[Dixielandjazz] Vale Adrian Ford

Bill Haesler bhaesler at bigpond.net.au
Sat Jul 8 23:17:24 EDT 2017


Dear Listmates,
Did this one go through yesterday?
Cheers,
Bill.

Dear friends,
 It is with great sadness I advise that our dear jazzmate, Adrian Ford, died at The Parkview Nursing Home, Five Dock NSW on Wednesday, 5th July 2017 following his long illness. The jovial Adrian (who played piano, trombone, clarinet, cornet and was a talented composer and arranger) was born in Sydney on 26 April 1940. He studied piano for two years with a local piano school from the age of nine, came to jazz in 1957 listening to the Paramount Jazz Band at the Sydney Jazz Club, was a graduate of its 1960s musicians’ workshop and took up trombone and clarinet.
 He joined the Jazz Pirates in 1962, worked with Geoff Bull’s Olympia Jazz Band during 1965-69, the Big Apple Union blues band, the York Gospel Singers in 1966 and toured Europe, Canada and the US with the Melbourne-based Yarra Yarra Jazz Band from 1970 to 1971. On his return to Sydney Adrian joined Chris Williams' Jazz Band (later to become the Unity Jazz Band) and was co-founder of the Bill Haesler Washboard Band in November 1971. He toured Australia with the Yarras and New Orleans trumpet player Alvin Alcorn in April 1973 and, over the years, freelanced everywhere on piano, trombone and clarinet. 
 An annual Australian Jazz Convention regular, Adrian had a composer’s flair and won its Original Competition in 1974 and 1975 and again in 1982, 2008 and 2010. He formed the Charleston Chasers in 1976, his Big Band in 1976 and, among others, worked with Nick Boston’s New Orleans Jazz Band (1982), the Purple Grape Quartet (1988), Jiri Kripac’s Hot Buns (1992-93), Bill Dudley’s New Orleanians and Squeak and Squawk. He was a familiar face at jazz concerts, jazz festivals and local and interstate jazz clubs, recorded as a soloist, with the bands he worked with and others and was a director of the Professional Musicians' Club from 1976 until 2015.
 Adrian became ill following a mild stroke in November 2013 and reluctantly forced into musical retirement. He will be cremated privately. A memorial wake has been postponed to mid-August 2017, as one of his brothers and family are currently overseas. 
Kind regards,
Bill.


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