The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band (MNOJB) was formed in 1957 and quickly rose to prominence after playing for promoter Horst Liepolt at the Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Club in St. Kilda that August. Later that year, they were voted the best New Orleans group in Australia at the Adelaide Jazz Convention, an honor they repeated in Sydney in 1958, Cootamundra in 1959, and back home in 1960. That same year, they represented New Orleans jazz before an audience of 60,000 at the History of Jazz concert in Melbourne’s Music Bowl. Folk singer Paul Marks, a founding member, also formed his own folk group with the band’s rhythm section. Signed by Swaggie Records, they released several singles, EPs, and albums, and held a popular Saturday residency at the Esquire Club in Glen Iris. In 1961, they made waves in the UK, where fans welcomed their fresh take on traditional jazz. From September 1961, they toured extensively across the UK, Ireland, and Germany before disbanding in London in April 1963. Paul Marks died in New Zealand in 2022.
Members
Paul Marks (vocals), Llew Hird (trombone), Nick Poiltes (clarinet), Willy Watt (banjo), Graham Bennet (drums), Lou Silbereisen (bass), Mookie Herman (bass), Frank Turville (trumpet), Dave Rankin (trombone), Kevin Shannon (trombone), Charles Powell (trombone)
EPs
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band with Paul Marks' 1959 Swaggie
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band' 1959 Swaggie
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band With Paul Marks' 1960 Swaggie
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band With Paul Marks' 1961 Swaggie
ALBUMS
'London Bound' [with Paul Marks] 1961 W&G
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band' 1961 Swaggie
'The Melbourne New Orleans Jazz Band' 1964 Swaggie
