Frank Coughlan

Frank James Coughlan (1904-1979) was an Australian jazz musician and band leader. He is described in the Australian Dictionary of Biography as "One of the most influential musicians in the development of jazz in Australia."

Coughlan was born on 7 June 1904 in Emmaville, New South Wales. His father William was a tin miner and leader of the Glen Innes and District band, and taught all his five sons to play brass instruments.

Coughlan moved to Sydney in 1922. He played trombone and trumpet, arranged music, and led the band at the Sydney Trocadero both before and after service in World War II. He died 6 April 1979 at Randwick, New South Wales, aged 74.

On 7 June 1904 in the mining town of Emmaville, New South Wales, Frank Coughlan was born the third son of William and Elizabeth Coughlan. In 1912, his father took the position of the District and Glen Innes Band Master and taught his five sons to play brass instruments. When Coughlan was nineteen, he moved to Sydney, Australia in New South Wales with his family. While there, Coughlan began a music performance career that lasted forty-nine years. 'Miff' Mole, the American trombonist, inspired Coughlan's musical approach, and he began playing at the local Bondi Casino in Will James's dance band. Coughlan was skillful in dance band music and his career started with Will James's dance band. Two years later, in 1924, he joined a sensational band called the Californians, which allowed him to travel more around Australia. As “the first jazz group to come to Australia,” the Californians provided him with “his first experience with dance music and jazz.” It was with this band that Coughlan developed most in skill and style and even made his introduction into the world of arranging. The band also enabled Coughlan to discover and hone the skills which made him the highly sought after musician he grew to be.

Coughlan loved jazz music, studied it feverishly, and sought to play as much as he could with as many musicians as he could. England welcomed Coughlan and his wife in 1929, and he was privileged to perform at prestigious venues such as the Kit Kat Club and the Savoy Hotel, Claridges, among others. His recording experience at that time was shared with Fred Elizalde, Arthur Rosebery, Jack Hilton's Band, and the New Mayfair Orchestra. The Great Depression shortened his stay abroad to one year, after which he returned to Australia and worked “in dance bands in Melbourne and Sydney.” After returning home from his British excursion, Coughlan developed into one of (if not the most) influential characters in the progression of Australian Jazz.

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