Dr V’s Swing Thing in Darwin

It doesn’t get much better than Darwin in July: dry, cloudless days with temperatures nudging 30 degrees; turquoise-blue water; and enough open-air food markets to ensure a state of never-ending contemplation of one’s next meal. So, when Dr V’s Swing Thing – the Grammar Old Boys’ jazz ensemble – got the opportunity to perform at the inaugural Fong Lim Fanfare Festival in Darwin on 4 – 6 July, little persuasion was required: this was exactly the antidote everyone needed to escape Sydney’s wettest winter on record.

Dr V’s, established in 2002 by the late Mr Vladimir Khusid, is nowadays directed by Mr David Theak, Australia’s most revered big band director. A 21-piece ensemble comprising a mix of doctors, lawyers, vets, dentists, engineers, tech gurus, public servants, teachers and wide-eyed university students – it has a storied history, having featured at jazz festivals across the country. The band rehearses every Monday night throughout the year, and the music it produces is first-rate. But it’s not just the sophistication of the ensemble playing that impresses; a Dr V’s gig is a celebration of the fun of music-making. No one’s going through the motions here; everyone’s listening closely to Theak’s instructions and giving it their utmost.

Pictured: Dr V’s director Mr David Theak (left, on tenor saxophone) with Dr Tanzil Rahman (vocals)

In Darwin, the band was booked for three engagements: a Fourth of July dinner dance at the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association on the Friday night, an outdoor terrace concert at Government House honouring Darwin’s musical volunteers on the Saturday evening, and a masterclass at Haileybury Rendall School on the Sunday afternoon. But any trip to Darwin is not just about the music. Between these concerts, band members squeezed in side trips to Litchfield and Kakadu, culinary stopovers at the Parap and Mindil Beach markets, and even a tour of Parliament House led by a local parliamentarian, Dr Tanzil Rahman.

From my perspective as an English teacher, time spent in Darwin invariably suggests Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro (1989) – a coming-of-age novel familiar to Form IV boys at College Street. Maestro is about a young man, Paul Crabbe, who grows up in Darwin in the 1960s and has dreams of being a concert pianist. For Crabbe, Darwin comes to be a place that he forever associates with his piano teacher Eduard Keller, a virtuoso who left Europe to escape the Second World War. For those who attended the Dr V’s previous tours to Darwin in 2012 and 2014, it feels a little similar: the memory of Vlad Khusid, another musical émigré, lingers. But with Theak at the helm, the band is entering an exciting new era, and a new generation of musicians are emerging to augment the abilities of those from a slightly older vintage. So please, do get along to the next Dr V’s gig – the music is great, and the vibe even better.

Dr Luke Harley, Assistant Headmaster (Senior Housemaster)