Jazz musicians lament the loss of a cherished elder statesman Jazz saxophonist Bernie McGann. THE Australian jazz community is in mourning following the death of saxophonist Bernie McGann, a much admired elder statesman and idiosyncratic musical force. McGann, 76, died on Tuesday night following recent heart surgery. He had been a highly respected figure on the scene since the late 1950s, especially for his collaborations with drummer John Pochee along with several other ensembles. But it was his unique sound on the saxophone in particular that made him such an influential figure over many years. Pianist Paul Grabowsky, who has played with McGann regularly since the 80s, most recently at last year's Wangaratta jazz festival, described the saxophonist as a "giant in our music." "He represents, I think, a whole era in the development of our music," Grabowsky says. As an artist I absolutely put him up there with people like Patrick White or Fred Williams in terms of being a major voice of a certain generation of Australian cultural maturity. If it was any genre other than jazz, he would be a household name. Grabowsky says McGann, whose love of the rugby league team South Sydney Rabbitohs reflected his affection for sport in general, will be remembered for his immense musical intellect, compassionate personality and a laconic sense of humour. "I've always said in my estimation he is the great Australian jazz musician," Grabowsky says. If I had to single out one person who more than anybody else represents to me an Australian voice on an instrument which is so largely associated with the music we call jazz, it would be Bernie McGann. His sound, his approach, the musical choices he made as an improviser: everything about him was absolutely unique and in many ways evocative of this place. Two benefit concerts were held in McGann's honour in Melbourne and Sydney recently, and in a sign of the esteem in which he is held among his peers, both shows featured a who's who of Australian jazz. Adrian Jackson, artistic director of the Wangaratta jazz festival, says it was notable just how many musicians in Australia looked up to McGann. "Bernie to me typified the best qualities of jazz in that you only have to hear him play a couple of notes and you know it's him," Jackson says. He was a guy who had his own sound and his own way of playing. He was an original. In 1998, the multiple ARIA Award winner received the Australia Council Don Banks Music Award, becoming the first jazz musician to receive the honour. "For over 50 years Bernie's instantly identifiable sound and unique compositions astonished audiences," says John McBeath, The Australian's jazz critic. His gravelly tone and exhilarating ideas of almost mathematical elegance hit with powerful force.