THEY CALLED HIM A CRANK

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 79, 27 December 1940, Page 9

THEY CALLED HIM A CRANK

Sefton Daly, Accompanist To Noel Coward EFTON DALY, the young New Zealand pianist and composer who will be touring New Zealand as accompanist to Noel’ Coward, apparently has a good deal in common with Reginald Forsythe, the brilliant half-negro pianist. Both of them play the piano and compose; both of them were branded musical cranks, and both very nearly Starved before their talent was recognised. Forsythe wrote "Serenade to a Wealthy Widow"; Daly wrote "Serenade to a Snake." It was in Christchurch, where he was born 27 years ago, that Sefton Daly was first branded a musical crank because

he would not play the piano the orthodox way. "I’ve got my own way of playing and my own way of composing," he says, "and I had to suffer by finding it hard to get jobs." In Christchurch his first job was interior decorating for a big city store, and according to Daly, his firm didn’t appreciate his "cranky" playing, and fired him regularly. Eventually, however, he turned from interior decorating to playing the piano in the restaurant attached to that very firm. He began composing early, broadcast several of his compositions from 3YA, and also, with Ngaio Marsh and Dr. Henry Jellett, composed a musical comedy. Then two years ago, he decided he was getting into a rut. He left New Zealand, landed in Sydney with little or no finance, and spent five weeks looking for a job. Eventually he landed one playing in a cafe, and soon afterwards came engagements to play for the ABC, Australian listeners took to his unusual style of playing, and appreciated his strange original compositions, some

of which have been played by Jim Davidson’s Band. This is not the first experience he has had of accompanying visiting celebrities. He spent ten weeks with Marie Bourke when she toured Australia recently. "It’s a grand job working for Noel Coward," says Daly. "He has an ear for the unusual in harmony, and gets just those little subtle touches which make all the difference." We published Daly’s photograph last week.