Harold Ellison

Email :
Webpage : From the Vault

 

 

Harold Ellison is originally from the U.S.A., where his knowledge of, and love for, his two favourite subjects, Smooth Jazz and Old-Time Radio Shows, began a long time ago. Harold has been living in the Shoalhaven for nearly a decade now, having moved down from Sydney, where he spent most of the more than 30 years he's lived in Australia, his adopted country. "Although there's still a slight touch of 'Yank' in my accent, I'm a real Aussie now," said Harold, "and I've got the Australian passport, the hat with the corks and a can of Mortein to prove it!" Harold says that, "Moving down to the Shoalhaven was the best move I've ever made, and I find myself loving the area more each day. There's something special about the people in rural Australia that you cannot find in city folks and once you realise this, you can never go back.

"On air on TripleU-FM for almost a decade (every Wednesday), Harold spends a good portion of his week putting together his programs. "It takes a great deal more time than anyone would imagine to put together a good program. On top of that, I've got two programs to prepare for, which leaves me very little time for anything else," said Harold. On his trips back to the U.S., Harold's had the good fortune to meet and interview a number of top Smooth Jazz performers, something which has given him a better insight into their music, insight which he freely passes on to listeners. Harold explained that, "Many listeners are initially afraid of the term 'Jazz,' and I don't blame them, as there are many forms of 'Jazz' which even I can't listen to. On the other hand, once they've heard 'Smooth Jazz', which stresses the more melodic, soft and relaxing sounds, they instantly become converts and tune in regularly. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think there's a place for the more cacophonous, improvisational Jazz. just not on MY program." "I try to give the listeners a good mix of the best of the old performers, such as:

• Ella Fitzgerald,
• Mel Torme,
• Dave Brubeck,
• Sarah Vaughan,
• Tony Bennett,
• Wes Montgomery, and
• Oscar Peterson,
  and the newer, younger performers who are making some gorgeous music today, such as:
• Diana Krall,
• Dave Koz,
• Peter Cincotti,
• Grace Knight,
• Michael Buble,
• Peter White,
• Tommy Emmanuel and
• Chris Botti.
  

Besides Smooth Jazz, Harold's other passion is Old-Time Radio Shows and he has a collection of many thousands of shows from the U.S., Australia, Great Britain, and more recently Canada and South Africa. His collection of Old Radio Shows, some dating back to as early as 1926, would surely be one of the largest private collections in Australia. "I started collecting these shows many years ago, when there was very little available for purchase by private collectors. On top of that, the prices were much too high. Thanks to the recent popularity of this form of collecting, the availability of shows has gone through the roof and at the same time the prices have dropped tremendously. By carefully selecting my suppliers, I have been able to obtain many more Australian radio shows from the U.S. than are available through our own Screen and Sound Archives in Canberra." Unlike the U.S., where Old-Time Radio Shows are broadcast almost every night of the week on hundreds of radio stations across the country, this is not the case in Australia. Other than the very occasional airing of an old show, on perhaps a community radio station, it's almost unheard of in this country. 'From The Vault' on TripleU-FM is possibly the only regular weekly airing of Old-Time Radio Shows in Australia and is exclusively heard in the Shoalhaven.

Harold feels that, "Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of producing these two radio programs is the response I get from listeners. I'm overwhelmed with the phone calls, notes. even small gifts from listeners, simply to show their appreciation for what I'm doing. For instance, not long ago a listener came back from Bali with a beautiful T-shirt for me that said "Jazz Café" on it. Now I wear it all the time!"  "There's nothing more rewarding to me than receiving a phone call from a listener who's just discovered one of my programs for the first time. Some are so excited that they sound almost like children on Christmas morning who've just opened some wonderful gift. This makes all the work I put into them worthwhile." To keep listeners informed of what Old-Time Radio Shows he'll be putting on air, Harold writes a weekly column in two newspapers, The South Coast Register and The Milton Ulladulla Times.

Harold eagerly welcomes listeners requests on both his programs and often spends a considerable amount of time in attempting to find an obscure Old Radio Show, or piece of music, that a listener has asked to hear.Harold says, "By putting on the best possible programs for my listeners, I am giving back something to a community that I feel has given me so much."