New accolade for SA jazz legend, decorated pilot and councillor – after his death
A South Australian jazz legend – from one of Adelaide’s best-known families – will be inducted into the Music Hall of Fame on Friday, more than a decade after his death.
Kym Bonython will join a prestigious collection of South Australian music icons like Paul Kelly and Archie Roach when he is posthumously inducted into the state’s Music Hall of Fame on Friday evening.
The musician, broadcaster, WWII pilot and race car driver was responsible for bringing some of jazz music’s greatest to Adelaide, including Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong.
He was also involved in the Australian tours of Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Marlene Dietrich.
Bonython had a diverse life, and served on the Adelaide City Council and many arts boards including the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, Australia Council for the Arts, Musica Viva, Australia Japan Foundation and South Australian Jubilee 150 Board.
In 1972, Music Maker magazine said Bonython was “the person who has done most for jazz in Australia”. He died in March 2011, aged 90, and was given a state funeral at St Peter’s Cathedral.
He also received a number of honours and awards during his life, including Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to the community, the Air Force Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
He will be inducted alongside another South Australian jazz great Kym Purling at Town Hall tomorrow.
Purling is one of the most prolific artists from South Australia, and averaged over 250 performances a year between 1993 and 1998 with his band the Kym Purling Trio.
Stay informed, daily
Lord Mayor of Adelaide Dr Jane Lomax-Smith says Bonython – the son of Sir John Lavington Bonython, who was heavily involved in South Australian media – and Purling are worthy inductees.
“There are few people who have led as storied a life as Kym Bonython: a decorated World War II pilot, musician, gallery owner, racing driver and, of course, an Adelaide City Councillor,” the Lord Mayor says.
“His lifelong passion for jazz brought the brightest stars to Adelaide, from Duke Ellington to Chuck Berry, and made him a cultural force the likes of which our city has rarely seen.”
