Stewie Speer - Brian Brown Quintet

Brian Brown Quintet

In early 1956, saxophonist and bop fanatic Brian Brown returned from Europe and formed a new band with like-minded players—Speer, trumpeter Keith Hounslow, schoolboy pianist Dave Martin and bassist Barry Buckley. Bisset remarks that in Speer, Brown found a drummer " ... who swung. Speers had beautiful time, especially on cymbal, hard and straight ahead, with the message on his kit 'Art Blakey For Pope'."

The Brian Brown Quintet were regulars at Horst Liepolt's influential Jazz Centre 44 in St Kilda, which operated from 1955 to 1960. As indicated by the 'Blakey for Pope' message on Speer's drum kit, the Quintet championed the more progressive (but less popular) east-coast style of modern jazz. At that time, the preferred genre was the "cool", west coast style epitomized by artists like Chet Baker and Dave Brubeck, who were then all the rage with modern jazz fans in Australia. The Brian Brown Quintet were enthusiastic ambassadors for bop, introducing Melburnians to music which was still largely unheard in Australia including artists like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. Speer continued to work in 'trad' bands to earn a living, but he was a regular member of the Quintet until it split in 1960.