Jazz made in Australia – Program for Monday the 22nd of June

Allan Vincent Browne OAM jazz drummer, composer and poet was born in Melbourne in 1944 and died in Melbourne on June 13th 2015 just short of his 71st birthday.

Allan was considered an icon in Australia´s jazz community and Paul Grabowsky also a highly respected jazz musician has said, and I quote “Allan Browne was, in my view, the single most important jazz musician that Melbourne has ever produced” end quote. Other similar accolades have been pouring in to the media since Allan´s death just a few days ago from an infection. Allan had a lung transplant in 2002 and the anti rejection drugs he was obliged to take also kept his immune system at a low ebb.

I will dedicate this weeks program to Allan Browne and share with you as much of his life and music as I can in the short time we have.

Initially self taught Allan came into prominence when he, Brett Iggulden and Bill Howard established the `Red Onions Jazz Band´ in the early 60´s. It was a New Orleans styled traditional jazz band and it´s 6 members, all in their seventeens, had a flair for performance with a zany sense of humor. The band took off and soon had a cult following and drawing capacity crowds.

Tracklist

1. East St Louis Toodle-OO: Red Onions Jazz Band – Vinyl LP Bigbandmemories – W+G LP 1966

2. Flat Foot Floogie: Red Onions Jazz Band live @ Polish Jazz Festival – Warsaw 1967

3. Congo Square: Allans Browne Band + Onaje – Genre Jumping Jazz – Newmarket Records 1989

4. Lunch Cutters Ball: Browne, Haywood, Stevens – Sudden in a Shaft of Sunlight – Rufus Records 1998

5. Blues for St. Stephens: Duggan, Browne, Costello – L´Etranger – Newmarket Records 1997

6. East St Kilda Toodle-OO: Allan Browne´s New Rascals – East St Kilda Toodle-OO – Jazzhead Records

7. Bronchoscopy: Allan Browne Quintet – Cyclosporine – Jazzhead Records 2004

8. On the Deck: Allan Browne Quintet – Ithica Bound – Jazzhead Records 2014