David Friedrich Dallwitz (25 October 1914 – 24 March 2003) was a South 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 ...

and classical musician, bandleader, composer, painter, and art teacher whose work spanned almost seven decades. He led jazz, Dixieland, and ragtime bands, and performed with classical chamber music groups.

Biography

Dallwitz was born in

Freeling, South Australia Freeling is a small town in South Australia, about 60 km north of Adelaide. It neighbours the Barossa Valley wine region. At the 2021 census, Freeling had a population of 2,688. Description Freeling is in the Light Regional Council, the So ...

. He studied violin as a child. After moving with his family to Adelaide in 1930, he developed an aptitude for jazz piano. From 1933 to 1935, he studied concurrently at the

South Australian School of Art The South Australian School of Art, originally the South Australian School of Design, is now part school the University of South Australia. it is part of UniSA Creative, which includes the disciplines of architecture and planning; art and desig ...

and the North Adelaide School of Fine Art.

Music career

He led the Southern Jazz Group, a

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 ( ...

band that performed at the first Australian Jazz Convention. He abandoned jazz for a period, during which he studied at the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

, composing symphonic and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

and taking up

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

and cello. He became involved in composing and arranging music for

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s, leading to the formation of the Flinders Street Revue Company, for which he also directed and played piano. He returned to jazz in 1970 and resumed recording shortly after. He worked with Australian progressive musicians such as

John Sangster John Grant Sangster (17 November 1928 – 26 October 1995) was an Australian jazz composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as a composer although he also worked with Graeme Bell, Humphrey Lyttelton and Don Burrows. H ...

, Bob Barnard, and Len Barnard. He also led the Dave Dallwitz Ragtime Ensemble. Dallwitz died on 24 March 2003 in Adelaide, after finishing the art work for his album ''The Dave Dallwitz Big Band live at Wollongong, December 1984''. This album was the result of the band's second appearance at the Australian Jazz Convention in Wollongong in 1984 and was mastered and co-produced by trumpeter Greg Englert, who was lead trumpet for the concert.

Art career

In 1940, Dallwitz joined the

Royal South Australian Society of Arts The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for th ...

as an associate member, full membership being the preserve of followers of conservative styles. In July 1942 the associate members held an exhibition in the Society's gallery on North Terrace of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

, which drew local and interstate interest. He was involved in the formation in 1942 of the South Australian branch of the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...

, which identified with progressive modes of art, becoming its foundation chairman. Dallwitz taught technical drawing subjects (drafting, dimensioned sketching, lettering) at Thebarton Boys Technical School (known as ‘Thebbie Tech’). He taught at

Adelaide Technical High School Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

from around 1954 to 1964, where he introduced painting, drawing and history of art to replace the old technical drawing subjects. He then lectured in Art History and drawing at the School of Art until 1974. In 1974 he quit teaching and turned to painting and printmaking. His range of subjects was extensive (landscapes, portraits, still life) and he presented many one-man exhibitions.

Personal life

Dallwitz married art student Joan Rowe on 14 April 1938. Their home at Seacliff, South Australia, became known as the ‘Jazz House’ and as a gathering place for artists and musicians. They had two children, John (born 3 March 1941) and Julie (born 12 February 1947).

Awards and honors

In 1986 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for contributions to music, and the same year a plaque bearing his name was installed on North Terrace, Adelaide as part of the Jubilee 150 celebrations. In 1994 he was honoured by a retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia. His work hangs in the Art Gallery of South Australia and the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

Partial discography

As leader

* ''Melbourne Suite'' ( Swaggie, 1973) * ''Ern Malley Suite'' (Swaggie, 1975) * ''Creation Suite: In the Beginning'' * ''Ragtime Fantasy No. 4''

As composer

* ''Ned Kelly Suite: Dawn over Euroa'' – Bob Barnard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallwitz, Dave 1914 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian pianists Australian art educators Australian jazz pianists Dixieland revivalist pianists Ragtime musicians Officers of the Order of Australia Stomp Off artists Australian male painters 20th-century Australian painters Australian modern painters