Perth pianist, educator and jazz advocate Graham Wood died on 19 July 2017, aged 46, after a four-year battle with cancer, contemporaneous reports said. He helped establish The Ellington Jazz Club and the Perth International Jazz Festival, while building a long career at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
Graham Wood’s work in Perth jazz
Wood’s career joined performance, education and the practical work of creating places for jazz to be heard. ABC News described him as a pianist, WAAPA academic, co-owner of The Ellington Jazz Club and founder of the Perth International Jazz Festival. The festival’s first edition was due to be hosted by Wood in 2013, but it proceeded without him after his diagnosis. ABC News reported on Wood’s career and death.
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At WAAPA, Wood taught and performed as a jazz musician. The academy’s 2017 memorial records that he was appointed Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning in 2016, and describes a long connection to the institution. WAAPA’s memorial to Graham Wood also notes his performing career, festival work and research into jazz.
Stewart Smith, then WAAPA associate dean of music, told ABC News that Wood was “a truly gifted musician who knew deeply both the theory and the practice of jazz.” Smith also praised his work beyond the stage, calling him an astute entrepreneur who established a successful Perth jazz club and international festival.
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His illness and death
PerthNow reported that Wood was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in April 2013. According to the newspaper’s 2017 account, he underwent a 13-hour operation that removed cancer from his bile ducts. The report said he had been due to host the inaugural Perth International Jazz Festival seven weeks after his diagnosis; the event went ahead without him.
In that report, Wood recalled that he and his family had wanted to pursue surgery and “push for the full cure,” accepting the risks involved. That is a description of his personal experience, not medical guidance. PerthNow and ABC News reported his death on 19 July 2017, aged 46, after a four-year cancer battle. PerthNow’s report on Wood’s death and illness.
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The Ellington’s founders and its current proprietors
Wood co-owned The Ellington with Bernard Kong. The club remains part of his legacy, but its current ownership should not be confused with its history: the venue’s present contact page names Wood and Kong as founders and lists Zoe Jay and Travis Simmons as proprietors. The page gives the club’s address as 191 Beaufort Street, Perth. The Ellington’s current contact page documents those details; they are a current snapshot, not a record of ownership in 2017.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.An album that documents his musical work
For a direct listen to Wood’s recorded work, X-Press Magazine’s 2013 coverage documents Remembrance, an album by the Graham Wood Trio + 2, and its launch at The Ellington. The article is a useful record of the album and event; current availability or format is not established here. X-Press Magazine’s 2013 album coverage.
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