Open Microphone

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 930, 7 June 1957, Page 18

Open Microphone

-r NEWS OF BROADCASTERS ON AND OFF THE RECORD

SHORT CUT

AZZMEN hobnobbing in the classical camp and "serious" musicians playing in dance bands are no new thing in New Zealand-or elsewhere for that matter-but when we called on Bill

Hoffmeister (who is seen above) to ask about a classical piece of his

which had its first performance recently, we were interested to hear his opinion that a jazz training can be a

useful short cut to an understanding of classical composition. Though very modest about his own talent, he was inclined to think that a man with some imagination and musical ability could go a long way on. his own steam. "Either you’re a musician or you aren’t," was the way he summed it up. Mr Hoffmeister, who is being heard with his jazz orchestra from 2YA on Wednesday nights, was himself brought up as a Classical pianist, but turned to jazz when he found there was more work in that field. About four years ago he decided to attend the Cambridge Summer School of Music "to find out what makes the classical composer tick." That was when he first decided that his jazz training and experience were going to be very useful if he was to do any work in the classical field himself. Stimulated by the atmosphere of the school, he followed up his interest in classical composition by reading in libraries and elsewhere and started off with several small pieces -some fugues, a sonata and works of that sort. A couple of years ago some of his wotk was played by the summer school orchestra under William Komlos, who asked Mr Hoffmeister if he would write a more ambitious piece for full orchestra. The outcome was Forest Fire, finished about a year ago and played by the New Plymouth Orchestra under Mr Komlos at the end of April. It was received with much enthusiasm. Mr Hoffmeister says that this descriptive work, strictly classical in style, was written in odd half-hours "just whenever I could find the time." Fully occupied just now with jazz work-apart from his current broadcasts he is playing bass with the ‘Majestic Cabaret dance band in Well-ington-Mr Hoffmeister hopes to do more work in the classical field when he has the time. As a composer he is mainly interested in the string quartet and the full orchestra. Composers he admires include Delius, Walton and Hartmann. Though his orchestra is playing mainly standard jazz in its 2YA broadcasts, we thought he might have other interests in this field also. "Yes," he agreed, "progressive jazz is the only kind that really interests me,

and I regard Brubeck as the best exponent." Of course, he added, he enjoys other kinds of jazz-but not "mentally." *

PRODUCER

ACK DOBSON, best known to New Zealand listeners as a producer of such shows as Time to Sing and Won't You Come In? left the NZBS last year

to return to England. Now back in this part of the world as a variety

producer for the ABC, he has recently been conducting auditions for an Aus-tralia-wide talent quest. On his recent visit to Britain, Jack did free-lance interviews for the BBC. Taner =e

Cyprus as a base, he flew around the Middle East with Jimmy Edwards and Frankie Howerd, who were: visiting army bases from Baghdad to Malta. "Wherever we went in Cyprus our bus had an armed escort of vehicles in convoy, and at least 10 men with tommyguns," Jack says. "And once, when Jimmy Edwards was leaving to do a show, two small bombs were thrown."