Brian Rust
BornBrian Arthur Lovell Rust
(1922-03-19)19 March 1922
Golders Green, Middlesex, England
Died5 January 2011(2011-01-05) (aged 88)
Swanage, Dorset, England
OccupationDiscographer, broadcaster

Brian Arthur Lovell Rust (19 March 1922 – 5 January 2011) was an English jazz discographer.[1]

Career

Rust was born in 1922 in Golders Green, then part of the Municipal Borough of Hendon in Middlesex. He collected records from the age of five, but his most significant purchase was aged 14, when he acquired a copy of "Ostrich Walk" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band. After leaving school, Rust became a bank clerk. During the Second World War, he was a conscientious objector, and worked as an auxiliary fire officer. After the war, he returned to being a bank clerk.[2]

He worked in the BBC's record library from 1945 to 1960, and supervised broadcasting selections. He contributed to The Gramophone magazine from 1948 to 1970, and wrote freelance from 1960, including liner notes for record releases. During the early 1960s, he was living in Hatch End, Middlesex.[2]

Rust hosted the Mardi Gras radio programme on Capital Radio from 1973 to 1984, in which he played only 78s; his friend Chris Ellis recalled that he sounded like "a cross between an Oxford don and an overgrown schoolboy, always bubbling with enthusiasm".[2] Rust's Jazz Records 1897–1942, revised several times since its publication in 1961, is a standard jazz discography. He moved from London to Swanage, Dorset, in 1970.[2]

Rust died on 5 January 2011 in Swanage, England, aged 88.[1] He was survived by his wife, Mary, and their daughters, Angela and Pamela, and a son, Victor.[2]

Discographies

General discographies

    1. 2nd ed.. Da Capo Press. 1989. LCCN 87-33155; ISBN 0-3067-6210-2.
    1. Vol. 1: "Irving Aaronson to Arthur Lange" (2nd printing, June 1979) – via Internet Archive Free access icon).
    2. Vol. 1: "Irving Aaronson to Arthur Lange" (2nd printing, June 1979) – via Google Books (University of Michigan–Flint Library) Free access icon).
    3. Vol. 2: "Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke" – via Internet Archive (Arcadia Fund) Free access icon).
    4. Vol. 2: "Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke" – via Google Books (University of Michigan Library) Free access icon).
    1. Vols. 1 & 2 (combined) (6th ed.). Mainspring Press. 2001 – via Internet Archive Free access icon.
    2. Vol. 1. "Irving Aaronson to Abe Lyman" (4th and enlarged ed.). Arlington House Publishers – via Internet Archive (ARChive of Contemporary Music).
    3. Vol. 2. "Abe Lyman to Bob Zurke" (4th and enlarged ed.). Arlington House Publishers – via Internet Archive (ARChive of Contemporary Music).
    4. Vol. 2. "Abe Lyman to Bob Zurke" (4th and enlarged ed.). Arlington House Publishers – via Internet Archive (Kahle/Austin Foundation).
    1. Both Vols. Combined (2 vols. combined into 1 and placed in the public domain) (6th ed.). Mainspring Press – via Internet Archive Free access icon.
    2. Vol. 1 "A–K" – via Google Books (University of Michigan Library) Free access icon.
    3. Vol. 2 "L–Z / Index" – via Google Books (University of Michigan Library) Free access icon.

Artists' discographies

British discographies

Label discographies

Other work

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b New York Times (The); Fox, Margalit (2 February 2011). "Brian Rust, 88; Compiled Extensive Guides to Recorded Jazz" (print). (Late ed.; East Coast). ProQuest 848657905 (US Newsstream database).
    "The elder Mr. Rust, according to family oral tradition, declined a friend's suggestion that he name Victor's twin sister Decca. Often described as the father of contemporary discography, Mr. Rust embarked in the 1940s on a rigorous, deeply personal project that continued long afterward as he haunted archives and hunted down artists to reconstitute long-vanished recording sessions on paper. For decades, Jazz Records — known to jazz mavens simply as "J.R." — has been the de facto standard reference work in the field, furnishing meticulous information on session dates, personnel and much else for tens of thousands of recordings."
      Blog editions:
      1. "Brian Rust, Father of Modern Discography, Dies at 88". Free access icon. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011. ProQuest 2217511827 (US Newsstream database).
      2. "Brian Rust, Father of Modern Discography, Dies at 88". 2 February 2011. ProQuest 2217289081 (US Newsstream database).
  2. ^ a b c d e Guardian (The); Russell, Tony (31 March 2011). "Brian Rust Obituary – Broadcaster, Writer and the Leading Jazz Discographer of His Generation". Retrieved 8 November 2021.

Further reading

External links


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