Introducing Broadcaster Ivan Halloran, Presenter of “Mostly Jazz” on Valley FM, NSW, Australia

Jazz Presenter Ivan Halloran

“My only interest is the promotion of Trad, to a younger and younger audience in the hope that we can grow stronger, as we older jazzoes die off.”
Ivan Halloran, Jazz Broadcaster

Not very long ago Ivan Halloran contacted me via Jazz&Jazz and my facebook Jazzers Group, since when he has become a regular follower of Jazz&Jazz and contributor to Jazzers.

Ivan hails from Australia, more specifically from Parkes in New South Wales, and it’s great to see Jazz&Jazz reaching out to jazz fans around the world. But Ivan isn’t just a jazz fan, he’s also a jazz presenter in NSW on Radio 2 IVR 97.9 Valley FM.

So in his own words, here is Ivan’s story:

“I have been following jazz for 60 years and have read widely on musos whom I consider masters in all disciplines: Traditional, Swing, Blues, and various sub categories of trad, defined by location. For instance, in the USA, the different styles which emerged in centres such as Chicago, New York and California as jazz moved out from New Orleans.

“I come from a musical family, but do not play myself. My father was a violinist, and one of my sons is a top pianist, but not particularly in our style. Along with my elder daughter, a vocalist, he wrote the Olympic theme music for the Games here in 2000, a number called “Under Southern Skies” (for which they are still receiving royalties). The other six children (4X4) are all musically inclined, but, more’s the pity, only choose to tolerate my passion for the jazz genre.

“I took early retirement from my career as a police officer and then took on specialised security work in insurance. Then I settled down to comfortable old age with my laptop and about four hours per day researching jazz bands and the fantastic musical arrangements which make up the evergreens of today (no matter how boring it might be for musos to play the same stuff night after night!).

If you happen to visit Parkes in New South Wales tune into 97.9 Valley FM. On alternative Fridays Ivan presents “Mostly Jazz” from 12noon – 3 pm, especially for jazz lovers. And on alternative Wednesdays, 6-9 pm, he presents “Nostalgia”, a program of popular favourites.

“I present a three hour jazz feature, “Mostly Jazz”, from 12 noon to 3.00pm each Friday on Valley Radio in Parkes, NSW. Besides this, my four hour show, “Nostalgia”, on alternate Wednesdays (10am to 2pm) is for folks my age or older. Besides their popular favourites, I include just enough jazz to keep them happy.

“I live for my radio broadcasts and I suppose I will die for them. I have a great jazz collection and only use my own material for the broadcasts. I attend every Jazz Fest I can and love to live life in a jazz atmosphere. Along with Jazz&Jazz and Jazzers I’m keen on promoting younger jazz musicians and attracting younger fans to the wonders of our magical world of jazz. And I do my utmost to achieve that in Parkes and our neighbouring towns.

“Apart from my music and Joan, my wife of fifty six years, I have no other interests. Well…I like a few beers with my mates, on a social basis! But then, that’s jazz!”

The Rich Bennett Band at the Autumn Jazz Parade, Hemsby, Norfolk

Ivan first contacted Jazz&Jazz when he saw our presentation of the Rich Bennett Band performing at the Hemsby Autumn Jazz Parade. He wrote “I have heard interesting reports on the performances of The Bennett Brothers. Please let me know if your CD ‘Tiger Rag” is available so that I can include some of your numbers in my program “Mostly Jazz”. I have been researching Jazz for over 60 years, presenting on radio for the last ten of those years. My only interest is the promotion of Trad to younger and younger audiences in the hope that the genre can grow stronger, as we older jazzoes die off.”

Ivan, that’s also a primary aim of Jazz&Jazz and Jazzers.

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