RETIREMENT of BRIAN BROWN by Martin Jackson* ______
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RETIREMENT OF BRIAN BROWN by Martin Jackson* ________________________________________________________ [This article appeared in the Mar/Apr 1998 edition of JazzChord.] oodwind player/composer Brian Brown recently retired (via an Early Voluntary package) from his position as Head of the Improvisational W Studies degree course at the Victorian College of the Arts. Having commenced at the College in 1978, when he was appointed to introduce a jazz studies course, Brian was one of the longest serving tertiary jazz educators in the country. He is one of the few jazz musicians to have received the Order of Australia (OAM) which he received in 1993 for his contributions to Australian performing arts as a performer, composer and educator. Brian Brown: he emphasised originality and abhorred the notion of musical ‘clones’… Recent times have seen the amalgamation or closure of several Melbourne music courses (such as that of La Trobe University, and the respected teaching course at The Institute which, as the Melbourne State College course, produced several leading jazz musicians such as Joe Chindamo, Dr Rob McWilliams and Tony Hicks under the ________________________________________________________ *When this was written in 1998 Martin Jackson had been administrator of the Melbourne Jazz Co-operative since 1982, and held the position of Victorian Jazz Development Officer. As a private entrepreneur he had promoted many tours by international artists, including Johnny Griffin, Vincent Herring, Sheila Jordan, Nat Adderley, Clifford Jordan and Cindy Blackman. 1 late Dr Peter Clinch). While the VCA has also suffered from ongoing Federal Government cutbacks, Brian’s decision was a purely individual one, and the Improvisation course is definitely not under threat (as stressed by the Music School Director Gillian Wills). In fact, the course expanded during 1997 with the addition of a year-long Masters course, under the supervision of Dr Tony Gould. Brian Brown released his first group CD Flight (on Newmarket) late in 1997 to a positive critical response. Featuring relatively young players such as the keyboardist Sue Johnson, the new band has clearly revitalised Brian’s interest in performing and touring, and was obviously a factor in his decision. In contrast to the heads of other jazz education courses, Brian had a long-established reputation as an original and creative musician when he was appointed. As with his music, Brian’s teaching style has attracted a deal of controversy (which he dismisses as “the usual musical conservativism”). He emphasised originality, and abhorred the notion of musical ‘clones’ so prevalent in today’s music. He also passionately believed in the development of an ‘Australian sound’ in improvisation, and to acknowledge this approach the title of the course was changed in 1988 from Jazz Studies (Post 1950) to Improvisation Studies. While there was also some criticism of teaching staff generally being musical associates of Brian’s (such as Geoff Kluke, Bob Sedergreen, Mike Jordan and Sue Johnson) there was a very broad range of tutorial staff, including stylists as varied as the expatriate US pianist Mickey Tucker, Paul Grabowsky, Graeme Lyall and the Pianist Bob Sedergreen: one member of the teaching staff who was a musical associate of Brian’s… 2 drummer Virgil Donati. “We tried out virtually every experienced player in Melbourne, and sorted out those that could and could not teach,” Brown explained. Expatriate US pianist Mickey Tucker: one member of a tutorial staff covering a broad range of styles… Brown’s wife Ros McMillan: a respected music educationalist, lecturing at the University of Melbourne… Brian’s second wife Ros McMillan is a respected music educationalist (currently lecturing at the University of Melbourne) and they have collaborated professionally over much of their 20-year association. McMillan gained her doctorate through a thesis on Developing a Personal Voice in Improvisation. She and Brian have both lectured at various ISME conferences here and internationally, and after the 1978 3 conference were invited to South Africa (where they toured after insisting on non- apartheid conditions). They will return to South Africa for another lecture tour in June, 1998. Brian has given papers at various international education conferences (such as the University of San Diego and Singapore) and performed in duo with fellow lecturer Tony Gould at the Ninth Saxophone Congress in Tokyo in 1989. Ironically Brian (born 1933) was self-taught as a musician and saxophonist (he later studied classical flute, under the influence of his first wife, a classical French cellist, in the 1960s). His earliest work in the late 1950s at the legendary Jazz Centre 44 was credited with introducing the hard bop style to this country, and influencing innumerable players. Having returned from England (where he played with musicians such as John Dankworth and Cleo Laine), Brian had been exposed to the music of Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, and was performing their compositions here while the Cool School was still dominant. Brian Brown had been exposed to the music of Miles Davis & Sonny Rollins (pictured above) and Art Blakey (below), and was performing their compositions here… 4 Brian’s group featured the trumpeter Keith Hounslow and the drummer Stewie Speer, as well as the young talents of the bassist Barry Buckley and pianist David Martin, and was documented on the LP Brian Brown Quintet 1958 on the 44 label. In addition to embracing such innovative pieces as the modal Milestones, that album also includes two Brown originals. The l960s saw Brown active with the pianist Tony Gould and drummer Ted Vining (as well as Buckley and sometimes Hounslow). He also experimented with classical trumpeter/composer Barry McKimm, as well as some straight ahead work with artists such as vibraphonist Alan Lee (with whom he recorded an EP). He became a member of the GTV-9 Orchestra, took up classical flute, finished his secondary schooling, and began a part-time degree in architecture. 5 After working as an architect for several years in the early 1970s, he returned to regular performance with renewed enthusiasm, and began an association with the bassist David Tolley (which saw the quintet incorporate electronic sounds, with Brian dabbling with a synthesiser and electrified tenor sax, as well as poetry and theatrical elements). Their work was represented on the 1974 Carlton Streets and Moomba Jazz 76 Vol 2 albums (both on 44 Records). When Barry Buckley replaced Tolley on bass in late 1976, the compositional emphasis shifted to compound time ostinatos, as found on the 1976-77 Upward (44 Records). Two highlights around this period were his 1977 Moomba concert suite Rainbows (which featured a guest appearance by the late Dizzy Gillespie, Don Burrows and Keith Hounslow as featured soloists over the Jazzbird Orchestra) and a 1978 Scandinavian tour. Barry Buckley: he replaced David Tolley on bass in late 1976… 6 After the tour Ted Vining moved to Sydney, and the quartet disbanded. Brown soon discovered two promising young talents in the drummer David Jones and electric bassist Jeremy Alsop, and recorded their debut in 1979 on Bells Make Me Sing (on AIJA Records). The mid-80s saw three varied LPs - the 1984 Wildflowers (on Move), the 1985 The Planets (on Larrikin) and the 1987 Winged Messenger (on AIJA Records) with contrasting personnel and instrumentation (pianist Bob Sedergreen being the one constant). The latter album featured the vocalist Judy Jacques, who had been a permanent member of Brown’s ensemble for almost a decade, culminating in their jazz opera The Winged Messenger (which was premiered with the playwright Alan Hopgood as the narrator at the 1994 Montsalvat Jazz Festival). One of the finest documents of Brian’s work, however, was his first CD Spirit of the Rainbow (MoveMD 3085) with the pianist Tony Gould. 7 Since the course began in 1978, approximately 400-500 students have enrolled in it. Most players under the age of 40 on the Melbourne scene have been at the VCA, with ex-students including Wangaratta National Jazz Awards winners Barney McAll, Julien Wilson, Scott Tinkler and Will Guthrie. Other graduates include Ian Chaplin, Sam Keevers, Philip Rex, Fiona Burnett and Tim Dwyer. Some of Brian’s highlights at the VCA include writing concertos (utilising the classical student orchestra) for soloists for their Graduate Recitals in 1986-89, and the creation of the Hop Jump Big Band (a large creative ensemble, which utilises movement and theatrical gestures, with compositions by Brown and students). In designing the course, Brian wanted to avoid simply producing clones of American roles, particularly bebop stylists (wittily describing the bebop revival “The New Trad”). He emphasised the imperative of finding the spirit of jazz rather than simply learning techniques as “the nuts and bolts came from the spirit of creators such as Louis Armstrong and Parker - not the other way around. Our first step was to ‘deschool’ their thinking, so that they questioned all concepts and their own prejudices. I knew that virtually everyone plays better (and plays themselves) if they create their own vehicles and concepts, so this was the basic aim of the course. Not every player is able to take that next step up from being a craftsperson to playing themselves, but we tried to give them that option. Now, 20 years down the track, American courses have adopted all the jargon about ‘finding your own voice’.” Brown is pictured here with drummer Ted Vining and (probably) bassist Barry Buckley: he emphasised the imperative of finding the spirit of jazz rather than simply learning techniques… 8 Brian states that the course was never intended for jazz purists, but for young artists ‘with open minds to all sorts of possibilities; it would be ideal for someone like a young Tony Gould, for instance, who is not just interested in jazz, but also in classical music”.