Bert Jamieson
Bert (Jammo) Jamieson (1903-), from Adaminaby, NSW, provided details of some of the Australian tunes in this archive, collected by John Meredith & Rob Willis. Bert lived much of his life in the Upper Murray River district of New South Wales.
There are several interviews with Bert by John Meredith & Rob Willis, search the NLA catalog for "Bert Jamieson". In these he plays the mouth organ and talks about his life. Jamieson explains how he came to take up the mouth organ from the age of 9, born and lived in the Adaminaby area, how he had learnt the violin and the accordion but his arthritis prevents him from now playing those instruments, his father played the concertina, how he learnt most of his tunes from his father, his family of 14 brothers and sisters, 8 of whom were musical, how the family played every night including local dances, how he continues to play for hours each day for both enjoyment and health. He also speaks of his father's playing, how he learnt to play music by playing with his family, how his father played the concertina carting it everywhere with him, picking up in the shearing sheds, his father was a blade shearer, how his father learnt his tunes, his father kept perfect timing, the family played as a band in their locality, how he can no longer play the mouth organ, his father's death.
There is a picture of Bert in the NLA, noting it was taken when Bert was aged 85, and that he was born near Khancoban in 1903.
See also: "The Tunes of Bert Jamieson", compiled by Dave De Santi, Pioneer Performer Series, Carrawobbity Press, 1991, available from Payhip - David De Santi.
