Allan Browne
Encyclopedia
Allan Browne is an Australia jazz
drummer and composer first known for his work in the Red Onion Jazz band in the 1960's.
, Barney Mc All, Steve Grant and Paul Grabowsky
's Trio and Quintet. Simultaneously he led the contemporary jazz group Onaje, which was selected to represent Australia at the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival in 1992.
Also in demand as an accompanist, Allan has worked with over 35 International Jazz icons including Milt Jackson
, Jay Mc Shann, Herb Ellis
, Phil Woods
, Al Cohn, Plas Johnson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Art Hodes, Barney Kessel, Urbie Green, Buddy Tate, Joe Newman, Mal.Waldren, Johnny Griffin, Scott Hamilton, Wild Bill Davidson, Urbie Green, Ronnie Scott
, Charlie Bird
, Ralph Sutton, Sheilah Jordan, Red Holloway, Emily Remla and Richie Cole.
Browne has been awarded five grants by the Australia Council
, including one for Onaje to tour nationally in 1989 and three for recording. His discography totals over 70 LP's or CDs, including The Red Onion's "Big Band Memories", "Creole Rhapsody" and "Crisis". The Paul Grabowsky
Trio's "Six by Three" (Aria best jazz album 1990) and "When Words Fail" (1995, Aria best jazz album 1996), Onaje's "Straight as a Briefcase ", New Orlean's Rascal's "Out of Nowhere", "Genre Jumpin Jazz", his Quartet's "BirdCalls", Shelley Scown's "Angel", Browne,Haywood and Steven's "Sudden in a Shaft of Sunlight" and His New Rascal's "East St. Kilda Toodleoo". (The last five were short-listed for Aria awards).
In the 1990's Allan performed with the Paul Grabowsky
Trio, Onaje, The Paul Rettke Quartet, Shelley Scown and Margie Lou Dyer, while leading The New Orleans Rascals and co-leading four trios which alternated regularly at his residency on Mondays at Bennett's Lane. All of these working collaborations have had CDs released to strong critical acclaim and are firmly established on the National Festival Circuit. Partnerships have included Gary Costello and Barry Duggan, Tim Stevens and Nick Haywood
. Currently Allan is working with Eugene Ball
and Nick Haywood
, Gary Costello, David Rex, Andrea Keller, Geoff Hughes, Ben Robertson and the genre bending larger group of young musicians, "Jazz Ark".
Allan has also been involved in many film scores including Paul Grabowsky's AFI award-winning music for the documentary on Joy Hester, "The Goodlooker" and Sue Stamps animated "The Whirligig". Television credits include "The Esso Jazz Summit", Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Bodgie Da Da and the Birth Of Cool "Access All areas", The ABC Arts Programs and many variety appearances.
Allan lectured in Jazz history and appreciation, worked as a visiting artist at the Victorian College of the Arts
and taught privately and at Geelong Grammar School
. A full member of APRA
, he served three years on the Music Committee of the Australia Council and was chairman of the Melbourne Jazz Co-op and Victorian representative on the National Jazz Coordinator's Advisory Committee. In the1960's Allan worked as production manager for Fred Schepisi's Film House then spent ten years as managing director of a fashion manufacturing business in the 1970's. During this time he was on the committee of the Fashion Industries Association of Australia. He also co-curated the exhibition "New Orleans and all that Jazz " at the Westpac gallery in Melbourne Arts Centre.
Browne is also a keen writer. He has some articles and poems published and is working on an anthology of poems and essays from the perspective of a forty year career as a jazz musician. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his wife Margie Lou Dyer (also a musician) and the two youngest of his five children (All of whom are musicians). In November 2000 he received the prestigious Don Banks Award for his contribution to Australian music. This grant of $60,000.00 by the Australia Council has only been awarded to one other jazz musician since its inception.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer and composer first known for his work in the Red Onion Jazz band in the 1960's.
Life and career
Initially self taught, Allan spent the 1960's establishing the Red Onion Jazz Band internationally, along with close friends Brett Iggulden and Bill Howard. He led this group through three extended European tours (including appearances at the Polish and Hungarian Jazz Festivals) in 1967,1969 and 1994. From the mid 1970's to the mid 1990's, after studying percussion with Graham Morgan, Allan worked extensively with Peter Gaudion, Geoff Kitchen, Ken Shroeder, Vince JonesVince Jones
Vince Jones is an Australian jazz artist. He is a singer, songwriter, and trumpet/flugelhorn player. His music includes both original music and new contemporary versions of jazz standards. His themes are often love, inequity, injustice, peace and anti-greed.He attributes his love of jazz to...
, Barney Mc All, Steve Grant and Paul Grabowsky
Paul Grabowsky
-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums...
's Trio and Quintet. Simultaneously he led the contemporary jazz group Onaje, which was selected to represent Australia at the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival in 1992.
Also in demand as an accompanist, Allan has worked with over 35 International Jazz icons including Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson
Milton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
, Jay Mc Shann, Herb Ellis
Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert "Herb" Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as "an excellent bop-based guitarist with a...
, Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Al Cohn, Plas Johnson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Art Hodes, Barney Kessel, Urbie Green, Buddy Tate, Joe Newman, Mal.Waldren, Johnny Griffin, Scott Hamilton, Wild Bill Davidson, Urbie Green, Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
, Charlie Bird
Charlie Bird
Charles "Charlie" Bird is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. He was Chief News Correspondent with RTÉ News and Current Affairs until January 2009. He took up the role of Washington Correspondent, but prematurely returned to his earlier post in Ireland in June 2010.-Early life:Bird was born in...
, Ralph Sutton, Sheilah Jordan, Red Holloway, Emily Remla and Richie Cole.
Browne has been awarded five grants by the Australia Council
Australia Council
The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...
, including one for Onaje to tour nationally in 1989 and three for recording. His discography totals over 70 LP's or CDs, including The Red Onion's "Big Band Memories", "Creole Rhapsody" and "Crisis". The Paul Grabowsky
Paul Grabowsky
-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums...
Trio's "Six by Three" (Aria best jazz album 1990) and "When Words Fail" (1995, Aria best jazz album 1996), Onaje's "Straight as a Briefcase ", New Orlean's Rascal's "Out of Nowhere", "Genre Jumpin Jazz", his Quartet's "BirdCalls", Shelley Scown's "Angel", Browne,Haywood and Steven's "Sudden in a Shaft of Sunlight" and His New Rascal's "East St. Kilda Toodleoo". (The last five were short-listed for Aria awards).
In the 1990's Allan performed with the Paul Grabowsky
Paul Grabowsky
-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums...
Trio, Onaje, The Paul Rettke Quartet, Shelley Scown and Margie Lou Dyer, while leading The New Orleans Rascals and co-leading four trios which alternated regularly at his residency on Mondays at Bennett's Lane. All of these working collaborations have had CDs released to strong critical acclaim and are firmly established on the National Festival Circuit. Partnerships have included Gary Costello and Barry Duggan, Tim Stevens and Nick Haywood
Nick Haywood
Nick Haywood is a prominent Australian jazz double bass player, composer and music educator in Melbourne.He has worked with many of Australia's best known Australian jazz musicians including Don Burrows, Dale Barlow, Paul Grabowsky, Bernie McGann, and James Morrison, and with many international...
. Currently Allan is working with Eugene Ball
Eugene Ball
Eugene Ball is an Australian jazz music composer and acclaimed trumpeter who won the best Australian jazz composition award for Fool Poet's Portion in 2008....
and Nick Haywood
Nick Haywood
Nick Haywood is a prominent Australian jazz double bass player, composer and music educator in Melbourne.He has worked with many of Australia's best known Australian jazz musicians including Don Burrows, Dale Barlow, Paul Grabowsky, Bernie McGann, and James Morrison, and with many international...
, Gary Costello, David Rex, Andrea Keller, Geoff Hughes, Ben Robertson and the genre bending larger group of young musicians, "Jazz Ark".
Allan has also been involved in many film scores including Paul Grabowsky's AFI award-winning music for the documentary on Joy Hester, "The Goodlooker" and Sue Stamps animated "The Whirligig". Television credits include "The Esso Jazz Summit", Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Bodgie Da Da and the Birth Of Cool "Access All areas", The ABC Arts Programs and many variety appearances.
Allan lectured in Jazz history and appreciation, worked as a visiting artist at the Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
and taught privately and at Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
. A full member of APRA
APRA
APRA or Apra may refer to:* American Popular Revolutionary Alliance , a Peruvian political party* Australasian Performing Right Association, a copyright collecting society...
, he served three years on the Music Committee of the Australia Council and was chairman of the Melbourne Jazz Co-op and Victorian representative on the National Jazz Coordinator's Advisory Committee. In the1960's Allan worked as production manager for Fred Schepisi's Film House then spent ten years as managing director of a fashion manufacturing business in the 1970's. During this time he was on the committee of the Fashion Industries Association of Australia. He also co-curated the exhibition "New Orleans and all that Jazz " at the Westpac gallery in Melbourne Arts Centre.
Browne is also a keen writer. He has some articles and poems published and is working on an anthology of poems and essays from the perspective of a forty year career as a jazz musician. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his wife Margie Lou Dyer (also a musician) and the two youngest of his five children (All of whom are musicians). In November 2000 he received the prestigious Don Banks Award for his contribution to Australian music. This grant of $60,000.00 by the Australia Council has only been awarded to one other jazz musician since its inception.