Andrew Bisset (20 January 195314 April 2005) was an Australian author, music educator and singer, based in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
Author
Andrew Bisset wrote ''Black Roots White Flowers – A History of Jazz in Australia'' (11 November 1979), which traces Australian
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
influences and performances from 1918 and the early days of visiting African American vaudeville shows and jazz teas at the Tivoli, through to the year of its publication.
According to ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' Michael Foster it is "the first serious study of jazz in Australia."
As a follow-up, Bisset presented a ten-part series on
ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
in 1987, ''History of Australian Jazz up to World War Two''.
Bob Dixon, also from ''The Canberra Times'', reviewed the re-publication of Bisset's book in 1987; he described how "early chapters deal with the 1910s and 1920s and are mostly a dullish catalogue of dance bands, which could only by a real stretch of the imagination be said to play jazz. It is interesting to read, though, that several Negro bands were refused permission to visit Australia in the 1920s, because of our racial policy."
Dixon felt "one could sometimes wish for more information on what style of music a certain band played. But there is excellent description of a number of modern musicians."
Performer
As performer, Bisset was loved for his natural stage presence, dry humour and wit, and uncanny sense of comic timing and delivery. His theme song in later years became ''My Baby Just Cares for Me''. Audiences also craved his version of
Bobby McFerrin
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...
's ''Don't Worry Be Happy'', in which he sang the lead during his time with a cappella group The Singing Waiters.
Bisset suffered from a severe arthritic condition for most of his life, but he never allowed this or other medical problems that emerged later on to impede his love of life and his unstoppable energy and enthusiasm for getting things done.
Further reading
*
* Bisset, Andrew: ''Black Roots White Flowers – A History of Jazz in Australia''. Foreword by
Don Burrows
Donald Vernon Burrows (8 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was an Australian jazz and swing musician who played clarinet, saxophone and flute.
Life and career
Donald Vernon Burrows was born on 8 August 1928, the only child of Vernon and Beryl a ...
. Sydney and Auckland, Golden Press 1979.
* Sharpe, John: ''A Cool Capital: The Canberra Jazz Scene 1925-2005''. Foreword by Mike Price. Canberra Publishing and Printing 2006.
References
External links
National Film and Sound Archive Interviews (Oral History series)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisset, Andrew
1953 births
2005 deaths
Australian jazz singers
Australian music journalists
Australian music historians
20th-century Australian male singers