In Memory of Mike Bain
I first met Mike Bain in the 1990s at a gig in a Johnsonville church at which he was playing clarinet in a classical music trio. He always maintained a wide interest in different music genres and their musicians. He played leading roles as either founder, player, manager or conductor with many bands. The NZ Air Force band and City Jazz are good examples. In the early 2000s he and I were playing Dixieland jazz with the Valley Stompers. I recall gigs at the jazz clubs in New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North and at both the Wellington Jazz Club and the Wellington Jazz Preservation Society.
While driving home together from a club gig in Wanganui we discussed an advert we had both seen in a Wellington newspaper announcing that the Wellington Jazz Club would soon be holding a public meeting as part of a formal process to close the club down. It seemed odd that there could be successful jazz clubs in smaller North Island towns but not in Wellington. I remember Mike saying quietly “You and I could save the club”. I had just retired and knew I would have time to devote to such a worthy cause.
The upshot was that we both attended that jazz club public meeting at the Flamingo. I requested and was granted permission to speak. I pointed out that there were successful jazz clubs in nearby towns with nowhere near the range of local musicians available compared to Wellington with its Jazz School. Perhaps by following some of those other club policies the Wellington club could continue. For example those other clubs all met monthly on a Sunday evening at free hireage venues and hosted all jazz genres. The Wellington Club met on a Monday evening. On balance the audience was not in my favour until I mentioned that my friend Mike Bain was a professional accountant and was volunteering to handle the club finances. Mike then spoke.
That changed things dramatically. Perhaps the treasurer role had been one of the club issues. Existing club committee members including Bernard Weinstein and ex-president Graeme Freeman volunteered to continue on with a new committee and the rest is history.
Chris Caudwell
Postscript from Arthur Grimes
I first met Mike in 2014 when I joined his band, City Jazz. We have been playing together in this band ever since! He and Graham asked me to join the committee of the Wellington Jazz Club in 2021, and it was then that I gained a full appreciation of the enormous service he has given to the club. Mike has been the club’s President and Treasurer, membership coordinator, mentor and repository of knowledge. The club would not exist without his efforts. He has ensured that the club is on a sound financial footing which enables us to bring such high quality musicians to perform for our members. We are deeply saddened by his passing and he will be sorely missed by all.
You can find videos of Mike playing with the Valley Stompers by searching on YouTube for “Wellington Valley Stompers”.
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| Annual Subscription and Membership | |
|---|---|
| Single | $30.00 |
| Double | $50.00 |
| Student | $10.00 |
| Admission | |
|---|---|
| Members | $25.00 |
| Non Members | $35.00 |
| Students | $10.00 |
Membership application
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Wellington Jazz Club (Inc) Committee
Patron:
Dame Diana Crossan
Honorary Members:
Terry Crayford
John Joyce
Kevin Clark
Paul Dyne
Colin Hemmingsen
Erna Ferry
President:
Arthur Grimes 027 248 9389
Vice President:
Graham Kelly
Secretary:
Pam Alderton
Treasurer:
Felicity Beilby
Membership:
Eduard Goldberg
Gigs Manager:
Arthur Grimes
Newsletter Editor:
Helen Thompson
Committee Members:
Brian Vincent
Katie Wilson
Neale Pitches (Website)
Eduard Goldberg
Felicity Beilby
Helen Thompson
Email information distribution:
Nick Tipping wgtnjazzclub@gmail.com