of AJQ in March 1955. Our friendClem Meadmore designed the coversfor this and subsequent Swaggie LPsand I commenced writing cover notesfor Nevill.

My association with Nevill andSwaggie grew, as did my casual friend-ship with Clem who was now aware ofmy decision to undertake the architec-tural course at Melbourne Tech, wherehe had initially studied aeronautical en-gineering before moving on to its thennew industrial design course. At thistime, as I recall, he was living with hiswife Enid and baby son Quentin in ahouse in Punt Road, South Yarra, withhis intriguing workshop in its formerhorse stables.

But Clem was restless, along withmany other Australian artists and jazzmusicians at that time, and in 1953 leftto explore England, France and Ger-many for about a year. Two years laterhe was commissioned to design thedistinctive interiors of the Legend Es-presso and Milk Bar (for which artistLeonard French painted seven wall pan-els) and the Teahouse café and milk barfor jazz enthusiast Ion Nicholades.Sadly, both these acclaimed establish-ments in Bourke Street, Melbourne arelong gone.

It was also during the mid 1950s,encouraged by the success of the Syd-ney Jazz Club formed in 1953, that asmall group of us decided to open theMelbourne Jazz Club, a live musicvenue run along the same lines. TheMJC debuted in Richmond on 6th June1958 then, several months later, movedto a more permanent location, an oldchurch in Swan Street, Burnley. Clemoffered to design and construct the port-able interior and lighting of the Club thatwe set up every week. He also designedand printed handbills, tickets and otherephemera for the frequent MJC socialevents. Watching him at work intro-duced me to the importance of goodgraphic design. Clem then encouragedmy interest and taught me the basicprinciples and techniques of typographyand layout. I well remember him redes-igning the typeface book for a majortypesetting company to supplement hismeagre income and settle his own

VJAZZ 55 Page 10

Remembering Clem Meadmore. Artist, sculptor and jazz dag.

By Bill Haesler

“ W e knew that he was an artist, furniture

designer & sculptor”

mounting typesetting account. I stillhave my complimentary copy of thismagnificent work.

In 1960 Clem designed the logo forthe 15th AJC in Melbourne, which wasused for all publicity, badges, car stick-ers, posters pre-Convention concertsand the official Convention programme.

At that time, stifled by a seeminglack of opportunity, Clem left Melbourneseeking a better situation in cosmopoli-tan Sydney; and joined the jazz move-ment there. He worked as an art directorfor Vogue Australia, sat in onwashboard and drums at the SydneyJazz Club and the then numerous pubvenues and social events. I saw less ofhim, apart from Jazz Conventions andmy irregular architectural working tripsto Sydney.

By the time we moved to Sydney inJune 1966 Clem had gone. He had leftAustralia in 1963 and settled in the US.But even there he apparently had a diffi-cult time until his outstanding talent as asculptor was finally recognised. He be-came an American citizen in 1973 and

returned to Australia on only two occa-sions that I know of. Once for familyreasons and the second to say goodbyeto friends after he realised that Parkin-son’s disease had taken over his life.We met both times, the last in Dar-linghurst for lunch with a few of his oldjazz mates including his friend and fel-low artist Graeme Bell.

Clem settled in New York and livedin a large Manhattan studio apartmenton Fifth Avenue stacked with jazz re-cords and permanently set up with adrum kit and piano; the scene over theyears for monthly jazz jam sessions withhis friends and acquaintances. We wereoffered accommodation if ever we vis-ited New York, but unfortunately nevermade it. I believe that the building wasowned by Stanley King the celebratedUS textile designer, washboard-playingmember of the New York’s jazz inner-circle who, for a few years in the 1990s,came to Sydney over the Christmas-New Year period. But that’s anotherstory.

Clem was also a founder member of

the Sidney Bechet Society launched in1997, one hundred years after the pio-neer jazz reedman’s birth. The brain-child of Eric D. Offner, attorney and jazzscholar, the Society board of directorscomprised distinguished US jazz musi-cians, record producers, impresarios,writers, historians and photographersincluding Bob Wilber, Jack Lesberg,Arvell Shaw, Michael White, BrossTownsend, Nat Hentoff, Phil Schaap,Dan Morgenstern, Dick Hyman, WalterSchaap, and William P. Gottlieb. SidneyBechet’s only son, Daniel, was its Hon-orary President.

Clement [Clem] Lyon Meadmorewas born on 9th February 1929 in Bur-wood, Victoria. He died on 19th April2005 following a fall shortly after his76th birthday. He lapsed into a coma,was taken to Bellevue Hospital, NewYork City, never regained conscious-ness and died there. His son, Quentin,granddaughter Jade, brother Roger andsister Roz survived him.

VJAZZ 55 Page 11

Be Part of the Group Visits to theVJA

They’ve been driving, walking and cycling in to the VJA toenjoy the jazz and see what is going on. Come and joinone of our groups. However, because of their popularity,we suggest that larger groups book up to six months inadvance.

Thursday September 13thTour 10.am, Jazz Band 10.45am,

Lunch 11.30 am.Thursday September 27th

Tour 10.30am, Jazz Band 11.30,Lunch 12.15 pm.

Friday November 16thTour 10.00 Jazz Band 11am,

Lunch11.45am

Congratulations Mel Blachford

Mel Blachford our Collections Manager was the proud recipient of aVictoria Day Award.

He received a medallion and a certificate presented by Nick Wakeling MP at aceremony to recognize the hard work and dedication of volunteers in the Fern-tree Gully Electorate. Well done Mel. From the left: Mel Blachford, Nick Wakeling MP.

Hon. Hugh Delahunty Minister for Sport and Recreation.

For information and bookingcontact

Allan Dinnar 9800 5535

Above: Ken Forbes (t), Barrie Boyes(rds), Ivan Videky (b), Allan Smith (d),Grahame Taylor (p).Left: Pippa Wilson (v), Ron Sandi-lands (d), Ron Trigg (rds), BarrieBoyes (rds), Michael Harding (p).

VJAZZ 55 Page 12

Sound

IF YOU didn’t read theback of your addresssheet with the last issueof Vjazz magazine thenyou may not be aware ofour excellent two mostrecent CD releases. Hereis a rundown on them:

The PianistsA Showcase of

Melbourne’s JazzPianists 1993

ON the weekend of the 7th and 8thof August, 1993, fourteen of Mel-bourne’s top jazz pianists got

together for a marathon recording ses-sion organised as a fund-raising eventby the Victorian Jazz Musicians’ BenefitFund. (The VJMBF is a charitable or-ganisation dedicated to providing assis-tance to Victorian jazz musicians incases of financial hardship due to illhealth or other unusual circumstances.)

The pianists played tunes of theirown choice on a fully restored Steckconcert grand piano (circa 1924) in thestudio of the School of Music, Box HillCollege of TAFE. The sessions wererecorded by the staff of ChampionSound Services who donated their ser-vices free of charge as did the pianists.

Without going into individual bio-graphic information, the calibre of thesemusicians may be gleaned by referringto just a few of their achievements. Mosthave played with Australia’s top jazzbands such as with Graeme and RogerBell, Frank Traynor, Tony Newstead,Len and Bob Barnard, Kenn Jones,Bruce Clarke, Tom Pickering, and manymore. Some have accompanied visitingcelebrities like Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jack-son, Bobby Shaw and others.

Sadly, six of the pianists who per-formed at that event in 1993 are nolonger with us—Dave Eggleton d. 2005,Merle Phillips d. 2007, Frank Milne d.2007, Frank Gow d. 2009, Ben Johnstond. 2011 and Rex Green d. 2012.

At the time, a double Compact AudioCassette was released of selected tunesfrom the Box Hill TAFE recordings. Itcontained 28 tracks. Even though manymore numbers were recorded, the lim-ited available playing time of the cas-settes made release of the completesession financially impractical.

Now, the Victorian Jazz Archive, in

conjunction with the Victorian Jazz Mu-sicians’ Benefit Fund, has released adouble CD of the event. This new issue,for the first time on CD, contains almostthe complete recorded session. It has atotal of 40 tracks on two CDs and in-cludes many alternate takes and itemsthat were not previously issued.

The complete list of performers fea-ture: Graham Coyle, John Adams, FrankMilne, Merle Phillips, Bob Sedergreen,Doug Rawson, Rex Green, Dave Eggle-ton, Stan Spragg, Ben Johnston,Stephen Grant, Brian Cochrane, andMargie Lou Dyer. As an extra value-for-money bonus we have included twonewly recorded numbers by Kim Harris.These were recorded in October, 2011on a Yamaha upright piano at the Victo-rian Jazz Archive. The sound quality ofall tracks is exemplary.

The Archive intends this CD set toserve as a permanent tribute to the tal-ent and various playing styles of a se-lection of Melbourne’s professional jazzpianists of the period.

John Tucker’s YachtClub Band 1976

In 1976 a Swaggie twelve-inch LP re-cord was released which featured clari-nettist John Tucker and his well-known(Brighton) Yacht Club Jazz Band.Nevill Sherburn had arranged the stereorecording sessions at the South Yarrastudios of Media Sound.

There were twelve tracks on theoriginal record release although an extrafour numbers were recorded at the time.Now, for the first time on CD, the com-plete recording session has been re-leased thanks to the kind permission ofNevill Sherburn who has given us ac-cess to the original master tapes. John

Tucker himself has assisted in the re-lease of this important landmark re-cording.

The original LP sleeve notes werewritten by legendary jazz performer TomPickering. Here is an excerpt from whatTom had to say:

I have long considered John Tuckerone of Melbourne’s most fluent and sen-sitive clarinettists… his harmonic ear isalways apparent and his repertoire isboth extensive and unusual. GeoffKitchen’s resurrected (and still brilliant)clarinet pops up here and there on thisrecord. He just happened to be workingin the studio at the time and on the two-clarinet tracks the mood is empathyrather than competition, which is as itshould be. Probably the best knownmusician participating is trumpeter TonyNewstead… It is Tony who flavours thisrecording most strongly … his melodyline never lacks interest and the cohe-sive ensembles here are largely due tohis direct, unfussy lead.

Geoff Bland is another veteranwhose playing here will remind enthusi-asts that he is one of the best pianistswe have produced. On two tracks, Geoffis relieved by another fine thoughtfulpianist—Dave Eggleton, originally fromAdelaide. Trombonist Steve Waddell’sreputation has grown steadily and this isundoubtedly due to his uncompromisingapproach to his music. Other contribu-tors to the rhythm: the ubiquitous“Zeke” (of the extra ear) on brass bass;Tony Orr on banjo; and percussionshared by Barry Markby and AllanBrowne. As a section, it swings anddoes not obtrude, thus performing itsfunction to perfection.

Both of the above CDs are availablefrom the Archive shop or on-line atthe VJA web-site.

Two New CD Releases on the Vjazz Label

By Ken Simpson-Bull

L IFElong personal friend and Ar-chive member, Bruce Thomasdonated the Ludwig Banjo, which

belonged to his youngest brother Geof-frey, to the VJA in March 2011. Geoffwas a fine young musician who learnthis skills from Don Standing, one of Mel-bourne’s most under-rated banjo play-ers.

At the age of eighteen, Geoff played hisway to Greece aboard the Chandris LineM.V. Patris playing the ”Ludwig” with asmall combo from Melbourne, then trav-elled to London where he joined hisbrother Bruce, me and a couple of oth-ers in mid 1961. Geoff played and re-corded with the John Hawes Jazz Bandand can be heard on the Crest E.P. No.CRT7 E.P. 014, recorded in 1964.

Tragically Geoffrey drowned in PortPhillip Bay some years later while fish-ing alone from his boat off Frankston,and his body was never recovered.

The instrument was in pretty poorshape when it arrived, with a brokenneck and a missing bridge. The casewas a mess. Bruce asked me to fixit and while I said, “Yes”, and de-spite the personal connection, myheart wasn’t in it. I’m a maker not afixer.

To the rescue came Jim Mills,long time Melbourne banjo player,good bloke and very clever fellow.Jim is a regular volunteer player forour group visits at the Archive andwas heard to say how much heenjoys restoring both instrumentsand their cases. I’m out of gaol!!!

Jim took to the Ludwig with greatenthusiasm, making regular reportson his progress to us. From theserial number he was able to estab-lish the time of manufacture as be-tween 1927 and 1930.

The work involved straightening,aligning and re-attaching the neckto the body, adjusting the body and

making and fixing a new bridge. Theinstrument has been sympatheticallycleaned with a few lightly burnishedhighlights, without altering the patina ororiginal decoration in any way. Thecase was approached with the samecare and attention to detail without tryingto make it look new. Cracks were filled,lid and body realigned. The handle,straps, hinges and catches werestrengthened or repaired.

To cap off thirty hours of his labour,Jim has included a handbook in originalcondition and an original tortoise shellplectrum (no longer available) to theproject. A wonderful effort.

Thank you Jim.

VJAZZ 55 Page 13

RESTORATION OF A LUDWIG BANJOBy Jeff Blades

Geoffrey Thomas Jim Mills (bj) Ernie Carson (cnt)

VJAZZ 55 Page 14

Recently I was asked by a volun-teer at the Archive, what I consid-ered the three greatest jazz re-

cordings. My first thought was, it wassuch a personal choice it was not worththe considerable use of brain power tocome to a conclusion.

Pondering on the question later, I de-cided to have a crack at deciding on myown three greatest recordings. Firstly, Iwant to point out that my choices arepurely personal, and most readers willdisagree with my choices. What I amlooking for is passion, technical exper-tise and sheer performances of a differ-ent level to the norm.

Number One on top of the list is theLouis Armstrong Hot Five OKek re-cording of West End Blues from June28th 1928. Jazz critic and writer Sally-Ann Worsfold commented “superlativeslavished upon this extraordinary testi-mony to Louis Armstrong’s technicalresources, music artistry and communi-cative powers have long been ex-hausted over the past. Yet no descrip-tion really could capture the aura, fromthe resplendent fanfare introduction,

which when transcribed has flummoxedeven the most technically accomplished,to Zutty’s final cymbal tap.” I think thatsays it all.

The second recording would have to beMile Davis Flamenco Sketches fromthe “Kind of Blue” album for Columbiaon the 22nd April 1959. Jimmy Cobb thedrummer on the session commentedthat the album “must have been made inheaven”. The performances from Davis,John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, BillEvans based on the five modal scaleswith an insistent repeated musical figure,has an ethereal aura to all the solos.

For readers who may be interested, Iwould suggest reading Ashley Kahn’s“Kind Of Blue – The Making Of TheMiles Davis Masterpiece”, where helistens to the original tapes at Columbia.It is a fascinating read.

Now we get to the real problem area ofnaming my third recording. I listened tomany of my favourite discs, to determinewho it would be.

There are so many to choose from in-cluding Bechet’s Blues In Thirds; a

host of Johnny Hodges tracks; TheDuke; the wonderful Bud Freeman ses-sion that produced Jack Hits The Roadand 47th and State with Teagarden andpianist Dave Bowman superlative; Jelly;Coleman Hawkins; Stan Getz; many BillEvans piano discs. I could go on andon, but finally decided on a recordingfrom left field.

The death of Bill Evans in 1980, was feltdeeply by many musicians, and therehave been some wonderful musical trib-utes, but none to match the Enja re-cording made in January 1981 by PhilWoods, alto; Tommy Flanagan piano;and Red Mitchell string bass; GoodbyeMr Evans written by Phil Woods, fromthe album, “Three For All”.

The best way to describe the musicwould be likened to a requiem, beauti-fully played as each soloist pays tributeto Bill Evans.

Well there are my three recordings.What are yours?

THREE OF THE BEST

By John Kennedy

We Welcome these New Members:Pauline Baxter, Central Coast Jazz League, Yang Chen, Maureen & Graham Couch, Marcus Finno-Larson, Elaine & PeterHaby, Joshua Juandy, Erin & John Lidgerwood, Andre Lew Lim, Jennifer McCluskey, John Miles, Geoffrey E. Moore, Des &Anita Morris, Aaron Robertson, Liam Robertson, Ashley Thomas, Lizzie Watkins.

We would like to thank the following for theirgenerous donations:

Geoff Asher, Rowland Ball, Paul Baxter, Maggie Beare, Loraine Bennett, BlueTone Jazz Band, Ron Bowman, Graeme Bull,Wreford Cleeve, Pauline Collins-Jennings, Hilary Dosser, Angela Glover, Professor William Hare, Bill Hawtin, Brian WilliamJames, Frank Killeen, Paul Lock, John May, Eileen McIntyre, Deslys Milliken, Malcolm Mitchell, Wal & Jill Mobilia, WilliamMuddyman, Geoffrey H.Norris, Mary Oxenford, Lyn Rogers, Rye Probus Club, Bob Sedergreen, George Simons, John Tucker,Frank Van Straten (OAM), Vinyl Solutions, Tom Woods.

VJA’s AGM Sunday 11.30 am November 11th

MELBOURNE’S Trocaderodance hall was located justover Princes Bridge from Flin-

ders Street station, where the Art Centrenow stands. As a youth—in my dancingdays—I went there twice. But I didn’t likeit. I thought the crowd was too old. Butthen I was just seventeen and the “oldcrowd” would have been in their earlytwenties. Nevertheless, at least I got tosee and hear the great Frank Coughlan.

Jazz historian and discographer JackMitchell has written a masterly shortbook on the professional life of this mostimportant figure in Australia’s jazz his-tory. He has named it “Coggy”.

Francis James Coughlan was born inEmmaville, N.S.W. in 1904. He had fourbrothers and, with their father, all be-came members of the local brass band.Frank particularly liked the trombone,and at the Queensland State BandChampionship in 1922 he won the nov-ice trombone solo section. He moved toSydney soon after and began a series ofgigs with a jazz band at the ConcordDance Palais.

But he was really introduced to jazzby listening to the records owned by his

friend Eric Barbier. Frank’s particularidol was trombonist Miff Mole. Little didhe know that within a few years (in1929) he would be playing with, andreplacing, Miff Mole’s famous contempo-rary Adrian Rollini (who played basssax) in the Fred Elizalde band in Lon-don.

Jack Mitchell’s book is full of suchinteresting and sometimes surprisingfacts—like, do you know what theSwyngphonic Concerts were? The bookis peppered with Coggy’s discography.Unfortunately Frank Coughlan’s re-corded output is not as extensive asmight be desired, especially his purejazz performances, but there is enoughto appreciate for those who never got tohear him in person. The book also con-tains many rare and interesting photo-graphs.

Frank Coughlan had an enormousvariety of engagements and the bookappears to cover them all by way ofmeticulous research. Probably the bestknown and longest of these engage-ments was with the Sydney Trocadero.(Frank had left the Melbourne Tro-cadero, where he spent a shorter timethan at the Sydney venue, in 1954.)Perhaps because of the commercialnature of these stints, he became recog-nised by many Australians as a danceband leader. But as Jack Mitchell statesin the forward to his book, “Coggy wasAustralia’s first major jazz musician”.[Emphasis mine]

The February, 1949 issue of Tempostated, “Coughlan, in our opinion is notonly the greatest jazz trombonist thiscountry has produced, but could alsotake his place in the first ten on thatinstrument in the world.”

Frank Coughlan was still under con-tract with the Sydney Trocadero when itclosed down in December, 1970. Hedied on 7th April, 1979.

The Victorian Jazz Archive has acopy of “Coggy” which may be ac-cessed by members for research. Butthe book (a must for those interestedin Australian jazz history) may bepurchased from Jack Mitchell at 10Carbine Street, Lithgow, NSW, 2790,for $21.80 which includes postage.

Review

VJAZZ 55 Page 15

“COGGY”

By Jack Mitchell

Reviewed by Ken Simpson-Bull

VJAZZ 55 Page 16

The Victorian Jazz Archive acknowledges the past support of the following organisations: The State of Victoria through the Department ofPremier and Cabinet and Arts Victoria, Parks Victoria, The Ian Potter Foundation, The Myer Foundation, The Pratt Foundation,

The Trust Company of Australia, The Helen McPherson Smith Trust, Diana Allen of Jazz Australia, The Australian Jazz Convention Trustees,The Estates of the late Don Boardman, Ron Halstead, David Ward and Ward McKenzie Pty Ltd. and Sam Meerkin. The Archive gratefully

acknowledges the financial support given to the VJA Capital Fund by Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, A.C., D.B.E.

KEYBOARD CORNERare proud to be sponsors ofThe Victorian Jazz Archive

We carry a huge range of all instruments,and offer special pricing to

Victorian Jazz Archive membersContact Craig Johnston

KEYBOARD CORNER137 Boronia Road, Boronia 3155

9761 0003

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