[Dixielandjazz] Vale Ron Falson

[Bill Haesler]

Dear friends it is with great sadness that I have to advise that my 
mate Ron Falson died this morning from a massive heart attack.
He collapsed on stage, while sitting-in with Bob Henderson's jazz band, 
yesterday (Saturday) afternoon at Tailor's On Central Hotel.
Ron Falson was born in Sydney NSW on 2 January 1928 and was a well know 
trumpet player, arranger, composer and a fine professional 
photographer, famous locally for his great pictures of local and 
visiting jazz artists and celebrities.
He taught himself to play piano as a young teenager, studied trumpet 
and worked and arranged with Les Welch playing Red Cross shows for 
servicemen. He worked briefly with the Port Jackson Jazz Band, then 
(1947) discovered the more modern jazz movement and formed the 
Harbourside Six, and joined Ralph Mallen’s big band.
He was a regular on Sydney’s nightclub and jazz concert scene while 
working at the Wentworth ballroom (1948-49), then Romano’s, Prince’s, 
the Celebrity Club and the Roosevelt (1949-51). He was with Warren 
Gibson’s Metronome Dance Circuit then the Celebrity Club (1953-55) and 
at André's with Don Burrows.
He then worked with Bob Gibson's orchestra and in the backing and 
support bands for major visiting artists including Buddy Rich, Stan 
Kenton, Lionel Hampton and Frank Sinatra.
 From then he on concentrated on radio and television studio work, 
joined the licensed club circuit in the mid 1980s and went into 
semi-retirement in the 90s. He returned to the Sydney jazz scene with a 
bang in 2006 when he formed, arranged performed  and recorded with the 
Ozcats, a group which took its inspiration from Bob Crosby's celebrated 
Bob Cats.
[My thanks to Bruce Johnson's Oxford Companion to Australian Jazz for 
much of the above information.]
Ron had a wonderful sense of humour and will be missed.
Kind regards,
Bill.