HE HAS "BEEN AROUND"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 91, 21 March 1941, Page 9

HE HAS "BEEN AROUND"

Ossie Cheesman’s Career SSIE CHEESMAN, whose . dance band will be relayed by 1YA on the evening of March 25, is a native of Christchurch, and from an early age he has been playing with increasing proficiency the cornet, piano, saxophone and _ pianoaccordion. Like most other professional musicians of the younger generation, his calling has "taken him around." He started off as a pianist in cinema orchestras when there were still orchestras in cinemas, and in that capacity travelled as far north as Auckland. From there, he went over to Sydney with the Auckland Civic Orchestra, a group of musicians who had secured a contract to play in one of Sydney’s cabarets. Unfortunately for them, they got so badly offside with Sydney’s musical unionists that the project fell through when the party reached the other side. Some came back to New Zealand. Others, among them Ossie Cheesman and Craig Crawford (whose band is relayed from Sydney by the CBS in Saturday nights) stayed on and made the grade. For a time Ossie Cheesman was accompanist at 2KY, broadcast occasionally from 2GB and even recorded in one of the gramophone studios there. Then, by way of variety, he led a band on one or two of the Islands pleasure cruises, and on another occasion, in the same capacity travelled as far as Canada. Returning some years ago to New Zealand, he became associated with cabaret work in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, being relayed on many occasions by 2YA. His ability as an accompanist still took him frequently through the Dominion. He toured in this way with vaudeville companies and also acted as accompanist to Senia Chostiakoff, the Cossack singer, with whom he worked (sometimes rather inadequately disguised as a Russian) for several months. Since he got married (he met his wife on one of those cruises to the Islands) he has lived in Auckland.