Bill Haesler

Bill Haesler (born: Melbourne, 20th April 1931) is a well known Australian jazz authority, avid jazz record collector, discographer, broadcaster, writer and washboard player specialising in vintage and classic jazz. He studied trombone with the local brass band, but abandoned thoughts of becoming a trombone player, taking up washboard and playing with several bands in Melbourne prior to moving to Sydney in mid 1966, where he led a popular vintage style washboard band from 1971 to 1985. His band memberships include Loch Ness Monsters, the Strohkorb Syncopators, Jimmy Smart's Ragtime Four, Mick Fowler And His Fowlhouse Five, the Hot Gossip jazz band (with whom he toured Germany in 1995), the Robbers Dogs Bazz Band, and his own band. Haesler also played with other local jazz bands, on an irregular basis, including Jazz Convention, jazz festival and jazz club appearances Haesler was a regular contributor to local and overseas publications, edited a number of Australian jazz magazines, including Australian Jazz Quarterly and Sydney Jazz Club Quarterly Rag, and co-founded the discographal magazine Matrix. Haesler has lectured on jazz for the WEA and the Sydney Jazz Club, and was jazz music consultant for the McIlroy Bros film Between The Wars (1974) starring Corrin Redgrave. As a broadcaster, Haesler has contributed to 2MBS-FM as presenter of The Classic Jazz Era and Home Cooking, as well as contributing to other 2MBS jazz programs and specials as required. He has also held executive positions with a number of Australian jazz organisations, including the Melbourne and Sydney Jazz Clubs, the Australian Jazz Convention, and the NSW Jazz Archive. Bill Haesler has produced numerous Australian jazz recordings, including reissues. Haesler is also a retired commercial-industrial-institutional architect with his own long-time partnership.