Bernie McGann
Encyclopedia
Bernie McGann is an Australian jazz
alto saxophone
player. He began his career in the late 1950s and is still active as a performer, composer and recording artist.
, in Sydney
's western suburbs, McGann first came to prominence as part of a loose alliance of modern jazz musicians who performed at the El Rocco Jazz Cellar in Kings Cross
, Sydney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He has had an enduring collaboration with drummer John Pochee
.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, McGann (like many other local jazz players) also performed with rock and pop groups and as a session musician, and ca. 1970 he was a member of the Sydney rock-soul band Southern Comfort.
He has led his Bernie McGann Trio and Bernie McGann Quartet through his entire career, to the present day. The lineup of the Trio is McGann (alto sax), John Pochee (drums), Lloyd Swanton
(bass). The lineup of the Quartet is the same as the Trio, with the addition of Warwick Alder (trumpet).
Australian jazz
Jazz music has a long history in Australia. Over the years jazz has held a high profile at local clubs, festivals and other music venues and a vast number of recordings have been produced by Australian jazz musicians, many of whom have gone on to gain a high profile in the international jazz...
alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
player. He began his career in the late 1950s and is still active as a performer, composer and recording artist.
Biography
Born in Granville, New South WalesGranville, New South Wales
Granville, is a suburb in western Sydney, Australia. Granville is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. A small part in the north-west is located in the Local Government Area of the City of Holroyd.South Granville is a...
, in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's western suburbs, McGann first came to prominence as part of a loose alliance of modern jazz musicians who performed at the El Rocco Jazz Cellar in Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, Sydney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He has had an enduring collaboration with drummer John Pochee
John Pochee
John Pochée, is a Jazz Drummer and Bandleader.John Pochée was born in Sydney, Australia in 1940.His career as a professional musician began in 1956. He formed The Last Straw in 1974 and also played with the Judy Bailey Quartet from 1974 to 1979...
.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, McGann (like many other local jazz players) also performed with rock and pop groups and as a session musician, and ca. 1970 he was a member of the Sydney rock-soul band Southern Comfort.
He has led his Bernie McGann Trio and Bernie McGann Quartet through his entire career, to the present day. The lineup of the Trio is McGann (alto sax), John Pochee (drums), Lloyd Swanton
Lloyd Swanton
Lloyd Stuart Swanton is an Australian jazz double bassist/bass guitarist and composer, based in Sydney. Swanton was a member of Dynamic Hepnotics in 1986 and co-founded, jazz trio The Necks in 1987 with Chris Abrahams and Tony Buck....
(bass). The lineup of the Quartet is the same as the Trio, with the addition of Warwick Alder (trumpet).
Career highlights
- 1974 Founding and continuing member of The Last Straw (jazz group)
- 1980-82 played support to US jazz artists Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Lester BowieLester BowieLester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
, Dave LiebmanDave LiebmanDave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:...
etc. - 1981 played and recorded with US saxophonist Sonny StittSonny StittEdward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
- 1983 Studied in New York on a grant from The Australia Council
- 1986 Bernie McGann Trio toured Australia with US saxophonist Dewey RedmanDewey RedmanDewey Redman was an American jazz saxophonist, known for performing free jazz as a bandleader, and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett....
- 1987 Toured with The Last Straw to TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. Recorded two albums, one trio and one quartet, for Emanem which received critical acclaim internationally - 1988 Toured Australia and USA with the Australian Jazz Orchestra, a special Bicentennial project. Feature artist in award winning documentary film Beyond El Rocco. The Last Straw tour of New Zealand jazz festivals with an Australia Council international touring grant. Bernie McGann Trio played at London"s famous Ronnie ScottRonnie ScottRonnie 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...
's club before touring jazz festivals in PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Malaysia - 1989 Solo artist at AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's Jazz & Blues Festival. Appeared with The Last Straw at the prestigious MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
Jazz Festival in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Performed with Nat AdderleyNat AdderleyNathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.... - 1990 Toured USSRSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
with The Last Straw, performing to enthusiastic audiences at jazz festivals including LeningradSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea... - 1992 ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD 'Ugly Beauty', Spiral Scratch MO Award for Bernie McGann Trio in Jazz Group of the Year
- 1993 Toured Canadian Jazz Festivals
- 1994 Australian MO AwardMo AwardsThe Mo Awards are long running annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia....
for Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year. - 1995 ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD 'McGann McGann' on Rufus Records, which featured McGann originals
- 1996 Toured Canada and Europe including Northsea Jazz Festival and Munchener Klaviersummer.
- 1997 Bernie McGann Trio appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival. ARIA award for Bernie McGann Trio CD "'Playground'", Rufus Records.
- 1998 wins the Don Banks Music AwardDon Banks Music AwardThe Don Banks Music Award was established in order to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. The award was founded in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of the music board...
, the first time it has been awarded to a non-classical musician/composer. Launch of biography Bernie McGann: A Life in Jazz by Geoff Page (Kardooraire Press)