The Red Onion Jazz Band at the 1963 Australian Jazz Convention

Abstract

Between the first and second recordings commercially released by Melbourne's Red Onion Jazz Band, changes had taken place in the group's working method. These are evident from a comparison of the two recordings, and seem geared towards facilitating a continuing presence for the band in the locai jazz community. Furthermore, they are evidence that a conception of jazz that had developed in the local scene in the preceding twenty years was shaping the band whether its members were explicitly aware of this or not. An investigation of their procedures seeks to broaden the terms of definition in Australian jazz.