Daily Dose Of Jazz…

George Golla was born May 10, 1935 in Chorzów, Poland. He emigrated to Australia in the 1950s and began working in Sydney from 1957. Two years later he commenced a long-term musical partnership with the clarinetist, flautist and saxophonist Don Burrows that continued for nearly forty years.

Recording frequently in duo, quartets and other combinations, they nurtured and featured many young talents, including brassman and multi-instrumentalist James Morrison, guitarist Guy Strazzullo, drummer David Jones and others.

As educators they taught at the New South Wales Conservatorium and Golla was a teacher at the Academy of Guitar in Bondi alongside Don Andrews. He specialized in jazz and classical guitar and has written several books on theory, scales and the modes.

George toured frequently throughout Australia, playing on-call with international artists such as vibraphonist Gary Burton in the early 1970s. He has had a long association with Luis Bonfa and other Brazilian musicians. He has made hundreds of recordings, including The Don Burrows Quartet at the Sydney Opera House, Cherry Pie 1017 & 1032, and Steph’n’Us, with Stephane Grappelli during a tour with Grappelli and Burrows.

Guitarist George Golla, at 85, continues to perform in and around Sydney with flugelhorn player and singer songwriter Elizabeth Geyer, and tours interstate and internationally, records and conducts workshops.

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