Bob Bertles is an Australian jazz alto, tenor and baritone saxophonist and bandleader.
Life and career
A self-taught musician, Bertles in the late 1950s and early 60s was a member of the developing modern jazz scene that grew out of venues like the Mocambo in Newtown and the El Rocco Jazz Cellar in Sydney's Kings Cross.[1]
Active in clubs, on TV, as a session musician and on the pop-rock scene, he toured with Johnny O'Keefe.[2]
In 1967 Bertles temporarily joined Sydney-based rock-soul band Max Merritt & The Meteors.[1] Only weeks after joining, Bertles, Merritt and drummer Stewie Speer narrowly escaped death after their van collided head-on with a truck on the way to a country dance; all three were seriously injured and Bertles was left with a permanent limp.[3] In 1974, after the group split, Bertles joined Ian Carr's Nucleus.[2]
In more recent years Bertles has toured Europe extensively, joined the orchestra for the Australian production of the stage musical Chicago, where he met his future wife, theatre performer Nancye Hayes.[2]
In addition to regular concerts, festivals, session work, and touring, Bertles' recent projects include recording and live performances with Sydney's renowned Ten Part Invention.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Seat-of-the-pants advocate". The Age. 18 April 1986. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Bob Bertles Quintet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Max Merritt & the Meteors". Retrieved 22 January 2010.