[Dixielandjazz] Our friend, Bill Haesler

[Nancy Giffin]

Dear List mates,
Someone recently posed the question: Who is Bill Haesler?
Here is an answer. No intro can do it justice, so here goes (below).
I add this footnote: Bill is a beloved friend to MANY on DJML.
Our insistence that he share this was greater than his resistance!
Love and hugs,
Nancy
P.S. I will send an MS Word version (with all the proper italics) to
Jerry Gordon.

BILL HAESLER
  Bill Haesler (born: Melbourne, 20th April 1931) is a well known Australian
jazz authority, avid jazz record collector, discographer, broadcaster,
writer and washboard player specialising in vintage and classic jazz. He
became interested in jazz via radio in 1945, while still at school, and
bought his first jazz records in 1946. A fan of the Graeme Bell band, he
followed them around their various dance jobs in the Melbourne area at that
time. This interest developed into a passion in 1947 and at the 3rd
Australian Jazz Convention in 1948 he met fellow enthusiasts. He studied
trombone with the local brass band, joined the newly formed Southern Jazz
Society and, with the Bells away in Europe, came under the influence of
Frank Johnson¹s Fabulous Dixielanders and Len Barnard¹s Jazz Band.
  A regular contributor to local and overseas publications, Bill was the
last editor of Australian Jazz Quarterly (1954-57), co-founder of the
discographal magazine Matrix (1954-57) and edited the Sydney Jazz Club
Quarterly Rag (1976-77). He is an LP and CD note writer for Swaggie, Jazz +
Jazz, EMI, ABC Records, Castle Communications, Stomp Off, GHB and also, over
the years, for W&G, Festival, Jazznote, Heritage, Jazz Club and Picture. He
has lectured regularly for the WEA jazz studies course, devised and
presented special jazz lectures for the Sydney Jazz Club and was jazz music
consultant for the McIlroy Bros film Between The Wars (1974) starring Corrin
Redgrave. 
  Bill abandoned thoughts of becoming a trombone player, took up washboard
and played with several bands in Melbourne prior to moving to Sydney with
his young family in mid 1966. He a led a popular vintage style washboard
band in Sydney from 1971 to 1985 which played many long-term regular
engagements. It founded the jazz policy at the Soup Plus restaurant in 1974
and was featured in the 50 min. film Sydney Jazz  (1976) made by Finish-born
artist and filmmaker, Karl Mattas. Bill is also co-founder of the Loch Ness
Monsters, a long-time member of the Robber¹s Dogs (1968- ) and was with the
Strohkorb Syncopators (1984-88). He toured Germany with the Hot Gossip jazz
band in mid 1995. Bill has recorded with his own band (1973 & 1980), Jimmy
Smart¹s Ragtime Four (1965), Mick Fowler & The Fowlhouse Five (1973), the
Hot Gossip jazz band (1995), the Robbers Dogs Bazz Band (1999 and 2002) and
plays with other local jazz bands, on an irregular basis, including Jazz
Convention, jazz festival and jazz club appearances. Following  the death of
its founder in 2000 Bill became leader the Robbers Dogs Jazz Band. In mid
2002 Bill became a Life (40 year) member of the Musicians Union.
  From March 1982 to March 2003 Bill presented a regular jazz program - The
Classic Jazz Era - on radio 2MBS FM. Fortnightly for many years, then
weekly. He currently presents Home Cooking on 2MBS, a monthly all-Australian
jazz program and contributes to other 2MBS jazz programs and specials as
required. 
  A retired (commercial-industrial-institutional) architect with his own
long-time partnership, Bill is  very active on the Australian jazz scene. He
has been President of the Melbourne and Sydney Jazz Clubs, has held various
executive positions on the committees of the annual Australian Jazz
Convention since 1952, is a past Trustee of the Australian Jazz Convention
(1961-66 & 1979-88) and is a current Trustee (1997-  ) and founder member of
the Steering Committee of the Australian Jazz Convention (1987- ). He was
also founder President/chairman of the NSW Jazz Archive (1996-2000) and
delegate to the Australian Jazz Archive National Council during this period.
  Since 1962, Bill Haesler has produced and assisted with the production of
numerous Australian jazz recordings and in 1991, issued his first LP,
featuring Australian jazz pianist Graham Coyle, on the Bill Haesler
Collection label. In 1996, in conjunction with the late broadcaster George
Howell, Bill produced a double CD reissue of the famous PIX 1961-62
Australian jazz recordings. This was followed in 1999 by a companion CD
reissue, The Famous WILCO Sessions featuring Australian jazz from 1947-1950.
He has also produced two Robbers Dogs Jazz Band CDs and is co-producer of
the Memphis project (a 2 CD set of recordings made for the Memphis label by
the Adelaide-based Southern Jazz Group and friends) to be released by
ScreenSound Australia in 2004.