[Dixielandjazz] Harry Harman

[Marek Boym]

Hi Joe,
I have a feeling that Bill will resolve the problem.
Cheers

On Sat, 5 Jan 2019 at 20:41, Joe Bebco <joe.syncopatedtimes at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Re: Marek Boym: Harry Harman
>
> I had the same question. I took the reference from a local newspaper
> profile of Harman. It was referring to music in cabarets and dance
> halls rather than radio, and I can see swing still dominating in those
> settings. Obviously it was the UK Trad revival that brought the Sydney
> Jazz Club up to large attendance numbers but in 1953 I can see
> Australia as being slightly behind the curve, and that was before rock
> and other forms had taken off anywhere. There must have already been
> some trad scene going for him to have been recruited to form a band in
> 1948. But I would say that even in Las Vegas or Atlantic City in 1953,
> and even much later, finding a dance hall or restaurant featuring
> swing music and vocalists would be the expectation, even if the bands
> were not as "big" by then. But I'm only 39 so my view of popular
> history comes second hand.
>
> There are videos from the last 20 years on the Sydney Jazz Club
> website, and others on Youtube but I have no idea about discography. I
> would expect that he recorded but it wasn't mentioned in anything I
> read while getting the story together.
>
> I was very happy to get a post through on DJML. I finally tried it
> text only, I think you were the one who told me to do that.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Joe Bebco
> Associate Editor
> SyncopatedTimes.com (315) 507-5490
> A monthly newspaper covering Hot Jazz, Ragtime, and Swing.
>
> On Sat, Jan 5, 2019 at 1:02 PM Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > 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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