Bernard Francis McGann (22 June 1937 – 17 September 2013) was an Australian jazz

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

player. He began his career in the late 1950s and remained active as a performer, composer and recording artist until near the end of his life. McGann won four

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 ...

between 1993 and 2001. McGann led the Bernie McGann Trio and Bernie McGann Quartet through his career. The most well-known lineup of the Trio was McGann (alto sax), John Pochee (drums),

Lloyd Swanton Lloyd Stuart Swanton (born 14 August 1960) is an Australian jazz double bassist, bass guitarist, and composer. Swanton was a member of Dynamic Hepnotics in 1986McFarlan'Dynamic Hepnotics'entry. Retrieved 21 February 2010. and co-founded jazz t ...

(bass), with the addition of Warwick Alder (trumpet) in the quartet.

Career

Born in Granville, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

's western suburbs, McGann first came to prominence as part of a loose alliance of modern jazz musicians who performed at the ''El Rocco Jazz Cellar'' in Kings Cross, Sydney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had an enduring collaboration with drummer John Pochee. During the 1960s and early 1970s, McGann also performed with rock and pop groups and as a session musician, and in the 1970s he was a member of the Sydney rock-soul band ''Southern Comfort''. In 1974, McGann was a founding member of jazz group, ''The Last Straw''. Between 1980 and 1982, McGann played support to US jazz artists, including

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

, Lester Bowie, and Dave Liebman. In 1983, McGann studied in New York on a grant from The Australia Council. Bernie McGann 2011

In 1988, McGann Toured Australia and USA with the ''Australian Jazz Orchestra'', a special Bicentennial project. He was a featured artist in award-winning documentary film ''Beyond El Rocco''.Beyond El Rocco
Ronin Films, 1988. In 1992, McGann won the Spiral Scratch MO Award for Bernie McGann Trio in Jazz Group of the Year. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, McGann won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album. In 1994, McGann won Australian Mo Awards for Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1998, McGann won the Don Banks Music Award, the first time it has been awarded to a non-classical musician/composer. Launch of biography ''Bernie McGann: A Life in Jazz'' by Geoff Page (Kardooraire Press). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, McGann won his fourth ARIA Award. McGann died on 17 September 2013, following complications from heart surgery. He was 76.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. It commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, ''Bernie McGann Trio'' , rowspan="6", Best Jazz Album , , rowspan="6", ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, ''McGann McGann'' , , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, ''Playground'' , , - ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, ''Bundeena'' , , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, ''Always'' , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, ''Wending'' , , -

Australian Jazz Bell Awards

The Australian Jazz Bell Awards, (also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells), are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They commenced in 2003. , - , 2008 , Bernie McGann , Hall of Fame , , -

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board. , - , 1998 , Bernie McGann , Don Banks Music Award , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Bernie McGann won three awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1992 , Bernie McGann Trio , Jazz Group of the Year , , - , 1994 , Bernie McGann , Jazz Instrumental Performer of the Year , , - , 1997 , Bernie McGann Trio , Jazz Group of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGann, Bernie 1937 births 2013 deaths ARIA Award winners Australian jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists Jazz alto saxophonists Musicians from New South Wales 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian saxophonists 20th-century Australian male musicians Australian male jazz musicians The Last Straw (band) members Emanem Records artists