Bernie McGann

Who was Bernie McGann?

Bernard Francis "Bernie" McGann was an Australian jazz alto saxophone player. He began his career in the late 1950s and remained active as a performer, composer and recording artist until near the end of his life.

Born in Granville, New South Wales, in Sydney's western suburbs, McGann first came to prominence as part of a loose alliance of modern jazz musicians who performed at the El Rocco Jazz Cellar in Kings Cross, Sydney in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had an enduring collaboration with drummer John Pochee.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, McGann also performed with rock and pop groups and as a session musician, and ca. 1970 he was a member of the Sydney rock-soul band Southern Comfort.

He led the Bernie McGann Trio and Bernie McGann Quartet through his career. The most well-known lineup of the Trio was McGann, John Pochee, Lloyd Swanton, with the addition of Warwick Alder in the quartet.

He approved Catherine O'Brien's lyrics to his compositions including Spirit Song, Lady's Choice, Last Straw, Sweet Lucy, Mr Harris and Nights at the Wizz.

McGann died on 17 September 2013, following complications from heart surgery. He was 76.