Graeme Bell
Encyclopedia
Graeme Emerson Bell AO
MBE
(born 7 September 1914 in Richmond, Victoria
, Australia) is an Australian Dixieland
and classical jazz pianist, composer and band leader. According to The Age
, his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he describes as 'nice larrikinism' and 'a happy Aussie outdoor feel.
Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as Rex Stewart
to Australia.
Bell wrote his autobiography
in 1988, Graeme Bell, Australian jazzman : his autobiography, which included a discography
compiled by Jack Mitchell. Bell was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
in 1997 alongside The Bee Gees
and Paul Kelly
. By 1999, Bell had made over 1500 recordings and performed in thousands of gigs in Australia and internationally. The Australian Jazz Awards
, or "The Bells", which commenced in 2003, are named in his honour.
, Australia, to John Alexander Bell, who had performed musical comedy
and music hall
on the early Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) radio, and Mary Elvina "Elva" (née
Rogers) Bell, who had been a contralto
recitalist in Dame Nellie Melba's
company. His younger brother, Roger Bell, was born in 1919. From the age of 12, Bell had weekly piano
lessons in classical music
by Jesse Stewart Young, a contemporary of his mother. His parents paid for the piano lessons for the first four years. He attended Scotch College
in 1929 and 1930, where he enjoyed playing cricket and creating contemporary art including sketches for the Scotch Collegian. He left school at age 16 during the Great Depression
and worked for T & G Insurance as a clerk for over nine years, and had a stint as a farm hand. He paid for his own piano lessons for two further years, and in later years he supplemented his income by teaching. Bell was converted to jazz by Roger, a drummer
, later a singer and trumpet
er. Roger would play 78s on the family's record player, including Fats Waller
's "Handful of Keys". Bell started playing jazz in 1935 with Roger at Melbourne
dances and clubs, one of his earliest gigs was at the Portsea
Hotel. While performing at Portsea, he met Margot Bliss, they later married. By 1941 he fronted his own Graeme Bell Jazz Gang. During World War II
, Bell was declared unfit for active service, so he entertained Australian troops, including travelling to Mackay, Queensland
in early 1943. Upon return to Melbourne, Bell became a full time professional with the Dixieland Jazz Band, which included Roger Bell, Geoff Kitchen, Adrian "Lazy Ade" Monsbourgh on trumpet
, Don "Pixie" Roberts on clarinet
, Lou "Baron" Silbereisen and Russ Murphy. Bell's first recordings were for William Miller's label Ampersand from 1943. His marriage to Bliss lasted for about a year, Bell later said "we were victims of the war". He later met and married Elizabeth Watson (1911–2007) Their marriage lasted from 1946–1961, and their daughter,Christina, was born during the band's first overseas tour.
for four-and-a-half months in 1947, including playing at the World Youth Festival in Prague
. "The Lizard", an improvisation recorded in the studio for Regal Zonophone Records
in June, was Bell's first composition. Another early recording was his composition, "Czechoslovak Journey", which was started in his studio in Bourke Street
, Melbourne and recorded together with 14 other tracks for Czechoslovak Journey by Supaphon Records in Prague on 23 September and 13 November 1947 and released in 1981 on LP.
Australian Jazz Band travelled to the United Kingdom in early 1948 and Bell started the Leicester Square
Jazz Club, playing music specifically for dancing, which continued into the 1950s. They played songs outside the standard jazz repertoire and, with their encouragement of dancing, caused concern to local jazz enthusiasts, but were popular with patrons. According to The Age
, his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he describes as "nice larrikinism" and "a happy Aussie outdoor feel".
During the early 1950s Bell periodically returned to UK and Europe from Melbourne to perform, a later line-up of Australian Jazz Band was Roger Bell Trumpet), Kitchen, Ade Monsbourgh (Trumpet & Alto), Pixie Roberts (Clarinet), Baron Silvereisen (Bass & Tuba) with Norman "Bud" Baker (Guitar & Banjo), Deryck "Kanga" Bentley (Trombone) and Johnny Sangster (Drums & Cornet). On 15 September 1951, this line-up recorded a concert with Big Bill Broonzy
at the Robert Schumann
Saal in Düsseldorf
, Germany; which was later released as Big Bill Broonzy in Concert with Graeme Bell & his Australian Jazz Band.
On Tuesday, 1 May 1951 they appeared at Oxford Town Hall.
Whilst touring through Germany, Bell encountered ardent fans:
After returning to Australia for another national tour Bell met Dorothy in Brisbane
in 1955 and she convinced him to relocate to Sydney
in 1957. Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as trumpet player, Rex Stewart
to Australia. There was some opposition from the Australian Musicians Union to foreign artists joining Australian bands, so Stewart had to play standing a metre (3 ft) in front of them to be classified as a soloist.
After relocating to Sydney, Bell played commercial music and taught piano to supplement his income. Bell and Dorothy married in 1961. In the 1960s, a trad jazz
boom in UK encouraged Bell to form the Graeme Bell All Stars and tour there. This band included, Monsbourgh on clarinet
, trombone
, alto saxophone
and second trumpet
, and Bob Barnard on trumpet. Bell recalled his approach with the band:
In March 1973, The Who
's rock opera Tommy
was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Bell as The Narrator. Other Australian artists were Daryl Braithwaite
(as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson
, Billy Thorpe
, Broderick Smith
, Jim Keays
, Colleen Hewett
, Linda George
, Ross Wilson, Bobby Bright, and Ian Meldrum
(as Uncle Ernie in Sydney).
After researching for five years, Bell wrote his autobiography
in 1988, Graeme Bell, Australian jazzman : his autobiography, which included a discography
compiled by Jack Mitchell. By 1999, Bell had made over 1500 recordings and performed in thousands of gigs in Australia and internationally.
on 11 June 1990 for "service to music, particularly jazz". He was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
in 1997 alongside The Bee Gees
and Paul Kelly
.
The Australian Jazz Awards
, or "The Bells", which commenced in 2003, are named in his honour. At the inaugural ceremony on 28 August, Bell inducted his former band member from 60 years earlier, Ade Monsbourgh, into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame.
Bell is the first Australian jazz band leader to be playing at 90 years old, and the first Westerner to lead a jazz band to China.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 September 1914 in Richmond, Victoria
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, Australia) is an Australian Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
and classical jazz pianist, composer and band leader. According to The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he describes as 'nice larrikinism' and 'a happy Aussie outdoor feel.
Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....
to Australia.
Bell wrote his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
in 1988, Graeme Bell, Australian jazzman : his autobiography, which included a discography
Discography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
compiled by Jack Mitchell. Bell was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in 1997 alongside The Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
and Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
. By 1999, Bell had made over 1500 recordings and performed in thousands of gigs in Australia and internationally. The Australian Jazz Awards
Australian Jazz Bell Awards
Australian Jazz Bell Awards, also known just as the Bell Awards or The Bells, are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia...
, or "The Bells", which commenced in 2003, are named in his honour.
Early life
Bell was born in 1914 in Richmond, VictoriaRichmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, Australia, to John Alexander Bell, who had performed musical comedy
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
on the early Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) radio, and Mary Elvina "Elva" (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Rogers) Bell, who had been a contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
recitalist in Dame Nellie Melba's
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
company. His younger brother, Roger Bell, was born in 1919. From the age of 12, Bell had weekly piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
by Jesse Stewart Young, a contemporary of his mother. His parents paid for the piano lessons for the first four years. He attended Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in 1929 and 1930, where he enjoyed playing cricket and creating contemporary art including sketches for the Scotch Collegian. He left school at age 16 during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and worked for T & G Insurance as a clerk for over nine years, and had a stint as a farm hand. He paid for his own piano lessons for two further years, and in later years he supplemented his income by teaching. Bell was converted to jazz by Roger, a drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, later a singer and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er. Roger would play 78s on the family's record player, including Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
's "Handful of Keys". Bell started playing jazz in 1935 with Roger at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
dances and clubs, one of his earliest gigs was at the Portsea
Portsea, Victoria
Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
Hotel. While performing at Portsea, he met Margot Bliss, they later married. By 1941 he fronted his own Graeme Bell Jazz Gang. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bell was declared unfit for active service, so he entertained Australian troops, including travelling to Mackay, Queensland
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
in early 1943. Upon return to Melbourne, Bell became a full time professional with the Dixieland Jazz Band, which included Roger Bell, Geoff Kitchen, Adrian "Lazy Ade" Monsbourgh on trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Don "Pixie" Roberts on clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, Lou "Baron" Silbereisen and Russ Murphy. Bell's first recordings were for William Miller's label Ampersand from 1943. His marriage to Bliss lasted for about a year, Bell later said "we were victims of the war". He later met and married Elizabeth Watson (1911–2007) Their marriage lasted from 1946–1961, and their daughter,Christina, was born during the band's first overseas tour.
Career
Bell became leader of the house band for the Eureka Youth League (formerly the Communist Youth League) and established a cabaret, the Uptown Club, in 1946. After playing at the inaugural Australian Jazz Convention in December, Bell's band was renamed Australian Jazz Band and became the first such band to tour Europe. Australian Jazz Band members were initially, Bell on piano, Roger Bell on cornet and vocal, Monsbourgh on valve trombone, clarinet and vocal, Roberts on clarinet, Silbereisen on bass and tuba, with Charlie Blott, Ian Pearce and Jack Varney on banjo and guitar. They toured CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia 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...
for four-and-a-half months in 1947, including playing at the World Youth Festival in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. "The Lizard", an improvisation recorded in the studio for Regal Zonophone Records
Regal Zonophone Records
Regal Zonophone Records was a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal Records and Zonophone Records labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies - the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company - to form EMI.Originally Regal...
in June, was Bell's first composition. Another early recording was his composition, "Czechoslovak Journey", which was started in his studio in Bourke Street
Bourke Street, Melbourne
Bourke Street is one of Melbourne's best known streets. Historically been regarded as Melbourne's "second street", with the main street being Collins Street and "busier than Bourke Street" is a popular catchphrase. Bourke Street has traditionally been Melbourne's entertainment hub...
, Melbourne and recorded together with 14 other tracks for Czechoslovak Journey by Supaphon Records in Prague on 23 September and 13 November 1947 and released in 1981 on LP.
Australian Jazz Band travelled to the United Kingdom in early 1948 and Bell started the Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
Jazz Club, playing music specifically for dancing, which continued into the 1950s. They played songs outside the standard jazz repertoire and, with their encouragement of dancing, caused concern to local jazz enthusiasts, but were popular with patrons. According to The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he describes as "nice larrikinism" and "a happy Aussie outdoor feel".
During the early 1950s Bell periodically returned to UK and Europe from Melbourne to perform, a later line-up of Australian Jazz Band was Roger Bell Trumpet), Kitchen, Ade Monsbourgh (Trumpet & Alto), Pixie Roberts (Clarinet), Baron Silvereisen (Bass & Tuba) with Norman "Bud" Baker (Guitar & Banjo), Deryck "Kanga" Bentley (Trombone) and Johnny Sangster (Drums & Cornet). On 15 September 1951, this line-up recorded a concert with Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
at the Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
Saal in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany; which was later released as Big Bill Broonzy in Concert with Graeme Bell & his Australian Jazz Band.
On Tuesday, 1 May 1951 they appeared at Oxford Town Hall.
Whilst touring through Germany, Bell encountered ardent fans:
After returning to Australia for another national tour Bell met Dorothy in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in 1955 and she convinced him to relocate to 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...
in 1957. Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as trumpet player, Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....
to Australia. There was some opposition from the Australian Musicians Union to foreign artists joining Australian bands, so Stewart had to play standing a metre (3 ft) in front of them to be classified as a soloist.
After relocating to Sydney, Bell played commercial music and taught piano to supplement his income. Bell and Dorothy married in 1961. In the 1960s, a trad jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
boom in UK encouraged Bell to form the Graeme Bell All Stars and tour there. This band included, Monsbourgh on clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, 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...
and second trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and Bob Barnard on trumpet. Bell recalled his approach with the band:
In March 1973, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's rock opera Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
was performed as an orchestral version in Australia with Bell as The Narrator. Other Australian artists were Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian pop singer. Best known as the lead vocalist of Sherbet, Braithwaite has also sustained a successful solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including the No...
(as Tommy), Wendy Saddington, Doug Parkinson
Doug Parkinson
Douglas "Doug" Parkinson is an Australian singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson In Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts.-Career:...
, Billy Thorpe
Billy Thorpe
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician...
, Broderick Smith
Broderick Smith
Broderick Smith aka Brod Smith is an Australian singer-songwriter, harmonica, guitar and banjo player. He was a member of 1970s bands Carson and The Dingoes, 1980s Broderick Smith's Big Combo and performed solo...
, Jim Keays
Jim Keays
James "Jim" Keays is an Australian musician who fronted rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player during 1965–1972, and subsequently had a solo career including leading Jim Keays' Southern Cross...
, Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
, Linda George
Linda George (Australian singer)
Linda George is an English-born Australian pop, jazz fusion and soul singer from the 1970s. In 1973, George performed the role of Acid Queen for the Australian stage performance of The Who's rock opera, Tommy. She won the TV Week King of Pop award for "Best New Female Artist"...
, Ross Wilson, Bobby Bright, and Ian Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...
(as Uncle Ernie in Sydney).
After researching for five years, Bell wrote his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
in 1988, Graeme Bell, Australian jazzman : his autobiography, which included a discography
Discography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
compiled by Jack Mitchell. By 1999, Bell had made over 1500 recordings and performed in thousands of gigs in Australia and internationally.
Honours and awards
Bell was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) on 1 January 1978 for "valuable service to jazz music" and an Officer of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
on 11 June 1990 for "service to music, particularly jazz". He was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
in 1997 alongside The Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
and Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
.
The Australian Jazz Awards
Australian Jazz Bell Awards
Australian Jazz Bell Awards, also known just as the Bell Awards or The Bells, are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia...
, or "The Bells", which commenced in 2003, are named in his honour. At the inaugural ceremony on 28 August, Bell inducted his former band member from 60 years earlier, Ade Monsbourgh, into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame.
Bell is the first Australian jazz band leader to be playing at 90 years old, and the first Westerner to lead a jazz band to China.
Personal life
Bell's younger brother, Roger Bell (1919–2008) was also a jazz musician; Roger is credited with influencing Bell to convert from classical music to jazz; they often performed, toured and recorded together. Bell has married three times, c. 1943 for about a year to Margot Bliss, Bell later said "we were victims of the war". His second marriage was to Elizabeth Watson in 1946, lasting until 1961 and his third marriage is to Dorothy Gough from 1961.Discography
- Top of the Town – 1950 (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) - Cakewalkin' Babies Back Home – 1951 (EMI)
- Inside Jazz Down Under – 1954 (Angel RecordsAngel RecordsAngel Records is a record label belonging to EMI. It was formed in 1953 and specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score...
) - Down Town with Graeme Bell – 1974 (Festival Records)
- Graeme Bell All-Stars – 1980 (Jazzology RecordsJazzology RecordsJazzology Records is a United States based record label specializing in traditional jazz.Jazzology was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, who still runs it, now under the auspices of the George H. Buck, Jr. Foundation, dedicated to the preservation great jazz recordings...
) - Czechoslovak Journey – 1983 (Swaggie)
- Paris 1948 – 1983 (Swaggie)