Bruce Cale (born 17 February 1939,

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

, New South Wales) is an Australian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

double-bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has ...

ist and composer.

Career

Cale began studying music at age nine, and worked professionally 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 ...

from 1958. He worked with

Bryce Rohde Bryce Benno Rohde (12 September 192326 January 2016) was an Australian jazz pianist and composer. He was strongly influenced by George Russell's musical conceptions. Early life Rohde was born in Hobart, Tasmania. He played jazz in Adelaide ...

's quartet from 1962–65, then moved to England, where he played with

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...

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, and was a founding member of John Stevens's Spontaneous Music Ensemble. After obtaining a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

, he attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

starting in 1966 and remained in the U.S. until 1977, where he played with

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and R&B saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album '' ...

and

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor saxophone, tenor and baritone saxophone, baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and ...

among others. While in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1974, he composed the piece ''Iron Cross'' for the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. The piece led to further commissions, and in 1976 he completed a work dedicated to

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

for voice, jazz ensemble, and symphony orchestra. He also worked with Bryce Rohde again, recording the album ''Turn Right at New South Wales'' in 1976. Upon his return to Sydney in 1977 he led a small ensemble with a shifting lineup which included, at times,

Roger Frampton Roger Frampton (20 May 1948 – 4 January 2000) was an Australian jazz pianist, saxophonist, composer, and educator. Based in Sydney, he played a major role in shaping the evolution of Australian jazz. He taught at the Jazz Studies course at t ...

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Dale Barlow Dale Barlow (born Sydney, Australia, 25 December 1959) is a jazz saxophonist, flute player and composer. He has a Masters of Music degree begun at City College New York under Ron Carter and completed at ANU Canberra. He has received ARIA Awards, A ...

, Charlie Munro,

Phil Treloar Phillip Maurice Treloar (born 7 December 1946, Sydney) is an Australian jazz drummer, percussionist and composer. In an extensive career devoted to creative pursuit Treloar has addressed himself to the problems of relationship found at the interse ...

, Alan Turnbull, and Tony Buck as sidemen. He led his own Bruce Cale Orchestra through the 1980s, recording three albums with the group. In 1981 he studied for a period in the U.S. with George Russell, and also premiered a double bass

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

, performing as the soloist with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...

. He concentrated on composing from 1988 to 1995, then returned to jazz in the latter half of the 1990s. During the 90s, Cale's suffered impaired vision, making scoring difficult and he briefly stopped creating music. He later took up the

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, and has returned to composing and improvising.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Bruce Cale Quartet at the Opera House'' (44 Records, 1979) * ''A Century of Steps'' (Larrikin, 1981) * ''Live at the Basement Vol. One: Rolling Thunder'' (Modern, 1987) * ''Live at the Basement Vol. Two: Rain'' (Vista, 1987) * ''On Fire'' (Tall Poppies, 2008) Bruce Cale Quartet @ Adelaide Festival. 1980. Tall Poppies records Bruce Cale Orchestral Works Tall Poppies Records. 2997

As sideman

, ''Projections'' (Columbia, 1968) *

Prince Lasha William B. Lawsha, better known as Prince Lasha (), (September 10, 1929 – December 12, 2008) was an United States of America, American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, baritone saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and English horn player. Life a ...

, ''Insight'' (CBS, 1966) *

Essra Mohawk Essra Mohawk (; born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz; April 23, 1948 – December 11, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter who recorded a dozen albums. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til Suffrage" and "Interjections!" (both from '' Schoolhou ...

, ''Primordial Lovers'' (Reprise, 1970) * Charlie Munro, ''Count Down'' (Columbia, 1969) *

, ''Just Bryce!'' (CBS, 1965) *

, ''More Spring'' (Mbs, 1990) *

Spontaneous Music Ensemble The Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME) was a loose collection of free improvising musicians, convened in 1965 by the late South London-based jazz drummer/trumpeter John Stevens and alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts. SME performances and ...

, ''Challenge'' (Eyemark, 1966) Zitro ESP Records (1967 New York) Brycw Rohde Turn Right at New South Wales. Bryce Rohde Just Bryce. CBS 1965 Big and Bryce CBS Bryce Rohde Corners CBS Bryce Rohde Duo Always come back here

References

External links

Bruce Cale at The Australian Music Centre

Bruce Cale Soundcloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cale, Bruce 1939 births Living people 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian double-bassists Australian jazz composers Australian jazz double-bassists Australian male double-bassists Australian male jazz composers Musicians from New South Wales