Donald Vernon Burrows (8 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was an

Australian jazz Jazz music has a long history in Australia. Over the years jazz has held a high-profile at local clubs, festivals and other music venues and a vast number of recordings have been produced by Australian jazz musicians, many of whom have gone on ...

and swing musician who played clarinet, saxophone and flute.

Life and career

Donald Vernon Burrows was born on 8 August 1928, the only child of Vernon and Beryl and attended Bondi Public School. In 1937 a visiting flutist and teacher ( Victor McMahon) inspired him to start learning the flute. He began on a B-flat flute which he later played at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

. By 1940 he was captain of the Metropolitan Schools Flute Band and began entering talent quests. By 1942, aged 14, Burrows had begun playing clarinet and quit school. He began appearing at Sydney jazz clubs, and appeared on ''The Youth Show'', a Macquarie Radio show. In 1944 he was invited to play and record with George Trevare's Australians. He became well known in Sydney jazz circles and was performing in dance halls, nightclubs and radio bands. During the 1960s and 1970s Burrows had many engagements in Australia and the United States, including six years performing at the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. In 1972, he was invited to perform at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

and later the Newport Jazz Festival. The year 1973 was a watershed for Burrows as he received the first gold record for an Australian jazz musician for his record ''Just the Beginning'', instigated the first jazz studies program in the southern hemisphere, at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music (under the direction of Rex Hobcroft) and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE). In 1979 he was appointed Chair of Jazz Studies at the conservatorium. Burrows performed to mostly classical music audiences through tours with Musica Viva and the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

concert series. He led the nationally televised show ''The Don Burrows Collection'' for six years. He had an extensive recording career with his groups and performed on albums by others. In the 1980s Burrows mentored and was closely associated with James Morrison. He formed the Don Burrows Quartet with George Golla (guitar), Ed Gaston (double bass) and Alan Turnbull (drums). He also worked with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Hitching; 28 October 1927) is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec D ...

, and the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

. In 1981 Burrows played woodwind on a '' Play School'' album, ''Hey Diddle Diddle'': it was his only involvement with the show. In 2005 Burrows toured with a small band that included the Australian jazz pianist Kevin Hunt. He used his photographic images with his music in a show called ''Stop, Look and Listen''. Burrows had arthritis from age 38. In a 2008 interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Andrew Ford, celebrating his 80th birthday, he said that "arthritis is not the greatest for playing a musical instrument. But playing a musical instrument is very, very good for arthritis". In later years he had

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and lived in a nursing home in northern Sydney. He died on 12 March 2020, aged 91.

Awards and honours

* 1973:

(MBE) * 1987:

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 ...

(AO) * 1988: Life member of the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music * 1989: Named one of the

Australian Living Treasures National Living Treasure is a status created and occasionally updated by the National Trust of Australia's New South Wales branch, awarded to up to 100 living people. Recipients were selected by popular vote for having made outstanding contributi ...

* 2000: Honorary Doctorate in Music,

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

* 2001: Honorary Doctorate in Music,

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Don Burrows , Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music ,

ARIA 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 o ...

. It commenced in 1987. ! , - , 1988 , ''Nice 'n' Easy'' (with Adelaide Connection) , Best Jazz Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, Don Burrows ,

ARIA Hall of Fame Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremo ...

, , , - ,

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 ...

, ''Non Stop Flight – Great Music of the Swing Era'' (with The Mell-O-Tones & Phillip Sametz) , Best Jazz Album , , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, ''In Good Company'' (with James Morrison) , Best Jazz Album , , , -

Australian Jazz Bell Awards

The Australian Jazz Bell Awards recognised the talent and achievements of Australian jazz artists locally and internationally , - , 2008 , Don Burrows , Australian Jazz Bell Hall of Fame ,

Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia. ! , - , 1999 , , Don Burrows , , Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial 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. Don Burrows won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 1992 , Don Burrows , John Campbell Fellowship Award , , -

Discography

Albums

Compilations

References

External links

''Just the Beginning'' samples
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Don 1928 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Sydney 21st-century clarinetists 21st-century Australian saxophonists APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Australian jazz clarinetists Australian jazz flautists Australian jazz saxophonists Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian male jazz composers Australian male saxophonists Officers of the Order of Australia People with Alzheimer's disease 21st-century Australian male musicians 20th-century Australian saxophonists 20th-century Australian flautists 21st-century flautists