Today in NZ history- 26/03/1896 - Brunner mine disaster kills 65At 9.30 a.m., an explosion tore through the Brunner mine in Westland’s Grey Valley. Two men sent underground to investigate were later found unconscious after inhaling black damp, a suffocating mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
- 27/03/1883 - The 'Sallies' come to New ZealandTwo English Salvation Army officers landed at Port Chalmers to set up a New Zealand branch of the Christian evangelical movement.
- 27/03/1984 - Trades' Hall bombingCaretaker and unionist Ernie Abbott was killed on 27 March 1984 when a bomb exploded inside Trades’ Hall on Wellington’s Vivian St.
- 28/03/1923 - Forest and Bird foundedThe New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society was formed at a meeting in Wellington called by a local conservation advocate, Captain Ernest ‘Val’ Sanderson.
- 26/03/1896 - Brunner mine disaster kills 65
Category Archives: Music
Spotify – love them, though they’re slippery
Some of my own music is on Spotify – anyone can exhume recordings my old band Aardvark made for Tree Records in 1973. We were never asked if we wanted to be on Spotify – not that I would have … Continue reading
From Fugues to Finales
Today we went to a very pleasant afternoon of chamber music, titled From Fugues to Finales. It was organised by the Greytown Music Group as part of the town’s weekend arts festival. This scratch group, tongue-in-cheek-named The Ultimates, was made … Continue reading
Maori Battalion Marching Song a cultural ripoff?
Back in the 1960s when I realised there was money to be made from my modest talents at the piano, I still needed a repertoire that would let me play at social events – 21sts, wedding celebrations, dances etc. I … Continue reading
End of an era
I never owned one of those wind-up 78rpm record players with disposable steel needles (and nor did my parents), but from about 1962 I was into long playing records (LPs) and their 45rpm offspring. I had them for about a … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz, Music
Tagged Bud Shank, Jazz, Jazz singer, LP records, LPs, Miles Davis, Peter Fountain
Leave a comment
A little jazz is a dangerous thing
A couple of days ago I came across an interesting web item that reproduced rules for dance band musicians in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The rules were aimed at limiting infection by jazz. I emailed the rules to Bob Barcham, Wellington’s … Continue reading
Martinborough Musings 