HARRISON, Jack Louis

12 August 1931 – 1 April 2013

 

Jack Harrison was a twin born in Nedlands to William Edward Harrison and Edna May Kerr.

 

HARMONICA

Jack’s musical career began aged 6 with the harmonica which he received as a present from his older brother Bill.  By the time his father came home from work Jack could play the chorus of “When I Grow too Old to Dream”. The first competition Jack won was when he was aged 7 in January 1939 at a Scottish Community Concert at the Perth Town Hall. On Sunday May 7th 1939 Jack was guest artist in a “Radiola Rhythm” broadcast by Radio 6PR relayed to 6AM and 6WB and was by this time a representative for Hohner Harmonicas.

 

In October 1940, Jack won first prize (£75) in “Search for Talent” on the harmonica accompanied by his father on piano, competing against largely adults and professional players.  As a result of this win Jack travelled with his father to Sydney, where Jack had lessons with famous harmonica soloist Horrie Dargie, and then travelled to Melbourne.  His father had set up professional engagements for him with Sydney radio 2LO, picture theatre bookings and secured a contract to appear with Dick Freeman’s Orchestra at the Trocadero.  As a result, Jack won the Nationwide Australia Amateur Hour in early 1941.  Jack was offered a weekly recording session and broadcast which was recorded on a Sunday at the 6AM Studio in the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s Broadcast House.

 

During his primary years, Jack and his father performed at hundreds of fundraising and community events, especially supporting the R.S.L.

 

CLARINET

In 1944 aged 12, Jack started high school at Scotch College and began studying the clarinet with Percy Newton (he would ride his bike to his house with his clarinet strapped on the back) and later Alan Rule, then Principal Clarinet with the Perth Symphony Orchestra.  In 1945 Jack started learning the saxophone from Ken Murdoch. Jack was the youngest member of the newly formed Australian Broadcasting Commission Perth Amateur Youth Orchestra formed in 1945 by Mr E.J. Roberts.

 

Sunday nights became “jam session” night at the Harrison’s Nedlands home, with all four children, Bill Jnr on saxophone, Ray on drums, Jill on piano and Jack on clarinet.  Ray Harrison’s drumming talent received state wide recognition when in November 1946 the “Ray Harrison Swing Band”, consisting of Ray on drums and Jack on clarinet and saxophone and Jill on piano came third in the 6PM-AM “Search for Talent” Competition held at Fremantle Town Hall.

 

In 1947 Jack had been released from Scotch College being held by a promise to his father that he would devote his life to music practice. He formed his own dance band with his twin sister Jill and brother Ray and they performed jazz with “dash old-time” at “The Blue Room” and regularly at North Perth Town Hall. The band became fully professional and competed in the “National Fair”, a radio competition which enabled West Australian talent to be heard in the Eastern States, which they won in 1948.

 

From 1948 through to the end of 1950, Jack and his ensembles were employed full time for dances and radio broadcast, weddings and parties.  At one of these dances he met his wife, Marcia Chayter.

 

CLASSICAL

In March 1949, Jack featured in a broadcast for the first time performing classical clarinet repertoire.  On 17^th January 1950, William Snr (aged 52), Jack and Jill (aged 18) sailed to Adelaide where Jill had won a scholarship to study bassoon and piano at the Adelaide Conservatorium.  William and Jack then continued on to Melbourne and Sydney during which Jack performed with Frank Coughlan’s band in a series of swing concerts at the Trocadero and received an offer to stay with the band as a permanent member.  He also received lessons from Clive Amadio.

 

In August 1950, Jack was invited to join the South Australian Symphony Orchestra as second clarinet by conductor Henry Krips.  He accepted the position starting in November.  Prior to that in October 1950 he performed the Australian premiere performances of Concerto for Clarinet by Artie Shaw and Clarinet a la King by Benny Goodman. In late October toured for 10 days with the Adult Education Board and then immediately departed for Adelaide.  This meant leaving Marcia behind and missing his brother Ray’s wedding to Norma Webber.

 

After only three months in the South Australian Symphony Orchestra, Jack returned to Perth on 8^th February 1951 to fill the second clarinet position with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra after the sudden death on January 18 1951 of second clarinettist Bob Trew.   Jack was then the youngest member of the WA Symphony Orchestra.  He announced his engagement to Marcia on his 21^st birthday and they were married on 14^th December 1953.

 

Jack and Marcia commissioned Iwan Iwanoff to design their family home at 11 Dodonia Gardens City Beach where they lived until 1993.

 

Jack Harrison’s classical clarinet career spanned 43 years in Australian Orchestras and he performed many times as soloist.

 

Some of his many career highlights included:

 

JACK HARRISON

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

 

PREMIERES

 

DATE	WORK
6.10.1949	Artie Shaw Concerto for Clarinet AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) John Nugent Haywood (conductor), Jazz Symphony Orchestra	Capitol Theatre Perth, Western Australia
5.10.1950	Benny Goodman Clarinet a la King AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE?	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Harry Bluck and his Concert Orchestra and Dance band	Capitol Theatre Perth, Western Australia Bruce Carroll presents “Symphony in Swing”
1956	Debussy Premiere Clarinet Rhapsody   Debussy Saxophone Rhapsody   AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE being performed in same programme (maybe even in the world?)	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Jack Harrison (saxophone)   John Farnsworth Hall (conductor)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	Capitol Theatre Perth, Western Australia
1956	Eric Coates Saxophone Rhapsody PERTH PREMIERE?	Jack Harrison (saxophone)   John Farnsworth Hall (conductor)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	Free concert Orchestral shell Supreme court Gardens Perth, Western Australia   Broadcast on 6WN from 8.30pm to 10pm
21.2.1956	James Penberthy Wind Sextet (1954) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE?   Dulcie Holland clarinet & piano pieces	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Owen Fisenden (flute), Neil Pierson (horn), Ron Richmond (oboe), George Dreyfus and Claude Welling (bassoons) Phyllis Allen (accompanist)	Art Gallery Program Art Gallery of Western Australia (inside the Jubilee Building on Beaufort Street,)
1958	“The Lady is a Tramp”	Jack Harrison piano, harmonica, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, vibraphone and drums	Multitracking A.B.C. and made a multitrack audio recording. Recording multiple isolated parts onto tape before mixing them down to a single master tape was a major technological leap for the music industry and explored and exploited new ways of over dubbing. Jack wrote the arrangement and then performed on eight different instruments going back and forward between two machines ten times.
19.6.1959	Richard Strauss Duett-Concertino for clarinet, bassoon, strings and harp AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Jill Harrison (bassoon)	West Australian Symphony Orchestra ABC Studio Broadcast
1960		Jack Harrison and Kit Denton (drums)	ABC live to air TV, demonstrating how to do a multi track recording.
11.5.1961			ABC TV 1st birthday show
May 1961	David Tunley Introduction and Scherzo WORLD PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) University Orchestral Society John Farnsworth Hall (conductor)	Winthrop Hall, University of Western Australia Radio Broadcast 6WF
1962	Jack Harrison Jumping Joeys  for solo harmonica WORLD PREMIERE	Verdon Williams (conductor) Shirley Fresfader (soprano) , Peter Piccini (accordion), Jack Harrison (clarinet and harmonica), Graham Wood (violin), Laslo Vidak (violin and viola) and Brian Meddeman (cello and violin)	Southern Serenaders tour to the North of W.A.
Mar 1963	Gordon Jacob Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Strings (1948) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE   Vaughan Williams Romance for Harmonica and Orchestra (1951) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (saxophone)   Jack Harrison (harmonica)   John Farnsworth Hall (conductor)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	ABC Free Concert, Supreme Court Gardens Perth, Western Australia
15.3.1963	Aaron Copland Clarinet Concerto (1948) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Perth Sinfonietta Verdon Williams (conductor)	Free lunchtime concert Winthrop Hall, University of Western Australia
27.7.1963	Howard Ferguson Octet Op. 4 for clarinet, bassoon, horn, string quartet and double-bass (1933)   AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Jill Mowson (bassoon) John Mwson (bass) Patrick Brislan (horn) Oriel String Quartet	ABC Broadcast Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
17.4.1964 18.9.1964	Arthur Bliss Clarinet Quintet (1932) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE (performed in front of Bliss)	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Oriel String Quartet, Sir Arthur Bliss	Studio performance ABC Then Free lunchtime concert Winthrop Hall Undercroft University of Western Australia
May 1964	William Walton Façade PERTH PREMIERE Performed in front of Walton	Jack Harrison James Beattie (speaker) Verdon Williams (conductor)	Festival of Perth Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
1.12.1964	Miles Davis’s “So What” PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet and alto-saxophone), Billy Clowes (piano) David Ellison (bass0 and Bill Tattersall (drums)	ABC TV live to air broadcast Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
23.5.1965	Trevor Jones Cantata Zoologica (1963) Mixed choir (chorus) and wind quintet / quartet		An archival recording of the piece exists in Australian music collections: ABC Perth Studios (Western Australia)
16.9.1965	Leonard Bernstein Clarinet Sonata (1942) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE? PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Stephen Dornan (piano)	Free lunchtime, Winthrop Hall Undercroft, University of Western Australia
8.2.1966	David Tunley Clarinet Concerto WORLD PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) ABC Festival Orchestra, Vaughan Hanly (conductor)	Festival of Perth: “Music of Britain” series Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
8.3.1966	Alan Rawsthorne Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, and Bassoon (1963) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Alice Carrard (piano), Peter Randall (oboe), Brian Pope (bassoon) and Neil Pierson (French horn)	Festival of Perth: “Music of Britain” series Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Western Australia
8.3.1966	Trevor Jones Cantata Zoologica (1963) Mixed choir (chorus) and wind quintet / quartet PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Peter Randall (oboe), Brian Pope (bassoon) Neil Pierson (French horn) Neville Teede (narrator) Laughton Harris (conductor) W.A.Bach Society Choir	Festival of Perth: “Music of Britain” series Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
8.5.1966	Graham Wood Quintet for Clarinet and Strings WORLD PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Oriel String Quartet	Skinner Galleries Kylie Music Club Western Australia
30.09.1966	Colin Brumby Partite for Clarinet and String Orchestra PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	Festival of Perth Basil Kirke Studio ABC Letter from Colin Brumby
29.1.1967	Colin Brumby Strophe for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1964) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE   Peter Tahourdin Clarinet Sonata PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Alice Carrard (piano) John Exton (violin)	Festival of Perth Free Studio Recital Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
10.6.1967	John Ritchie Concertino for Clarinet and String Orchestra (1957) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Perth Sinfonietta	Free Studio Recital Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
29.2.1968	Richard Strauss Arr. Hasenöhrl for five instruments Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28 AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Graham Wood (Violin) Jack Harrison (Clarinet) Jill Harrison  (Bassoon) Patrick Brislan  (Horn) John Mowson (Double Bass)	Festival of Perth Free Studio Recital Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
2.3.1968	Vaughan Williams “Vocalisen” (1958) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Maurice Till (piano) Rita Streich (soprano)	Festival of Perth Winthrop Hall University of Western Australia
28.9.1968	Igor Stravinsky Soldier’s Tale Concert Suite (1920) PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Jill Mowson (bassoon) John Mowson (bass) Graham Wood (violin) Don Johnson (trumpet) Alan Mewett (trombone) Bryan Sadique (percussion)	Free Concert Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
6.10.1968	Ravel Introduction and Allegro (1905) PERTH PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet), Oriel String Quartet Owen Fisenden (flute) Alan Ratcliffe (harp)	Free Concert, Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
16.2.1971	Debussy Rhapsodie No. 1	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Arthur Fiedler (conductor)	Festival of Perth Winthrop Hall University of Western Australia
18.2.1971	Dr Margaret Sutherland Clarinet Sonata (1949) PERTH PREMIERE   FIRST COMMERCIAL RECORDING	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Stephen Dornan (piano)	FOP Australian Composers’ Workshop Basil Kirke Studio A.B.C. Adelaide Terrace, Perth, Western Australia RECORD: Australian Festival of Music Volume 8
30.1.1972	John Carmichael “A Country Fair” Orchestrated by Michael Hurst (in 1972) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE The piece was originally written for clarinet and piano in 1963 under the title Fêtes champêtres	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra   Verdon Williams (conductor)	Australia Day Free Concert, Supreme Court Gardens Western Australia
9.5.1972	Charles Villiers Stanford Clarinet Concerto, Op. 80. AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   Tibor Paul (conductor)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	Youth Concert, Winthrop Hall, University of Western Australia
Feb 1973	Benjamin Brittten Albert Herring PERTH PREMIERE	Georg Tintner (conductor)   12 piece orchestra	Festival of Perth W.A. Opera Company   The Octagon Theatre, University of Western Australia
11.11.1973	Malcolm Arnold Clarinet Concerto (1949) AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   David Measham (conductor)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra	Perth Concert Hall
1973	Poulenc Clarinet Sonata (1963)   FIRST AUSTRALIAN RECORDING	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   Stephen Dornan (piano)	Recorded at the A.B.C. for the 2nd L.P. of Churchill Fellowship artists for The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
28.9.1976	Antoni Szalowski Sonatina for Clarinet	Jack Harrison (clarinet) Canberra School of Music	Churchill Fellowship Tenth Memorial Concert, Canberra
16.9.1977	Michael Hurst (arranger) “A Mouth organ Masterpiece”	Jack Harrison (harmonica)   West Australian Symphony Orchestra Alan Abbott (conductor)	Family Concert, Perth Concert Hall Western Australia
1978	John Ireland Fantasy for Clarinet	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   David Bollard (piano)	UWA free concert, Octagon Theatre University of Western Australia
22.5.1979	Paul Hindemith Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano (1938)	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   The Wigmore Ensemble Graham Wodd (violin) Jill Cole (cello) David bollard (piano)	Musica Viva Perth Concert Hall
19.8.1981	Stanford Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Op. 129 (1911)	Jack Harrison (clarinet)   Jay Harrison (oboe)   Michael Cole (piano)	ABC Recital Basil Kirke Studio
10.4.1994	Geoffrey Allen Five Diversions for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Mozart Divertissement No. 3	Jack, Jill, Jay	Churchill Fellow Concert, WAAPA Music Auditorium Western Australia

 

 

In 1985 his recording Harmonica and Clarinet was a released recorded by the A.B.C. with the WASO conducted by Richard Mills.  It sold out and was rereleased by the A.B.C. as Moon River, this title track still broadcast many times a year.

https://www.abc.net.au/abcmusic/jack-harrison-moon-river/13951798

 

Another career highlight for Jack was performing in 1987 with the World Philharmonic where he met Audrey Hepburn.

 

Jack was invited to play as guest principal clarinet of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and was a guest artist at the opening of the Canberra School of Music.

 

he has been featured in many publications including “Clarinet Virtuosi of Today” by Pamela Weston.

https://archive.org/details/isbn_0905858468

 

Jack was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1971 to study advanced clarinet teaching techniques in Britain and America techniques which have produced some of Australia’s current leading clarinet players is most notable student is Allan Meyer who took over as was a Section Principal Clarinet of the WASO when Jack stepped down to bass clarinet in 1989.

 

Jack was married for 51 years to Marcia Chayter who wrote the history of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra Celebrating 75 Years published in 2004.

 

They had three children:

Jay Raymond (born 17.3.1959)

who retired from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra after 32 years playing cor anglais and oboe.

Kimberley Scott (born 23.1.1959)

, a trumpeter and Head of Music at St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School for many years

Jody April (born 23.9.1963)

, an oboist, orchestra manager, agent for classical and jazz musicians with her company Solo to Symphony and now a genealogist, historian and writer.