Dave Dallwitz

Commemorative plaque on the Jubilee 150 Walkway

David Friedrich "Dave" Dallwitz (25 October 1914 – 23 March 2003) was a South Australian jazz musician, painter and art teacher whose work spanned almost seven decades.

Dallwitz was born in Freeling, South Australia the son of (Joseph) Ernst Dallwitz and his wife Clara Magdalena Dallwitz (née Rohde). He studied violin as a child, and after moving with his family to Adelaide in 1930 he developed an aptitude for jazz piano. From 1933 to 1935 he studied concurrently at the South Australian School of Art and the North Adelaide School of Fine Art.^[1]

Music career

Dallwitz was a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer in both the ragtime and dixieland idioms.^[2] He is perhaps best known for having worked with some of Australia's more progressive musicians such as John Sangster, Bob Barnard and Len Barnard. He also led the Dave Dallwitz Ragtime Ensemble.^[3]

He led the Southern Jazz Group from 1945 to 1951, then abandoned jazz for a period, during which he studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, composing symphonic and chamber music and playing cello and bassoon in various groups. He became involved in composing and arranging music for revues, leading to the formation of the Flinders Street Revue Company, for which he also directed and played piano. He returned to jazz in 1970 and resumed recording shortly after, and is regarded as one of Australia's important jazz personalities."^[4]

Dallwitz performed ragtime and big band music. A highlight of his career was the appearance of his band with Sydney and Brisbane musicians at the Esso Jazz Summit on Sydney's Bondi Beach in 1986. The band's set was shown on ABC-TV and was released on ABC Records.

Dallwitz died on 24 March 2003 in Adelaide after finishing the art work for his album The Dave Dallwitz Big Band live at Wollongong, December 1984. This album was the result of the band's second appearance at the Australian Jazz Convention, Wollongong in 1984 and was mastered and co-produced by trumpeter Greg Englert, who was lead trumpet for the concert. Tenor saxophonist John McCarthy died on 6 October 2011.

Art career

In 1940 Dallwitz joined the Royal South Australian Society of Arts as an associate member, full membership being the preserve of followers of conservative styles. In July 1942 the associate members held an exhibition in the Society's gallery on North Terrace, of modern art, which drew considerable local and interstate interest.^[5] then was involved in the formation in 1942^[1] or 1943^[6] of the South Australian branch of the Contemporary Art Society, which identified with more progressive modes of art, becoming its foundation chairman.

Dallwitz taught technical drawing subjects (drafting, dimensioned sketching, lettering etc.) at Adelaide Technical High School from around 1954 to 1964, then lectured in various subjects, notably Art History, at the School of Art until 1974.^[1]

In 1974 he quit teaching and increasingly turned his energies to painting and printmaking. His range of subjects was extensive - landscapes, portraits and still lifes, and he mounted many one-man exhibitions.^[1]

Personal life

David Dallwitz married fellow art student Joan Rowe on 14 April 1938. Their home became known as the "Jazz House" and a gathering place for artists and musicians.

Awards and honors

In 1986 he received the Order of Australia for contributions to music, and the same year a plaque bearing his name was installed on North Terrace, Adelaide as part of the Jubilee 150 celebrations. In 1994 he was honoured by a retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia. His work hangs in the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Gallery of Australia and the University of South Australia.^[7]

Partial discography

As performer

• Ern Malley Jazz Suite: Stagnant Fragment (Swaggie)
• Creation Suite: In the Beginning
• Ragtime Fantasy No. 4

As composer

• Ned Kelly Suite: Dawn over Euroa - Bob Barnard

References