Jump to content

Jim Gussey: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →History: typo
m →Biography: task, replaced: newspaper=The Land (newspaper) → newspaper=The Land
 
(2 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|New Zealand trumpeter and conductor}}
{{Short description|New Zealand trumpeter and conductor}}
'''Jim Gussey''' (1908 – 6 January 1990) was a New Zealand-born trumpeter who had a successful career in Australia. He is best remembered as conductor of the ABC Dance Band, performing on [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] radio and television networks.
'''James Thomas Gussey''' (21 February 1906 – 6 January 1990) was a New Zealand-born trumpeter who had a successful career in Australia. He is best remembered as conductor of the ABC Dance Band, performing on [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] radio and television networks.


==History==
==Biography==
Gussey was born in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, a son of Mary Ann Gussey<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18261472 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=35,589 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 January 1952 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and Thomas Andrew Gussey.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18240165 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=35,542 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 November 1951 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> At the age of ten he was playing trumpet with the Ponsonby Boys' Band.<ref name=dies>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120871280 |title=Ex-ABC band leader dies |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=64 |issue=19,995 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=9 January 1990 |accessdate=8 July 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He played with various dance bands before moving to Australia in 1925<ref name=Bridges>{{cite book|title=Wonderful Wireless |author=Nancye Bridges |year=1983 |publisher=Methuen |isbn=045400513X}}</ref> or around 1928,<ref name=leader/>{{efn|Another source is more specific: he travelled to Sydney "with Maurie Gilman in 1927; both joined the Jimmie Elkins Band."<ref name=Discogs>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/3973169-Jim-Gussey |title=Jim Gussey |publisher=Discogs |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref> and began working in theatre bands for [[J. C. Williamson's]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219747238 |title=The Band for the Ball |newspaper=[[Lithgow Mercury]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 June 1948 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Gussey was born in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, on 21 February 1906, a son of Mary Ann Gussey<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18261472 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=35,589 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 January 1952 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and Thomas Andrew Gussey.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18240165 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=35,542 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 November 1951 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/search?path=%2FqueryEntry.m%3Ftype%3Dbirths |title=Birth search: registration number 1906/3066 |website=Births, deaths & marriages online |publisher=Department of Internal Affairs |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> At the age of ten he was playing trumpet with the Ponsonby Boys' Band.<ref name=dies>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120871280 |title=Ex-ABC band leader dies |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=64 |issue=19,995 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=9 January 1990 |accessdate=8 July 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He played with various dance bands before moving to Australia in 1925<ref name=Bridges>{{cite book|title=Wonderful Wireless |author=Nancye Bridges |year=1983 |publisher=Methuen |isbn=045400513X}}</ref> or around 1928.<ref name=leader/> Another source is more specific: he travelled to Sydney "with Maurie Gilman in 1927; both joined the Jimmie Elkins Band"<ref name=Discogs>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/3973169-Jim-Gussey |title=Jim Gussey |publisher=Discogs |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref> and began working in theatre bands for [[J. C. Williamson's]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219747238 |title=The Band for the Ball |newspaper=[[Lithgow Mercury]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 June 1948 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In January 1928, Gussey's engagement to Olivia Mary (Olive) McKibbin was announced in Sydney,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19280128.2.191.3 |title=Engagements announced |date=28 January 1928 |work=[[Auckland Star]] |volume=59 |issue=23 |page=20 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> and the couple were married later that year at All Saints' Church, [[Ponsonby, New Zealand|Ponsonby]], Auckland, on 1 August.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19280802.2.9.2 |title=Weddings |date=2 August 1928 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |volume=65 |issue=20014 |page=5 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>


Gussey first worked with [[James Hutchinson Davidson|Jim Davidson]] at the [[Lyric Wintergarden Theatre]], where Davidson was the orchestra's drummer, though he also played cornet; the band migrated to the Wentworth Hotel on Lang Street, then to [[David Stewart Dawson|Dawson]]'s fashionable Ambassadors restaurant on [[Pitt Street]]<ref name=Queen>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12645807 |title=To Make the Queen's Music |newspaper=[[The Sun-Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 January 1954 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the Oriental{{efn|Perhaps the Oriental Hotel on Crown Street}} in 1931 when, as Jim Davidson's Dance Orchestra, they first appeared on radio.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236682627 |title=To-day's Broadcast |newspaper=[[The Labor Daily]] |issue=2466 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=30 October 1931 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1932 "Jimmie" Gussey was playing at the Astra cabaret, [[Bondi, New South Wales|Bondi]], in a band that included Dick Slade. Maurie Gilman, Chic Donovan, Frank Guigan, and Noel Young. Gussey joined Davidson's band in 1933.<ref name=dies/>
Gussey first worked with [[James Hutchinson Davidson|Jim Davidson]] at the [[Lyric Wintergarden Theatre]], where Davidson was the orchestra's drummer, though he also played cornet; the band migrated to the Wentworth Hotel on Lang Street, then to [[David Stewart Dawson|Dawson]]'s fashionable Ambassadors restaurant on [[Pitt Street]]<ref name=Queen>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12645807 |title=To Make the Queen's Music |newspaper=[[The Sun-Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 January 1954 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and the Oriental{{efn|Perhaps the Oriental Hotel on Crown Street}} in 1931 when, as Jim Davidson's Dance Orchestra, they first appeared on radio.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236682627 |title=To-day's Broadcast |newspaper=[[The Labor Daily]] |issue=2466 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=30 October 1931 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1932 "Jimmie" Gussey was playing at the Astra cabaret, [[Bondi, New South Wales|Bondi]], in a band that included Dick Slade. Maurie Gilman, Chic Donovan, Frank Guigan, and Noel Young. Gussey joined Davidson's band in 1933.<ref name=dies/>
:The ABC Dance Band was founded in 1929 with the foundation of the National Broadcasting Service.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16552926 |title=Broadcasting |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=28,559 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 July 1929 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><!--Discogs has 1932<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/6824858-The-ABC-Sydney-Dance-Band |title=The ABC Sydney Dance Band |publisher=Discogs |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref> with Cecil Fraser as leader.--> Few details have been found of this period, and their mentions in the newspaper programmes were few and sporadic.


Davidson's band became the ABC Dance Band in 1935, with Gussey a member.<ref name=Bridges/> Others in the band in 1935 were Peter Cantrell (alto saxophone), Dudley Cantrell (trombone), Jack Rickette (piano), Charles Donovan (saxophone), Gordon Rawlinson (piano), Alice Smith (vocals), Frank McLaughlin (alto saxophone), Allen Barr (guitar), Ray Tarrant (trumpet), Tom Stevenson (drums), O. Wills (double bass), John Warren (vocals), and Essie Morrison (piano).<!--no article for any of these--><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104203185 |title=Our Radio Page |newspaper=[[The Land (newspaper)]] |issue=1279 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 December 1935 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The ABC Dance Band was founded in 1929 with the foundation of the National Broadcasting Service.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16552926 |title=Broadcasting |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=28,559 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 July 1929 |access-date=8 July 2023 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><!--Discogs has 1932<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/6824858-The-ABC-Sydney-Dance-Band |title=The ABC Sydney Dance Band |publisher=Discogs |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref> with Cecil Fraser as leader.--> Few details have been found of this period, and their mentions in the newspaper programmes were few and sporadic.

Davidson's band became the ABC Dance Band in 1935, with Gussey a member.<ref name=Bridges/> Others in the band in 1935 were Peter Cantrell (alto saxophone), Dudley Cantrell (trombone), Jack Rickette (piano), Charles Donovan (saxophone), Gordon Rawlinson (piano), Alice Smith (vocals), Frank McLaughlin (alto saxophone), Allen Barr (guitar), Ray Tarrant (trumpet), Tom Stevenson (drums), O. Wills (double bass), John Warren (vocals), and Essie Morrison (piano).<!--no article for any of these--><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104203185 |title=Our Radio Page |newspaper=[[The Land (newspaper)|The Land]] |issue=1279 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 December 1935 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1936 Davidson left for a stint in Britain and Howard Jacobs took his place for the duration.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137246184 |title=Australian Dance Band |newspaper=[[Huon and Derwent Times]] |volume=26 |issue=2478 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=26 March 1936 |accessdate=8 July 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1936 Davidson left for a stint in Britain and Howard Jacobs took his place for the duration.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137246184 |title=Australian Dance Band |newspaper=[[Huon and Derwent Times]] |volume=26 |issue=2478 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=26 March 1936 |accessdate=8 July 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1937 he was a member of an ensemble selected by Davidson to tour Australia, accompanying [[Gladys Moncrieff]], [[Tex Morton]], and harmonica virtuoso Harry Thompson.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187328639 |title=Gladys Moncrieff and Jim Davidson's A.B.C. Dance Band |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Brisbane)]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=27 October 1937 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=25 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1937 he was a member of an ensemble selected by Davidson to tour Australia, accompanying [[Gladys Moncrieff]], [[Tex Morton]], and harmonica virtuoso Harry Thompson.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187328639 |title=Gladys Moncrieff and Jim Davidson's A.B.C. Dance Band |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Brisbane)]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=27 October 1937 |access-date=7 July 2023 |page=25 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Line 31: Line 34:
| language=English
| language=English
}}</ref> They made various 78{{nbsp}}rpm recordings for [[Parlophone]] and a smaller number of 45{{nbsp}}rpm and 33{{nbsp}}rpm microgroove records.<ref name=Discogs/>
}}</ref> They made various 78{{nbsp}}rpm recordings for [[Parlophone]] and a smaller number of 45{{nbsp}}rpm and 33{{nbsp}}rpm microgroove records.<ref name=Discogs/>

Gussey died in Sydney on 6 January 1990.<ref name=dies />


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Gussey, Jim}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gussey, Jim}}
⚫
[[Category:1906 births]]
⚫
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Musicians from Auckland]]
[[Category:New Zealand jazz musicians]]
[[Category:New Zealand emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Australian jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Australian jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Australian jazz trumpeters]]
[[Category:Australian jazz trumpeters]]
Line 42: Line 54:
[[Category:Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio]]
[[Category:Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio]]
[[Category:Australian Broadcasting Corporation television]]
[[Category:Australian Broadcasting Corporation television]]
⚫
[[Category:1908 births]]
⚫
[[Category:1990 deaths]]

Latest revision as of 16:08, 22 July 2023

James Thomas Gussey (21 February 1906 – 6 January 1990) was a New Zealand-born trumpeter who had a successful career in Australia. He is best remembered as conductor of the ABC Dance Band, performing on ABC radio and television networks.

Biography

[edit]

Gussey was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 21 February 1906, a son of Mary Ann Gussey[1] and Thomas Andrew Gussey.[2][3] At the age of ten he was playing trumpet with the Ponsonby Boys' Band.[4] He played with various dance bands before moving to Australia in 1925[5] or around 1928.[6] Another source is more specific: he travelled to Sydney "with Maurie Gilman in 1927; both joined the Jimmie Elkins Band"[7] and began working in theatre bands for J. C. Williamson's.[8]

In January 1928, Gussey's engagement to Olivia Mary (Olive) McKibbin was announced in Sydney,[9] and the couple were married later that year at All Saints' Church, Ponsonby, Auckland, on 1 August.[10]

Gussey first worked with Jim Davidson at the Lyric Wintergarden Theatre, where Davidson was the orchestra's drummer, though he also played cornet; the band migrated to the Wentworth Hotel on Lang Street, then to Dawson's fashionable Ambassadors restaurant on Pitt Street[11] and the Oriental[a] in 1931 when, as Jim Davidson's Dance Orchestra, they first appeared on radio.[12] In 1932 "Jimmie" Gussey was playing at the Astra cabaret, Bondi, in a band that included Dick Slade. Maurie Gilman, Chic Donovan, Frank Guigan, and Noel Young. Gussey joined Davidson's band in 1933.[4]

The ABC Dance Band was founded in 1929 with the foundation of the National Broadcasting Service.[13] Few details have been found of this period, and their mentions in the newspaper programmes were few and sporadic.

Davidson's band became the ABC Dance Band in 1935, with Gussey a member.[5] Others in the band in 1935 were Peter Cantrell (alto saxophone), Dudley Cantrell (trombone), Jack Rickette (piano), Charles Donovan (saxophone), Gordon Rawlinson (piano), Alice Smith (vocals), Frank McLaughlin (alto saxophone), Allen Barr (guitar), Ray Tarrant (trumpet), Tom Stevenson (drums), O. Wills (double bass), John Warren (vocals), and Essie Morrison (piano).[14] In 1936 Davidson left for a stint in Britain and Howard Jacobs took his place for the duration.[15] In 1937 he was a member of an ensemble selected by Davidson to tour Australia, accompanying Gladys Moncrieff, Tex Morton, and harmonica virtuoso Harry Thompson.[16] In 1938 the band made another Australian tour.[17]

In 1941 Davidson joined the Second AIF, appointed to the Australian Army Amenities Service with the rank of captain, and Gussey, who had been acting as his deputy, was appointed conductor in his place.[6] Seven band members also enlisted, so Gussey began with a depleted orchestra, but slowly rebuilt it. In 1951 the band played at the function accompanying the inaugural ABC Sportsman of the Year award at the Sydney Town Hall.[18] In February 1954 he led the band playing at two balls — Sydney and Canberra — attended by the newly-crowned Elizabeth II.[11]

He led the ABC dance band in many live-to-air programs in the early days of television in Australia, notably The Lorrae Desmond Show[19] and its successor, Four for the Show.[20] He led the ABC Dance Band in two series of concerts for Australian troops in Vietnam, the first in March 1969.[21] He retired in 1969,[4] and the band's title became the "ABC Sydney Showband".[22]

Gussey wrote and arranged a large number of songs and orchestral pieces, many of which have been published.[23] They made various 78 rpm recordings for Parlophone and a smaller number of 45 rpm and 33 rpm microgroove records.[7]

Gussey died in Sydney on 6 January 1990.[4]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Perhaps the Oriental Hotel on Crown Street

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 589. New South Wales, Australia. 15 January 1952. p. 18. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 542. New South Wales, Australia. 20 November 1951. p. 18. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Birth search: registration number 1906/3066". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "Ex-ABC band leader dies". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 19, 995. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 January 1990. p. 4. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ a b Nancye Bridges (1983). Wonderful Wireless. Methuen. ISBN 045400513X.
  6. ^ a b "ABC Dance Band Leader". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 29, 579. Victoria, Australia. 12 June 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "Jim Gussey". Discogs. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  8. ^ "The Band for the Ball". Lithgow Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 23 June 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Engagements announced". Auckland Star. Vol. 59, no. 23. 28 January 1928. p. 20. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Weddings". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 65, no. 20014. 2 August 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b "To Make the Queen's Music". The Sun-Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 17 January 1954. p. 18. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "To-day's Broadcast". The Labor Daily. No. 2466. New South Wales, Australia. 30 October 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Broadcasting". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 559. New South Wales, Australia. 17 July 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Our Radio Page". The Land. No. 1279. New South Wales, Australia. 20 December 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Australian Dance Band". Huon and Derwent Times. Vol. 26, no. 2478. Tasmania, Australia. 26 March 1936. p. 2. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Gladys Moncrieff and Jim Davidson's A.B.C. Dance Band". The Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 27 October 1937. p. 25. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Jim Davidson's Band Arrives". Barrier Miner. Vol. LI, no. 15, 148. New South Wales, Australia. 24 March 1938. p. 3. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Sporting heroes to walk over water at awards". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 20, 000. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 14 January 1990. p. 15. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "ABC-3 Opening Programmes". The Canberra Times. Vol. 37, no. 10, 405. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 December 1962. p. 21. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ ""Four for the Show"". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 31, no. 8. Australia, Australia. 24 July 1963. p. 18. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "ABC band at Nui Dat". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 629. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 March 1967. p. 7. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "The ABC Sydney Dance Band". Discogs. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  23. ^ Gussey, Jim; Wilton; McLeod, Jim; Portingale, Wally; Samuel, D; Thurgate, Neil (1930), Works by Jim Gussey and others : from the Australian Music Centre archive
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jim_Gussey&oldid=1166596950"