Graeme Emerson Bell, AO,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(7 September 191413 June 2012) was an Australian

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

and

classical jazz 20th-century classical music describes art music that was written nominally from 1901 to 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously. So this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, impressio ...

pianist, composer and band leader. According to ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he describes as 'nice larrikinism' and 'a happy Aussie outdoor feel. Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

to Australia. He was the first Australian jazz band leader who was still playing at 90 years of age and the first Westerner to lead a jazz band to China. The American music journal ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' said: "Bell's is unquestionably the greatest jazz band outside America". The Australian Jazz Awards commenced in 2003. They are also known as The Bells in his honour.

Early life

Bell was born in 1914 in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

,''Great War Index Victoria 1914–1920'' CDROM, (1998), The Crown in the State of Victoria: Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Australia, to John Alexander Bell, who had performed

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

on the early

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

(ABC) radio, and Mary Elvina "Elva" (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Rogers) Bell, who had been a

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

recitalist in Dame Nellie Melba's company. His younger brother, Roger Bell (1919–2008), was also a jazz musician. From the age of 12, Bell had weekly piano lessons in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

by Jesse Stewart Young, a contemporary of his mother. His parents paid for the piano lessons for the first four years. He attended Scotch College in 1929 and 1930, where he enjoyed playing cricket and creating contemporary art including sketches for the ''Scotch Collegian''. He left school at age 16 during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and worked for T & G Insurance as a clerk for over nine years, and had a stint as a farm hand. He paid for his own piano lessons for two further years, and in later years he supplemented his income by teaching. Bell was converted to jazz by Roger, a drummer, later a singer and trumpeter. Roger would play

78s A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

on the family's record player, including

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

's "Handful of Keys". Bell started playing jazz in 1935 with Roger at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

dances and clubs. One of his earliest gigs was at the Portsea Hotel. While performing at Portsea, he met Margot Byass. They were married for several years. Bell later said "we were victims of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

". By 1941 he fronted his own Graeme Bell Jazz Gang. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bell was declared unfit for active service, so he entertained Australian troops, including travelling to

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

in early 1943. After his return to Melbourne, Bell became a full-time professional with the Dixieland Jazz Band, which included Roger Bell, Geoff Kitchen, Adrian "Lazy Ade" Monsbourgh on trumpet, Don "Pixie" Roberts on clarinet, Lou "Baron" Silbereisen and Russ Murphy. Bell's first recordings were for William Miller's Ampersand label in 1943. In 1946, he married Elizabeth Watson (1911–2007). Their marriage lasted until 1961. Their daughter Christina was born during the band's first overseas tour.

Career

Bell became leader of the house band for the Eureka Youth League (formerly the Communist Youth League) and established a cabaret, the Uptown Club, in 1946. After playing at the inaugural Australian Jazz Convention in December, Bell's band was renamed Australian Jazz Band and became the first such band to tour Europe. Australian Jazz Band members were initially, Bell on piano, Roger Bell on cornet and vocal, Monsbourgh on valve trombone, clarinet and vocal, Roberts on clarinet, Silbereisen on bass and tuba, with Charlie Blott, Ian Pearce and Jack Varney on banjo and guitar. With sponsorship from communist Harry Stein's Eureka Youth League, they toured

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

for four and a half months in 1947, including playing at the World Youth Festival in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. "The Lizard", an improvisation recorded in the studio for

Regal Zonophone Records Regal Zonophone Records was a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal and Zonophone labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies – the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramopho ...

in June, was Bell's first composition. Another early recording was his composition, "Czechoslovak Journey", which was started in his studio in

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

, Melbourne and recorded together with 14 other tracks for ''Czechoslovak Journey'' by

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

in Prague on 23 September and 13 November 1947 and released in 1981 on LP. Australian Jazz Band travelled to the United Kingdom in early 1948 and Bell started the

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

Jazz Club, playing music specifically for dancing, which continued into the 1950s. They played songs outside the standard jazz repertoire and, with their encouragement of dancing, caused concern to local jazz enthusiasts, but were popular with patrons. According to ''

'', his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge", which he describes as "nice larrikinism" and "a happy Aussie outdoor feel". The Cootamundra Jazz Band was one of many to be influenced by Bell's music. During the early 1950s Bell periodically returned to UK and Europe from Melbourne to perform, a later line-up of Australian Jazz Band was Roger Bell (trumpet), Kitchen,

Ade Monsbourgh Ade Monsbourgh AO (1917–2006) is an Australian jazz musician known as "Lazy Ade" or "Father Ade". He was part of the trad jazz movement and primarily played clarinet and alto. In the 1992 Australia Day Honours, Monsbourgh was made an Office ...

(trumpet & alto), Pixie Roberts (clarinet), Baron Silvereisen (Bass & Tuba) with Norman "Bud" Baker (Guitar & Banjo), Deryck "Kanga" Bentley (Trombone) and Johnny Sangster (drums and cornet). On 1 May 1951 they appeared at Oxford Town Hall. On 15 September 1951, this line-up recorded a concert with

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

at the

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Saal in

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, Germany; which was later released as ''Big Bill Broonzy in Concert with Graeme Bell & his Australian Jazz Band''. Whilst touring through Germany, Bell encountered ardent fans: After returning to Australia for another national tour Bell met Dorothy Gough in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in 1955 and she convinced him to relocate to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1957. Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as trumpet player,

to Australia. There was some opposition from the Australian Musicians Union to foreign artists joining Australian bands, so Stewart had to play standing a metre (3 ft) in front of them to be classified as a soloist. After relocating to Sydney, Bell played commercial music and taught piano to supplement his income. Bell and Dorothy married in 1961. In the 1960s, a

trad jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a revival ...

boom in UK encouraged Bell to form the ''Graeme Bell All Stars'' and tour there. This band included, Monsbourgh on clarinet, trombone, alto saxophone and second trumpet, and Bob Barnard on trumpet. Bell recalled his approach with the band: After researching for five years, Bell wrote ''Graeme Bell, Australian jazzman'' in 1988. It contains a discography compiled by Jack Mitchell. Bell was inducted into the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1997 with

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and Paul Kelly. By 1999, Bell had made over 1,500 recordings and performed in thousands of gigs in Australia and internationally.

Personal life

Graeme Bell's younger brother, Roger Bell (1919–2008) was also a jazz musician; Roger is credited with influencing Bell to convert from classical music to jazz; they often performed, toured and recorded together. Bell married three times; his first marriage was in c. 1943 for about a year to Margot Byass, Bell later saying "we were victims of the war". His second marriage was to Elizabeth Watson in 1946, lasting until 1961, and his third marriage was to Dorothy Gough from 1961. Bell died on 13 June 2012 after a stroke, aged 97.

Discography

Albums

* ''Top of the Town'' – 1950 (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

) * ''Cakewalkin' Babies Back Home'' – 1951 (EMI) * ''Inside Jazz Down Under'' – 1954 (

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

) * ''Jazz Series I'' – 1961 (Zyp) This was a 2 EP release which was free from Zyp Softdrinks. * ''Jazz Series II'' – 1962 (Zyp) This was a 2 EP release which was free from Zyp Softdrinks. * ''Down Town with Graeme Bell'' – 1974 (

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

) * ''Graeme Bell All-Stars'' – 1980 (

Jazzology Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year he ...

) * ''Czechoslovak Journey'' – 1983 ( Swaggie) * ''Paris 1948'' – 1983 (Swaggie)

Honours and awards

Bell was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) on 1 January 1978 for "valuable service to jazz music" and an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

on 11 June 1990 for "service to music, particularly jazz". The Australian Jazz Awards, or "The Bells", which commenced in 2003, are named in his honour. At the inaugural ceremony on 28 August, Bell inducted his former band member from 60 years earlier, Ade Monsbourgh, into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame.

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. Bell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. , - ,

ARIA Music Awards of 1997 The 11th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards) were held on 22 September 1997 at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. The event was hosted by Australian actor–comedian Paul McDer ...

, Graeme Bell ,

ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' (LPA) since 2001. In 2006, Bell received the

JC Williamson Award The JC Williamson Award (formally known as the James Cassius Williamson Award), is an lifetime achievement award presented annually as a sector of the Helpmann Awards, governed by Live Performance Australia. The awards are named after the Ameri ...

, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance. , - ,

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, , Himself , ,

, , , -

Bibliography

References

External links

Graeme Bell at the National Film and Sound Archive
* Listen t
'Swanston St Shamble' and 'Two Day Jag'
on australianscreen online
State Library of New South Wales, Collection of Posters taken from the Graeme Bell papers, ca. 1900-2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Graeme 1914 births 2012 deaths ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Australian jazz pianists Dixieland pianists Helpmann Award winners Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne 20th-century Australian pianists 20th-century Australian musicians