[Dixielandjazz] Vale Dave Dallwitz

[Bill Gunter]

Hello Listmates,

Sorry to read Bill Haesler's obit of jazz musician and composer Dave 
Dallwitz. According to the birthday Bill provided Dave had to be around 89 
years old.

I never met Dave but we certainly know of him here in the Cell Block 7 Jazz 
Band. One of our favorite tunes in our repertoire is Cinderella Girl and we 
play it often.

He's the kind of jazz musician I can really admire . . . lived to a ripe old 
age, made wonderful music and left a legacy of tunes played around the world 
in OKOM circles!

RIP Dave!

Bill Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com






>From: "Bill Haesler" <bhaesler at nsw.bigpond.net.au>
>To: Australian-dance-bands at egroups.com, dixieland jazz mail list 
><dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>CC: Jack Mitchell <fjmitch at lisp.com.au>, Jack Litchfield 
><2jlitchfield at rogers.com>, Nevill Sherburn <swaggie at ihug.com.au>, Bill 
>Armstrong <bilarm at bigpond.com>
>Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Vale Dave Dallwitz
>Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 11:02:44 +1100
>
>Dear friends,
>The sad news is that pioneer jazzman (famed artist, bandleader, tbn, pno,
>composer, arranger) died suddenly at home (Adelaide SA)on Monday night 24 
>March
>2003,  of a heart attack, while watching the Academy Awards.
>Out thoughts are with his long-time friend/wife, Joan Dallwitz and their 
>family.
>Dave (who was born on 25 Oct 1914) was as active as ever and last week was
>busily organising his famed big band for the Australian Jazz Convention in
>Forbes (Dec 2003), and an Anglicare fund-raising event.
>My dear friend, Dave, always had a 100 things to do.
>And managed to do them.
>He will be known to the worldwide 'jazz family' for his countless jazz
>compositions, including the celebrated "Cinderella Girl'.
>Kind regards,
>Bill.
>
>Herewith an extract from the notes I wrote for the CD 'The Famous Wilco
>Sessions' (still available).
>They are specific to the Southern Jazz Group and in no way cover the many
>activities of this extraordinary man.
>
>The Southern Jazz Group.
>In May 1950 the Southern Jazz Group travelled by train, via Melbourne, from
>Adelaide to Sydney, and back, for their last series of engagements. They 
>had
>announced their retirement and Dave Dallwitz, anxious  to preserve the 
>band¹s
>sound, had organised Sydney recording dates with WILCO and Parlophone.
>  This important Adelaide jazz band came out of a 1945 rehearsal group and 
>became
>a working unit later that year using some members of Malcolm Bills¹ band to 
>form
>the Southern Jazz Group. For about six months both bands existed side by 
>side
>until Bills¹ dissolved his group to continue university studies.
>  In 1946 Dave Dallwitz became leader of the Southern Jazz Group which by 
>then
>had adopted a 1920s classic jazz style. In December 1946 they attended the 
>1st
>Australian Jazz Convention in Melbourne, playing to a small, but 
>enthusiastic,
>audience of dedicated jazz musicians and delegates. Their original approach 
>to
>traditional jazz developed and by 1948 they were one of Australia¹s leading 
>jazz
>bands.
>  They toured regularly interstate for concerts and the Jazz Convention and
>recorded regularly between 1947 and 1949 for Bill Holyoak¹s Memphis label. 
>It
>was Holyoak who arranged the recording date at Adelaide¹s ABC studios, from
>which the first WILCO release (0-100) ³Smokey Mokes² - ³Red Hot Henry 
>Brown²
>came. An acetate of the two titles was sent to Ron Wills while he was 
>working at
>J Stanley Johnson¹s music store. With this initial disc WILCO was formed. 
>It was
>a big seller nationally and was re-pressed several times.
>   The final May-June 1950 tour by the Southern Jazz Group (augmented with 
>Ade
>Monsbourgh) was a momentous affair. The week in Sydney was hectic. They 
>recorded
>seven titles for WILCO on Monday, 29 May, at the ARC studios then took part 
>in a
>Celebrity Jazz Parade at Sydney Town Hall with local modern bands. Two days
>later, as Dusty Rhodes and His Jackeroos. they recorded four Œcountry¹ 
>sides for
>the Rodeo label. On Thursday, 1 June, the band put down six original tunes 
>for
>Parlophone and that night appeared, with the Jack Brockensha Quartet and 
>Edwin
>Duff, at Bill McColl¹s Battle For Jazz concert at the Assembly Hall. In 
>addition
>to private parties, they also played a dance at Paddington Town Hall, 
>probably
>on Friday, but we lack details.
>  On their return through Melbourne the front-line members of the Southern 
>Jazz
>Group joined Graeme Bell¹s big band on a record date for Swaggie.  On 
>Sunday
>they were the guest band at the Maison DeLuxe Jazz Club and were given a
>tremendous final ovation. Thus ended the career of a great pioneer 
>Australian
>jazz band. For over four years the Southern Jazz group had been Adelaide¹s
>premier jazz band, popular with local and regional audiences and 
>instrumental in
>converting many younger Adelaide musicians to jazz.
>  Dave Dallwitz formed a new Southern Jazz Group for local engagements and 
>ABC
>broadcasts (highlighting original Australian jazz compositions), but they
>disbanded in mid 1951 and Dave left the jazz scene until 1972.
>
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