[Dixielandjazz] Vale Dave Rankin

[Bill Haesler]

Dear Friends,
More sad news. 
Following a long emphysema-related illness trombonist/saxophone and bass player David [Dave, Davey] Rankin died peacefully at 9 am Sunday 6th October 2013 in a Lismore NSW nursing home. 
My longtime friend, born in Melbourne in May 1936, was one of THE characters of Australian jazz. 
Dave came onto the Melbourne jazz scene in the early 1950s where he played with Spike Edwards' Rhythm Ramblers, the Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band and Sny Chambers' Bayside Jazz Band. He moved to Adelaide in the mid 1960s, played with Dick Frankel's jazz group, the Abraham Lott Blues Band and others and returned to Melbourne in the mid 1970s and formed his popular Rankin Band; later to become the Rankin File then the Rank 'n' Banned. 
He moved to Sydney in about 1983, played with several groups until pub jazz suffered a downturn, then lived and played in Grafton for a while before settling in Lismore NSW where he formed a band, entertained the locals and obtained a music diploma from Southern Cross University. Full of fun, humour, stunts and gags, Dave's hilarious antics would fill a book.