Frank Coughlan

Trombonist and bandleader Frank Coughlan (1904-1979) has been called the ‘father of Australian jazz’. He was born in the small New South Wales mining town of Emmaville, where his father worked mining tin and arsenic, but also a keen amateur musican, who taught his five sons brass instruments. Frank learned trombone and trumpet. He moved to Sydney aged 19, where inspired by Miff Mole, he became known as an impressive ‘hot’ improviser. He had the opportunity to learn from and sit in with Australia’s first visiting American jazz band, Frank Ellis’ Royal Californians, and by 1925 had joined the band for the remainder of their residency, honing his skills as a player and arranger.

In 1928, Coughlan travelled to Britain, where he played at the prestigious Kit Kat Club, which led to a successful audition for the the Jack Hylton Orchestra. He also played at the Savoy with Fred Elizalde‘s band, which included singer/guitarist Al Bowlly, who had also just arrived in London. Coughlan was back in Sydney by 1930, and was soon leading his own band, touring Australia. In 1936, he was invited to become the band director at a brand new art deco dance hall, the Sydney Trocadero, with a capacity of up to 2000. Coughlan remained there until the ‘Troc’ closed in 1970, taking a break only when drafted into the Australian army from 1942 to 1946.
In the 1950s and 60s, he would occasionally step away from his big band to lead smaller Dixieland outfits in recording sessions. Coughlan retired after the Trocadero closed.

Key Recordings:
King of the Trocadero (Larrikin 1996)
Survey of his appearances on record from 1926 into the 1960s