Graeme William Lyall ( AM), is an Australian

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, composer and arranger. He became a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2003: "''For service to music as Artistic Director of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, and as a musical director, composer and performer.''"

Biography

Graeme William Lyall was born in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

on January 25, 1942. In his growing up years he trained as a musician with Frank Smith in his native city. He began playing professionally in Melbourne at the age of 17. In 1961 Lyall moved to

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 ...

when he began studying at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. While a student there he played regularly at the El Rocco club in Sydney from 1961-1963. By the time he was 22 years old he was working as a woodwind player and a music arranger in the

TCN TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the ...

9 Orchestra. His work with the group included writing arrangements for

Bobby Limb Robert Limb Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 November 1924 – 11 September 1999) was an Australian-born entertainment pioneer, comedian, band leader and musician and legend of radio, te ...

, Dave Allen, Don Lane,

John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a retired Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career that spanned 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname ''Golden Tonsils''. Career Best known as a talkback ...

and

Stuart Wagstaff Stuart Wagstaff (13 February 192510 March 2015) was an English-born Australian entertainer who was active in all genres of the industry including theatre, television and film, and music and stage management. Early life Wagstaff was born in ...

. In 1969 Lyall was a founding member of the

Daly-Wilson Big Band The Daly-Wilson Big Band was an Australian jazz group formed in 1968 by Warren Daly on drums and Ed Wilson on trombone. The business manager and silent partner was Don Raverty. The line-up, at times, was an eighteen-piece ensemble, that played ...

. In 1970 he toured Japan as a member of

Don Burrows Donald Vernon Burrows (8 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was an Australian jazz 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 an ...

's septet. In 1971 he took a composing, arranging and record production role at

Armstrong Studios Armstrong Studios, also known as Bill Armstrong's Studio and later renamed AAV (Armstrong Audio Video), is an Australian commercial recording studio located in Melbourne, Victoria. During the decade from 1965 to 1975, Armstrong Studios in South ...

and moved back to Melbourne. He was a member of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Melbourne Showband from 1974-1977. He become the Director of Music at

GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

Melbourne, including work on the ''Don Lane Show''. During his time in Melbourne, Graeme was the winner of the Best Arrangement at the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan. The first edition of the World P ...

four times and winner of the Australian Writers and Art Directors Guild award for the Best Music for a Television Commercial ( Hallmark Greeting Cards). Lyall often did not record under his own name. He performed on recordings by John Sangster (1974), Tony Gould (1984, c mid-1990s), and Judy Bailey (1992). He is the 2015 inductee into the

Australian Jazz Bell Awards Australian Jazz Bell Awards, also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells, are annual music awards for the jazz genre in Australia. They were named in honour of Australian jazz pianist, composer and band leader, Graeme Bell (1914–2012), at thei ...

Hall of Fame. He became a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2003, "''For service to music as Artistic Director of the Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, and as a musical director, composer and performer.''" He currently (2023) lives in

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

Generations in Jazz

Graeme was the Division 2 adjudicator at Generations in Jazz, an annual festival that provides an opportunity for High School big bands from around Australia to compete against each other and for students to hear live performances from the likes of, John Morrison, Ross Irwin and several others.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

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 o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, ''Smokingun'' (with Joe Chindamo) , Best Jazz Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, ''The Hunters & Pointers'' (with John Hoffman, Tony Gould, Ben Robertson, Tony Floyd) , Best Jazz Album , , , -

References

External links

Move RecordsGraeme Lyall official website (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyall, Graeme 1942 births Living people Australian jazz saxophonists Australian male saxophonists Australian music arrangers 21st-century Australian saxophonists 21st-century Australian male musicians Australian male jazz composers Daly-Wilson Big Band members Members of the Order of Australia