I heard recently that a musical version of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings will be opening at the State Theatre next year. It reminded me of the Peter Jackson movies I saw in the early 2000s, with soundtracks composed by Canadian Howard Shore. But long before the movies, an Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist, John Sangster, had already embarked on his own unique musical journey into Tolkien’s fantastical universe.

Sangster was born in Melbourne on 17 November 1928, attending primary school in Vermont and then Box Hill High School. In his teens, he discovered jazz and taught himself to play the trombone and cornet. At the beginning of 1946, he started studying civil engineering, however, in September that year, an incident between Sangster and his mother led to her death.

I became curious about him, his character, and his jazz music. In 1948, his fiery playing established him as a force in Australian jazz and had him performing at the third annual Australian Jazz Convention, an event that is still running today, the longest-running jazz convention in the world. In 1950, jazz pioneer Graeme Bell invited Sangster to join his band, leading to extensive tours across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Bell was working to develop a distinctive Australian jazz sound, and Sangster played a crucial role in this evolution. His versatility was impressive. He learned vibraphone, drums and percussion. At the beginning of 1960, Sangster moved to Sydney and worked with Don Burrows.

By 1962, he lived above the El Rocco Jazz Cellar, forming his own quartet and releasing his f irst album The Trip. He rejoined the Don Burrows Group briefly in 1967 when they represented Australia at Expo 1967 in Montreal, Canada. I am always interested in the history of the Australian Broadcasting Commission and discovered that in 1966, Sangster and his trio freely improvised over pre-recorded percussion. His participation in Donald Westlake’s Best of Both Worlds concerts in that year, combining the Don Burrows Quartet with the New Sydney Woodwind Quintet, included Sangster’s own compositions.

By the end of the decade, he was composing and playing for projects, ranging from commercials to television and f ilms. He worked for Tully, a rock band, which provided the musical backing for the original production of Hair in Sydney.

In 1971, he composed an album, Australia and All That Jazz, that was commissioned to accompany nature documentaries. It was evocative, blending nature sounds with jazz compositions. The music was recorded by some of world’s best jazz musicians and released by Cherry Pie, the label set up by Don Burrows and Graeme Rule to act as an outlet for Australian jazz musicians. Two years later, he composed The Hobbit Suite, which was followed by three double albums inspired by The Lord of the Rings (1975-77) and Landscapes of Middle Earth (1978).

Sangster had been profoundly affected by Tolkien’s books, which he first read in the late 1950s, and was disappointed by what he perceived as a lack of suitable music for them. He decided to write his own interpretation, creating an expansive, eclectic musical landscape influenced by Tolkien’s mythical world. Over his lifetime, Sangster released 27 albums, each showcasing his distinctive style. He was credited 164 albums, including instruments, performance, writing and arrangement. Sangster was an eccentric, creative and intellectual, who was a vital figure in the development of Australian jazz. His contributions to music, and his adventurous spirit, continue to resonate with those who discover his work.

– Louise Levy
This article was published in the November 2024 issue of Fine music Magazine.