NATIONAL JAZZ CO-ORDINATION NEWSLETTER No 5, May 30, 1988 Writer & editor: Eric Myers, National Jazz Co-ordinator ________________________________________________________ 1. Stop Press: Death of Ricky May Sadly, I record the death of Ricky May, who died suddenly of a massive heart attack at the Regent Hotel, Sydney, in the early hours of June 1, 1988, shortly after receiving a standing ovation from a capacity audience at the Don Burrows Supper Club. He was 44 years old. Ricky May: a much-loved figure in the entertainment industry…PHOTO CREDIT EDMOND THOMMEN Ricky was a much-loved figure in the entertainment industry, and everyone will have his or her own favourite Ricky May story. On this sad occasion, let me merely quote from a review I wrote in The Australian on November 7, 1986, on the occasion of another Ricky May opening night at the Supper Club: "His opening performance at the Don Burrows Supper Club was vintage Ricky May: as always, a mixture of inspired chaos and great music... [He] is intrinsically a great jazz singer, but this is a season of cabaret rather than jazz. However, May takes the 1 listener quickly and easily into the frame of mind where one feels the pulse of the music. It is a precious ability. "Add his razor-sharp wit, an enormous capacity to send himself up as well as the audience, and his unquestioned ability to produce great music, and you have a compulsive mixture. It's one of the best entertainments in town." Ricky May (in white jacket) & Friends, L-R, Steve Murphy (guitar), David Glyde (sax), Col Loughnan (sax), Keith Stirling (trumpet), Herbie Cannon (trombone)…PHOTO CREDIT EDMOND THOMMEN I know that many people will wish to send their condolences to Ricky's wife Colleen, and their daughter Shani. Their address in Sydney is: 93 Elliott St, Balmain NSW 2041. Ricky May: a razor-sharp wit, and an enormous capacity to send himself up as well as the audience… 2 2. Australian Jazz Orchestra to Perform in Sydney The AJO's Australian tour, Stage II, begins on June 11, 1988, with a concert at the Melbourne Concert Hall. Project Manager Peter Brendlé has just announced that the AJO will now perform in Sydney: on Monday, June 13, at 5 pm - a special "sunset" concert - at the Sydney Town Hall. This will be the only performance by the AJO in Sydney in a concert hall during the Bicentennial year. Previous performances at The Basement in February naturally drew audiences of mere jazz club proportions. The Town Hall performance will give more than 2,000 Sydney jazz fans an opportunity to hear the AJO fresh from its successful visit to the United States. The AJO's full itinerary in June, 1988, is as follows: June 11 Melbourne Concert Hall June 12 Flight to Sydney June 13 10 am, Ray Martin Show, TCN Channel 9 5 pm, Sydney Town Hall June 14 Gladstone City Theatre, Qld June 15 Townsville Civic Theatre, Qld June 16 Kuranda Amphitheatre, Via Cairns, Qld June 17 Mackay Entertainment Centre, Qld June 18 5 pm, Brisbane Performing Arts Centre*; 8.15 pm, Brisbane Performing Arts Centre* June 19 Brisbane Performing Arts Centre* The Australian Jazz Orchestra, rear L-R, Don Burrows, Dale Barlow, Warwick Alder, Paul Grabowsky, Alan Turnbull, Gary Costello, James Morrison. Front L-R, Bernie McGann, Bob Venier, Bob Bertles, Doug de Vries… PHOTO CREDIT BRANCO GAICA _________________________________________________ * The three concerts in Brisbane are for World Expo 88. 3 The AJO project is financially supported by the Australian Bicentennial Authority and Philip Morris Australia, managed by Peter Brendlé Enterprises, and administered by the Jazz Co-ordination Association of NSW Inc. 3. Increased Jazz Activity in Tasmania In a State like Tasmania, where there is very little jazz activity - only two or three professional groups are active throughout the whole State, I understand - the State jazz co-ordinator obviously has a difficult job. Without the infrastructures that exist in other States, almost every initiative is a pioneering effort. Yet, the Tasmanian Jazz Co-ordinator Alf Properjohn can take major credit for a number of encouraging developments which will quicken the pulse of Tasmanian jazz in 1988. Chief among these is his concentration on encouraging visits by leading musicians and groups from interstate. The Sydney trumpeter John Hoffman will be in Tasmania in September, 1988 for three weeks, working in the schools. This came about through Alf's approach to the Dept of Education, which is funding the visit in partnership with the Performing Arts Board. Alf assisted with the applications, gathered the relevant information, and later organised the itinerary which will take Hoffman to Hobart, Launceston and Burnie. John Hoffman, here on flugelhorn: in Tasmania for three weeks, working in the schools…PHOTO COURTESY AUSTRALIAN JAZZ MUSEUM 4 The coming visit of John Pochée's group Ten Part Invention in September, 1988, was another of Alf's initiatives. Alf suggested that responsibility for the group's visit be shared by the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, the Salamanca Arts Festival, and the Jazz Action Society of Tasmania. Also, at Alf's urging, the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board came in with a guarantee-against-loss, and a number of small sponsorships, including one from the Musicians Union, were secured. Ten Part Invention, L-R, Steve Elphick, Bob Bertles, Bernie McGann, Sandy Evans, Paul McNamara, Ken James, Miroslav Bukovsky, John Pochée, Warwick Alder, James Greening… In fact, Alf Properjohn has done extremely well in securing packages of corporate sponsorship. Motors Pty Ltd, Holden dealers, for example, have sponsored a visit by the Sydney reeds player Paul Furniss, to perform at the Salamanca Arts Festival with pianist Ian Pearce. In June, 1988, the Phil Treloar group Feeling To Thought will be artists-in-residence at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. This group includes Treloar, drums; Mark Simmonds, tenor saxophone; Dave Ades, alto saxophone; and Steve Elphick, double bass. While Alf does not claim all the credit for this development, he advised and assisted with the venture, and it looks as if his suggestion that the Treloar group be invited to perform in Burnie for the North West Community College and the North West Jazz Action Society will be taken up. These ventures will certainly have an effect. Add visits by the American saxophonists Richie Cole and Scott Hamilton; another visit by Paul Furniss to be special guest at the St Helens Sunshine Coast Jazz Festival in June, the formation of the new Launceston Jazz Club, and a vigorous new committee elected by the Jazz Action Society of Tasmania - most of which have had the benefit of the jazz co-ordinator's 5 A visit by Feeling To Thought, led by Phil Treloar (above) and Paul Furniss (below) to be special guest at the St Helens Sunshine Coast Jazz Festival… Initiatives which have benefited from Tas Jazz Co-ordinator Alf Properjohn’s involvement… PHOTO CREDITS TRELOAR (JANE MARCH); FURNISS (PETER SINCLAIR) involvement - then there is solid evidence that Alf Properjohn's jazz co-ordination program is having a major influence in Tasmania. 6 4. Loss of Jazz Venues in Sydney There is increasing concern in Sydney at the closure of venues which have provided employment for jazz musicians for many years. The most overground of these is, of course, The Basement, which closes in mid-June, 1988. That venue is the victim of so-called "redevelopment", with the building to be demolished. There is, however, a parallel phenomenon which is forcing city hotels to put off live groups: the NSW Government's inability to grant entertainment licences to hotels which fail to satisfy certain requirements. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on May 23, 1988, amendments were brought in to the Liquor Act in 1985, relating to "methods of egress, fire-retarding materials, sprinklers, fire hoses, combustible materials, carpets, wall materials and so on." [Editor's Note: "egress" = "going or coming out".] This means that many hotels, in order to secure an entertainment licence, are required to undergo renovations. But most small hotels, with low incomes, cannot afford such renovations. So, they cannot get an entertainment licence, which means that the live musicians have to go. The latest hotels to cease live entertainment are the Star Hotel, where the New Zenith Jazz Band played for the last three years, and the Civic Hotel. The Gresham Hotel, adjacent to the Town Hall, has been sold, and the licence transferred - this venue will become a bank. The Goulburn Club Hotel, the Forbes Tavern Hotel and the Glasgow Hotel have, I'm told, been sold to developers; all of them have had live groups on from time to time in the past. So, it appears that this situation has developed into a crisis for Sydney jazz musicians, particularly the traditionalists who tended to work in these establishments. Tom Wood, pianist and manager of the New Zenith Jazz Band, which had played at the Star Hotel for three years…PHOTO CREDIT DR R BYLER 7 In order to get essential information which might throw light on, this problem, I have written to the Chief Secretary, asking for clarification of the requirements for an entertainment licence, and pointing out that the Government's laws are materially affecting the employment of scores of jazz musicians. 5. Recent Australia Council Funding Decisions The Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council recently released its results for grants in the following programs: Composer Commissions, Composer-In-Residence, Recording, Publishing, Community & Regional Music Co-ordination, Visiting Teachers/Music Camps, Artists-In-Schools, Innovative Projects, and Improvement of Arts Management. The closing date for applications under all these programs was November 15, 1987.