Douglas George Caldwell (22 March 1928 – 10 May 2022), sometimes referred to as The Maestro, was a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, composer, music teacher, and author.

Biography

Caldwell was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand in 1928 and attended St Bede's College. He began working at Christchurch venue the Winter Garden in the 1940s and later co-founded a jazz club called the Jazz Inn in the 1950s. He studied musical arrangement and composition at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the United States. He taught music from 1977 to 1981 at Christchurch Boys' High School and then from 1983 to 1989 at Christ's College. In 1992 he became a tutor, and later lecturer, at the Christchurch Polytechnic Jazz School (now the

Ara Institute of Canterbury Ara Institute of Canterbury, often simply referred to as Ara, is an institute of technology in Canterbury, New Zealand. It was formed in 2016 from the merger of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and Aoraki Polytechnic. Ara ...

Jazz School). An auditorium at the school is named for him. He was known as "The Maestro" in Christchurch. Caldwell became the first New Zealand jazz composer to be given full writer membership to Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to jazz music. Caldwell died in Christchurch on 10 May 2022.

Discography

* The Doug Caldwell Trio (Kiwi Pacific,1990) * Off the Cuff (Kiwi Pacific, 1992) * Willows – Doug Caldwell live (Polyjazz, 1995) * Legacy (Polyjazz, 2003) * I Hear Music – with Susan de Jong (Polyjazz, 2005) * Waiting at the Red Door (Polyjazz, 2009) * Colette Jansen Meets Doug Caldwell (Colette Jansen, 2013) Guest artist: * Don Rader Down Under 'Collaboration' – (Polyjazz, 1994)

References

1928 births 2022 deaths Musicians from Christchurch New Zealand jazz pianists Michigan State University alumni Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch New Zealand music educators 20th-century New Zealand musicians New Zealand schoolteachers 20th-century New Zealand educators New Zealand expatriates in the United States 20th-century New Zealand pianists {{NewZealand-musician-stub