I’d like to pay tribute to Carol Page for her vision and commitment to the furthering of quality journalism in the Snowy River Shire and also for her recognition of the importance of the arts to the betterment of society. Without culture we do not have a civilized society. She was also a thoughtful and caring person and I will miss her.

In times gone by when music in a real sense held a more prestigious role in everyday life it was not uncommon for large-scale works to be commissioned on a regular basis. The passing of a prominent citizen such as Carol Page was honoured by a newly composed requiem. Other special occasions would also prompt the composing of a large-scale work. J.S. Bach composed a cantata a week just for the local regular church service. And these were in addition to his many other works. (And of course his many children) The list goes on but it seems to me that we are always talking about the great compositions and composers of yesterday. Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven and the like. What about the music of today?

I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks travelling north as far as Fraser Island for a well-earned bone-warming holiday to recover from a busy winter in the snow. Fraser Island is a “must see” for nature lovers however musically speaking the trip has left me with the impression that in the main not a lot of real live music is being presented. Individuals (I resist calling them musicians) equipped with a vast array of boxes full of electronic tricks ranging from sound enhancing amplifiers, sound dividers, multipliers, digital effects, drum loops and a host of irritatingly “toppy” eardrum shattering noises hurl an unsettling barrage of noise at their ever suffering audiences. Of the two piano bars I visited in the trendy Noosa Heads only one actually had a piano and that was used mainly as

a convenient stand for electronic gadgets with the “pianist” only occasionally playing a note or two on the piano itself. The other “not piano bar” was completely electronic with sharp sounds coming from a mass of chip technology. It had driven the $12 a pop cocktail drinkers to the far extremities of the room. Comments were made over the microphone about the people at the back of the room in the cheap seats (everybody) missing out on the warmth and love close to the stage. At that point I weighed it up; Expensive drinks, sarcastic performer, difficulty hearing conversation, not a lot of music but much twiddling of knobs and decided to leave.

By contrast and to my great relief the Bowry Lounge in Brisbane presented a truly uplifting musical experience. A quartet of musicians in their early twenties playing organ, drums, saxophone and trumpet launched into contemporary jazz to an enthusiastic audience ranging in age from eighteen to eighty. They had the place jumping. Every number was applauded vigorously and the audience danced spontaneously. And guess what? Not a single microphone or piece of electronic wizardry in sight. It was just real musicians playing real music for the moment. Wonderful!

Across the street at the Press Club a two metre aeroplane propeller encased in a purpose built metal safety grill and set vertically into a large hole in a dividing wall turned and churned the tropical air lazily as a young salsa band pumped out an irresistible rhythm for anyone with even an ounce of Latin in their feet.

Like myself and others along the Queensland coast we were not only dancing with our feet but also voting with them too!

Paul Dion