[Dixielandjazz] Harry Harman

[Marek Boym]

Always sorry to hear of another musician's passing.  I've tried to find
anything with Harry Harman in my collection, but so far to no avail.  I
have, however, found a Graeme Bell All Stars CD featuring listmate Jack
Wiard.
But the obit raises a question:
Were the early '50's indeed dominated by swing and singers in Australia?
In the UK, the trad revival was already riding high (but had not yet
reached the later excesses), and big bands were not really economically
feasible in the US, although some, like Harry James' and Less Brown's were
still going strong.  I know, there were others - I listened through three
or four volumes of "Tony Cabot - Swinging on Campus," only to find out that
it had nothing to do with the swinging bands of the '30's and '40's!
Cheers

On Sat, 5 Jan 2019 at 19:33, Joe Bebco <joe.syncopatedtimes at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Harry Harman, Australian Gentleman of Jazz, Dies at 91
>
> The Syncopated Times
>
> https://syncopatedtimes.com/harry-harman-australian-gentleman-of-jazz-dies-at-91/
>
>
> Harry Harman, an Australian traditional jazz devotee, died January 2nd
> at age 91. He was recently active with his band Harry Harman’s
> Gentlemen of Jazz, The Dixie Stompers, The New Wolverine Jazz
> Orchestra, in small groups, and as the host of  The Rhythm Club, a
> Wednesday afternoon jazz radio program in Gosford, NSW. His
> contributions to traditional jazz in Australia began over 70 years
> ago.
>
> In 1948 he formed the Paramount Jazz Band after attending a jazz
> convention in Melbourne. At the time he was playing guitar but
> switched to tuba to fill a need. In 1953 the band founded the Sydney
> Jazz Club, just to have a place to play regularly for a small group of
> fans. At its peak, the club’s events would draw as many as 1200 people
> for traditional jazz at a time when swing and vocalists dominated
> Australian nightclubs. In the mid-50s the club organized a jazz school
> so that they could have young alternates available when musicians had
> family or work obligations. The club still hosts monthly events.
>
> In the late 50s, he switched from tuba to double bass to play with the
> Port Jackson Jazz Band. In 1962 he joined the Graeme Bell’s All-Stars
> and began his only five years as a full-time professional musician.
> For one of those years, again to fill a need, he learned and played
> the banjo before returning to tuba and bass for most of his career.
>
> He was a founding member of the New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra in 1984,
> and after retiring from his career as an electrical wholesaler,
> devoted much of his time to the band. They played the Edinburgh Jazz
> Festival in 1993 and toured the United States nine times, most
> recently in 2007. Many American musicians and fans remember him from
> Bix Fest and other events.
>
> Back home he has hosted jazz programs on community radio for almost 25
> years. He was awarded The Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in
> 2010 for service to Jazz.
>
>
> Joe Bebco
> Associate Editor
> SyncopatedTimes.com (315) 507-5490
> A monthly newspaper covering Hot Jazz, Ragtime, and Swing.
>
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