Australian jazz musician Graeme Bell has died at the age of 97.
The composer, pianist and bandleader passed away at Sydney's Prince of Wales hospital on Wednesday (13Jun12) following a stroke, according to reports.
Born in Melbourne in 1914, Bell was hailed as one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia and encouraged musicians from all over the world to perform in the country.
He began weekly classical piano lessons at the age of 12 but later fell in love with jazz when he was introduced to the genre by his younger brother.
The pair began performing jazz publicly in 1935 at various Melbourne dances and clubs and Bell later set up his own group, the Australian Jazz Band, with whom he toured the U.K. and Europe. He eventually moved from Melbourne to Sydney where he set up the Graeme Bell All Stars.
He was made a Member of the British Empire (Mbe) in 1978 and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990.
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Electronic music pioneer and producer Annie Elise says that the release of her first EP - 'Breathe In, Breathe Out' feels "both vulnerable and...