Absolutely fascinated by the fact that Jazz Library is going to feature Australian jazz next week. I suppose my knowledge is limited to the Graham Bell "Trad" jazz and then the Bob Barnard recording of "The Hobbit Suite" that Humph used to play continually. Later there have been the likes of James Morrison who had his fifteen minutes of fame in between. Even other musicians from down under , like Mike Nock, often turn out to originate from New Zealand.
I hope that this programme gives an opportunity to hear the really rare recordings of Californian resident bandleader Sonny Clay who took jazz to Australia for the first time in the 1920's. He is a musician I have read about but cannot ever recall hearing anything by him.
Oddly enough , the workshop I attend every summer in France always has one course led by an Australian called Rory Thomas who is a trumpeter with a big reputation in jazz education in Australia. He usually brings over a college band with him called Zooo who are composed of teenagers who play a wide range of big band music but have taken to the repertoire of the Swing Era with relish. Each time I have heard them, they get better and better and you do get the impression that there is a growing appreciation and understanding of contemporary jazz in this country. More and more musicians are touring there and I know that Wayne Horowitz and his wife Robin Holcomb were promoting big bands who followed in the wake of their adventurous approach to jazz. I think this was back in the mid 90's when Australian jazz was still starting to find it's feet. I believe that there are quite a few ex-pats from Australia who work as jazz musicians in New York - something that would have been unlikely 20 years ago.
This is a wholly over-looked element of jazz and I will be fascinated to hear what kind of music is being produced in this country. Hopefully we will have wrapped up the Second Test by then, too!
I hope that this programme gives an opportunity to hear the really rare recordings of Californian resident bandleader Sonny Clay who took jazz to Australia for the first time in the 1920's. He is a musician I have read about but cannot ever recall hearing anything by him.
Oddly enough , the workshop I attend every summer in France always has one course led by an Australian called Rory Thomas who is a trumpeter with a big reputation in jazz education in Australia. He usually brings over a college band with him called Zooo who are composed of teenagers who play a wide range of big band music but have taken to the repertoire of the Swing Era with relish. Each time I have heard them, they get better and better and you do get the impression that there is a growing appreciation and understanding of contemporary jazz in this country. More and more musicians are touring there and I know that Wayne Horowitz and his wife Robin Holcomb were promoting big bands who followed in the wake of their adventurous approach to jazz. I think this was back in the mid 90's when Australian jazz was still starting to find it's feet. I believe that there are quite a few ex-pats from Australia who work as jazz musicians in New York - something that would have been unlikely 20 years ago.
This is a wholly over-looked element of jazz and I will be fascinated to hear what kind of music is being produced in this country. Hopefully we will have wrapped up the Second Test by then, too!
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