Bruce Cale (born 17 February 1939,

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

) is an 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 ...

double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

ist and composer.

Career

Cale began studying music at age nine, and worked professionally in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

from 1958. He worked with

Bryce Rohde Bryce Benno Rohde (12 September 192326 January 2016) was an Australian jazz pianist and composer. He was strongly influenced by George Russell's musical conceptions. Early life Rohde was born in Hobart, Tasmania. He played jazz in Adelaid ...

's quartet from 1962–65, then moved to England, where he played with

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. Early life ...

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, and was a founding member of John Stevens's Spontaneous Music Ensemble. After obtaining a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

, he attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

starting in 1966 and remained in the U.S. until 1977, where he played with

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and

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among others. While in

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in 1974, he composed the piece ''Iron Cross'' for the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. The piece led to further commissions, and in 1976 he completed a work dedicated to

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for voice, jazz ensemble, and symphony orchestra. He also worked with Bryce Rohde again, recording the album ''Turn Right at New South Wales'' in 1976. Upon his return to Sydney in 1977 he led a small ensemble with a shifting lineup which included, at times,

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, Charlie Munro,

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, Alan Turnbull, and Tony Buck as sidemen. He led his own Bruce Cale Orchestra through the 1980s, recording three albums with the group. In 1981 he studied for a period in the U.S. with George Russell, and also premiered a double bass

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

, performing as the soloist with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

. He concentrated on composing from 1988 to 1995, then returned to jazz in the latter half of the 1990s. During the 90s, Cale's suffered impaired vision, making scoring difficult and he briefly stopped creating music. He later took up the

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, and has returned to composing and improvising

Discography

As leader

* ''The Bruce Cale Quartet at the Opera House'' (44 Records, 1979) * ''A Century of Steps'' (Larrikin, 1981) * ''Live at the Basement Vol. One: Rolling Thunder'' (Modern, 1987) * ''Live at the Basement Vol. Two: Rain'' (Vista, 1987) * ''On Fire'' (Tall Poppies, 2008) Bruce Cale Quartet @ Adelaide Festival. 1980. Tall Poppies records Bruce Cale Orchestral Works Tall Poppies Records. 2997

As sideman

, ''Projections'' (Columbia, 1968) *

Prince Lasha William B. Lawsha, better known as Prince Lasha (), (September 10, 1929 – December 12, 2008) was an United States of America, American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, baritone saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and English horn player. Life a ...

, ''Insight'' (CBS, 1966) *

Essra Mohawk Essra Mohawk (born Sandra Elayne Hurvitz on April 23, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter who has recorded a dozen albums, many receiving critical acclaim. Her best-known songs include "Sufferin' Til Suffrage" and "Interjections!" (both from ...

, ''Primordial Lovers'' (Reprise, 1970) * Charlie Munro, ''Count Down'' (Columbia, 1969) *

, ''Just Bryce!'' (CBS, 1965) *

, ''More Spring'' (Mbs, 1990) *

Spontaneous Music Ensemble Spontaneous may refer to: * Spontaneous abortion * Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis * Spontaneous combustion * Spontaneous declaration * Spontaneous emission * Spontaneous fission * Spontaneous generation * Spontaneous human combustion * Sponta ...

, ''Challenge'' (Eyemark, 1966) Zitro ESP Records (1967 New York) Brycw Rohde Turn Right at New South Wales. Bryce Rohde Just Bryce. CBS 1965 Big and Bryce CBS Bryce Rohde Corners CBS Bryce Rohde Duo Always come back here

References

External links

Bruce Cale at The Australian Music Centre

Bruce Cale Soundcloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cale, Bruce 1939 births Living people 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians 21st-century double-bassists Australian jazz composers Australian jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Male jazz composers Musicians from New South Wales