Just heard the sad news that iconic NZ jazz bassist Andy Brown died overnight. By way of tribute, please have a listen to the radio programme I made with him as the guest of honour several years back when he was in much better health – and better spirits. I think this show really captures the spirit of the man who was the backbone of the London Bar nights in Auckland for so long.
The programme is Off The Record – The Kiwi Jazz Show. There were around 50 of them, all recorded in the mid-late 90s. Drummer Tony Hopkins is the presenter, and each programme was a chat and a jam with the guest musician and a band of his/her choosing.
I’m not going to say that he was my absolute favourite NZ jazz bassist and he certainly wasn’t my favourite joke-teller and raconteur (just listen to the show and groan) but Andy was certainly one of the people most other jazzers in New Zealand chose to spend the most time with.
His heart and presence were both enormous, his commitment to the music unrelenting, and his centrality to the Auckland jazz scene is unquestionable. He will be missed. Certainly, the album Iris (Ode Records) with Phil Broadhurst and Frank Gibson Jr would be one of my most listened-to homegrown albums. Lovely stuff.
Click to download the show (YouSendIt files):
Andy Brown – Part 1
Andy Brown – Part 2
Andy Brown – Part 3
Andy Brown – Part 4
Andy Brown – Part 5
The friend who let me know the sad news writes:
The death was not a surprise; the speed with which it arrived was. He had had quite a bit of surgery for various complications, but in the end it was cancer that beat him.
I knew he’d had surgery on his leg. Nothing else. So for me, it was a complete surprise. I’d just come home from a good night out with some new friends, so for me it was quite deflating – and instantly sobering.
Thoughts are with his wife, Penny – and with the New Zealand jazz community, which just became significantly reduced.
Enjoy the programme (and especially Andy’s choice of music) – and raise a glass for him at the next available opportunity.
He’d no doubt appreciate that.
