WEDNESDAY 23 May is the date for the next Victorian Jazz Club daytime jazz concert to suit those fans who prefer to hear their jazz while the sun is still up.
Fosters Foaming Five is the band which will provide the music at the Clayton RSL, 163 Carinish Road, Clayton from 11am to 2pm. (Doors open at 10.30).
The FFF are all well-known, well-seasoned and well-appreciated musicians about town.
Doug Rawson on piano, Alan Stott on sousaphone, Bob Pattie on trumpet, Tony Orr on banjo and Mike Edwards on reeds.
Fosters Foaming Five (photo: Ron Jobe)
Entry is $8 a head which includes free tea or coffee during breaks. Lisa at the Bistro provides an excellent array of light refreshments, or you can get stuck into a full meal from the menu board.
Although there are no seat allocations for this gig, booking is recommended. Phone either 9583 5247 or 9553 3850.
THERE will be no funeral service for Maurie Fabrikant who died on 16 May. Instead there will be a memorial ceremony to celebrate Maurie’s life on Wednesday 30 May at the Clayton RSL, 163 Carinish Road, Clayton from 2pm to 4pm.
Here are a few images of Maurie in his jazz persona. Note the ever-present cards in the top pocket for writing down the tunes!
Carrying the banner at Halls Gap
Cutting the cake at his 70th birthday party with the VJC
With Doreen and Maurie's favourite Secretary, Marg Hendrie
With former President Marge Burke
with Graeme Huntington at the 2009 Jazz Convention
Taking time out between gigs
The Christmas Tie
*And for those who don’t speak Strine (Australian), “bonzer” means remarkable, wonderful, good.
Maurie with some of the musos who played for him on 13 May 2012
GRAHAM and Lenny Eames wrote the following report for the South Australian Jazz Club before getting the news that Maurie had left us:
MOTOR NEURONE FUNDRAISER AT THE VICTORIAN JAZZ CLUB
We attended the VJC’s Motor Neurone fundraiser to honour Maurie Fabrikant on Sunday May 13th. It was a very humbling experience and fantastic to see how popular Maurie is. The event ran from 11am till we got kicked out at 5pm, and right from 11am onwards the room was full with musicians, jazz friends and family of Maurie’s. Maurie and Doreen were there from the start till finish. The event started with the Moonee Valley Jazz Band playing the first set and after that, bands were made up from musicians who were there, and with only a few breaks for raffles and announcements, there was nonstop music.
It’s hard to mention highlights, as the whole day was one great highlight, but a few occasions stand out: Maurie’s brother, Harold Fabrikant, playing a medley of Jelly Roll Morton tunes for about 20 minutes; Alan Stott singing his updated version of his 2nd place getting original tune “Maurie Fabrikant” to gales of laughter from the room; and then about 15 musicians in the Maurie’s Jolly Rollers yellow shirts, as many as possible of the musos who at one stage or another were “Jolly Rollers” decided to wear their distinctive shirts.
Musicians came from as far away as SA, Newcastle, ACT, Geelong, Ballarat, Colac, Swan Hill, Bendigo and of course Melbourne.
At last count we believe the total tally for the Motor Neurone Disease Association stands at over $10 000 raised.
Maurie at the 2009 Convention, Melbourne (Photo: Ron Jobe)
MAURIE Fabrikant, beloved President of the Victorian Jazz Club and friend of a host of musicians and jazz fans across Australia, died at home in his chair at 10 o’clock this morning, 16 May 2012.
The hundreds of friends who were lucky enough to see and honour Maurie last Sunday at the VJC fundraiser at Clayton RSL will value their last meeting with their generous and courageous mate.
All sympathies and support to Doreen and children, brother Harold, and the wider Fabrikant clan.
Clark Terry in Melbourne 1974
(photo from "Jazz Down Under", v. 1 no.4, March/April 1975)
CLARK Terry, legendary horn player, whose career spans more than seventy years, has recently released his autobiography – Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry; Edited by Gwen Terry, published by University of California Press. (see review by John MacBeath in The Australian)
Local jazz musicians and fans whose memories go back far enough will remember Terry’s visit to Melbourne as special guest at the 29th Australian Jazz Convention in 1974. (It was of course the same year that Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin on Christmas Eve).
Don Anderson, who was Secretary of the Convention Committee that year and now AJC archivist, wrote a vivid description of the visit and its impact in an article in the March/April 1975 issue of Jazz Down Under which is the source for a good deal of this post.
The Convention Committee had only decided in August’74 to invite Clark Terry to Melbourne for the Convention. Luckily for them, Terry was available due to the cancellation of a Christmas booking in Miami. Over the next 3 months plans were made for a big band of Australian allstars to be put together by Barry Veith (and to use the latest arrangements from the Creative Jazz Composers Company), plus a trio which was to consist of Tony Gould on piano, Ray Speakman on bass, and at the last minute, Ron Hayden on drums.
Terry had arrived in Melbourne on Christmas Eve and met his support trio for the first time just before going on stage at 3.30pm on Boxing Day. Not only had the trio not played together before, but Ron Hayden had only been recruited on the weekend before the Convention.
In an interview on Radio 3MBS in 2009, Tony Gould cited the experience of playing with Clark Terry as one of his greatest jazz moments. “I was in my early 20s and he in his 50s. When he put the trumpet to his mouth, I had never heard such exquisite control”.
The hiring of fifty-four year old ex-Ellingtonian tmmpet player Clark Terry for the 1974 Convention at Dorset Gardens in Melboume caused a stir, to say the least. Once again we discovered a down-to-earth musician willing to take part in whatever was thrown at him. Including an after-hours limerick session and on one occasion (at Clark Terry’s request) a set with the Bill Haesler Washboard Band.
Ian Smith who was President of the Convention Committee that year took a couple of films of Clark Terry performing with the trio. If we can track down copies we’ll see if we can get them up on YouTube.
Geoff Orr of Lyric Records produced two CDs of Terry while in Australia: one with the big band, and the other with a trio comprising Tony Gould (piano), Murray Wall (bass) and Ted Vining (drums). The big band CD includes Terry’s trademark “song” Mumbles. Here’s a version of it performed by Terry on the Chicago-based TV series, The Legends of Jazz in April 2006.
Clark Terry was born in St Louis, Missouri on 14 December 1920.
His career in jazz spans more than seventy years. He is a world-class trumpeter, flugelhornist, educator, composer, writer, trumpet/flugelhorn designer, teacher and NEA Jazz Master. He has performed for eight U.S. Presidents, and was a Jazz Ambassador for State Department tours in the Middle East and Africa.
At age 91 and in failing health, Terry continues to mentor the next generation of jazz musicians with one of his last students, pianist Justin Kauflin. Here’s a preview of a documentary on this close relationship.
And finally, here’s a recording of Terry’s impeccable flugelhorn playing of Stardust at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in London in 1967.
A friend and I went to Hop Off gig last night. Fantastic show! Great venue!
Food tasty and plenty of it!
All musos excellent, but great to see Smithy firing on all cylinders on both sousa and bass. Also, Tamsin West channelling Sophie Tucker.
Highly recommended.
- Jaz Stutley.
Other chances to hop on!
- Sat June 9th
- Sat July 21st
- Sat Aug 11th
- Sat Sep 8th
HAVE you heard that UNESCO has declared Monday 30 April International Jazz Day? Inspired by, or led by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, the day has a lot of high minded objectives (check their website) and many fabulous events are planned around the world, including a dawn concert in Congo Square, New Orleans which is to be streamed, one in New York at the UN, and one in Paris. Check the Day’s Facebook for more happenings.
Of course it would be great to hear some live jazz on Monday, but if you can’t manage that here are five things you could do to mark the day. I’m sure you can think of others:
1. Put your favourite CDs on the stereo, open the window and give the neighbourhood a treat.
2. Head for your local supermarket and let your radio rip on a jazz station.
3. Change your mobile ringtone to something that swings. (I’ve got “Burgundy Street Blues” on mine; Graeme has “Won’t you come home Bill Bailey”)
4. Send a donation to the Victorian Jazz Archive (or the Archive in your state or territory). Money is good, but why not also send that bit of jazz ephemera that you’ve been hoarding, and which your kids will throw out the first chance they get.
5. Telephone or text a musician and tell them how much you love their work, and how much their music has meant to your enjoyment of life.
JUST as I was shaking the mothhballs off the winter woollies in preparation for the icy blasts of Melbourne in the depths, this lovely email came from Mark Elton. What could be more divine than a couple of weeks cruising the Mediterranean in luxury, surrounded by world class jazz. And as an added thrill for Australian fans of Nina Ferro (of whom there are many who remember her back in the old days at the Fountain Inn and elsewhere when she was still Noreen), Nina will be singing along with Mark and the Peter Meijers Quartet.
Hi Jane
You leapt to mind just now & I wanted to let you know about a fantastic overseas cruise that I have coming up with a trad band, featuring Nina Ferro. I thought that it may be of interest to some of the people on your mailing list, particularly the Nina Ferro fans!
Nina & I will be performing on a Holland America ‘jazz’ cruise later this year. Departing from Barcelona on 29th August, we’ll be cruising around the Mediterranean, playing 2 sets per night for 11 nights, with stopovers in Sicily, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia (to name a few) & docking back in Barcelona on 9 September. We already have a small Aussie contingent (including my parents & Kristilee’s parents) which is why I thought that it may appeal to some other local jazz lovers.
If you know of anyone that may be interested in coming along, Kristilee & I have all the details, so feel free to pass our email addresses to them. Kristilee may be a bit easier to catch on the phone than I am, her number is 0417 103 080 if anyone wants to call or email kristilee@aquickword.com.au.
Cheers,
Mark x
Here’s the ship – MS Ryndam …..
and the route:
From the wonders of Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Montenegro, this itinerary with its out of the way ports is one of the most interesting trips you can take. In addition you will be able to listen to three of the hottest bands on the jazz scene today.
The Bands: CORNET CHOP SUEY: This band has a unique sound with co-leaders Brian Casserly and Tom Tucker on trumpet. The band is known for its variety of styles and they will switch from traditional jazz to swing, blues and big production numbers. Their high energy performances are always memorable for their audience. TOM RIGNEY and FLAMBEAU: Tom Rigney leads a band that generates enough heat and energy to ignite a dance floor. The band’s charismatic stage presence and wonderful repertoire, from Cajun, Zydeco to Boogie Woogie by Caroline Dahl and lovely ballads by Tom, usually leads to standing room only. PIETER MEIJERS QUARTET: Pieter Meijers on clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophones, with Randy Morris, piano; Dick Maley, drums; Mark Elton on bass, and featuring Ms Nina Ferro
Since relocating to the UK in 2005 Nina is fast establishing her mark as one of the hottest young Soul-Jazz vocalists on the UK scene. She is a multi award-winning vocalist, songwriter, session and recording artist whose powerful yet sensuous voice and stunning vocal range have done much to establish her enviable international reputation. Here Nina sings with Irish singer/songwriter Niamh McNally at London Pizza Express’s The Pheasantry on 7th Oct 2011.
Mark Elton
In addition to Mark’s prolific jazz career, he has worked alongside actor Max Gillies as a part of the Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2009 production of The Man from Mukinupin. Mark has performed live, on radio & television and recorded with artists as diverse as C.W. Stoneking, Joe Camilleri, John Butler Trio, The Red Eyes, Nina Ferro, Julie O’Hara, Bob Barnard, James Morrison, Tom Baker, Dan Barrett, Rebecca Kilgore, Eddie Erickson, Randy Reinhardt, Scott Robinson, Abe Most, Leroy Jones, Jon Erik Kelso, The Blue Grassy Knoll, and The Syncopators.
BETTER known leading The Maple Leaf Jazz Band in a rollicking rort, here is Big Bob Whetstone in a more sober mood: playing “The Last Post” at the Caulfield RSL’s Dawn Service on Anzac Day 2012. A very wet day!
FURTHER info on our newest jazz festival – the Murray Bridge Festival on 25 August.
Ron Flack from Adelaide reports:
Hi Jane, Lenny Eames asked me to pass some information on after we decided on bands for Murray Bridge.
They will be
1. Daily Jazz led by John van der Koogh
2. The New Climax Band led by Gordon Coulson
3. The Dukes of Jazz led by Don Brow
4.The Jazz Ramblers led by Dave Sutton and
5. Mr Jazz led by myself.
These bands contain the leading Traditional Jazz Musicians on the Adelaide scene. On the Paddle boat will be a band led by Mel Hopgood with Gordon Coulson, Don Brow and Bill Polain.(Captain Proud’s Pirates)
Accommodation in Murray Bridge will be fully checked out next week, however there are 2 Motels plus B and B’s etc.; further advice on this will be conveyed to you after our next visit to Murray Bridge.
Cheers
HAVE you heard that UNESCO has declared Monday 30 April International Jazz Day? Inspired by, or led by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, the day has a lot of high minded objectives (
Orleans which is to be streamed, one in New York at the UN, and one in Paris. Check the 
Nina & I will be performing on a Holland America ‘jazz’ cruise later this year. Departing from Barcelona on 29th August, we’ll be cruising around the Mediterranean, playing 2 sets per night for 11 nights, with stopovers in Sicily, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia (to name a few) & docking back in Barcelona on 9 September. We already have a small Aussie contingent (including my parents & Kristilee’s parents) which is why I thought that it may appeal to some other local jazz lovers.
