Tim Gaze

Born on 8 August 1953 in Australia, Tim Gaze brings a versatile touch to the guitar that lets him move fluidly across blues, rock and fusion settings. During the late 1960s and into the early 1980s he lent his skills to an array of groups, among them Stonehenge, which he started at fourteen, the progressive outfit Tamam Shud in 1970, and Khavas Jute the following year. Alongside Tamam Shud drummer Nigel Macara he launched Miss Universe in 1972, and the pair also appeared in Mike Rudd and Bill Putt’s Ariel. Additional stints took him through Stoned Ostrich (again with Macara), Stevie Wright, John Paul Young, Air Supply, Libido, 4 Play, Troppo, Aussie Rebels, Headland and his own Dayride, whose lineup featured bassist Peter Blyton and drummer Robbie France-Shaw. In 1976 the same unit, augmented by keyboardist Peter Bolton, became the Tim Gaze Rock Ensemble; later changes introduced bassist Harry Curtis and keyboardist Andy Cowan. For Infinity/Festival Records the ensemble cut an album drawn from the 1979 film Band On The Run that remained unreleased until the early 2000s, when the recordings finally appeared on CD.

While pursuing those projects he simultaneously fronted the Tim Gaze Band from 1977 to 1979, its rhythm section comprising bassist Peter Willersdorf and drummer John Barnes. Between 1985 and the early 1990s Gaze supplied slide guitar to Rose Tattoo, rejoined Barnes and Willersdorf in Made In Oz, and performed with Skin Game, Brothers Of The Bell, Big Secret, Ardijah, the Sultans, Oasis, the Peter Wells Band and the Millionaires. With guitarist Phil Graham he composed and recorded the score for Sultans 2: The Power Strikes Back in 1990. In 1992 he assembled his own trio that again included Robbie France-Shaw. Throughout the decade he also worked with vocalist Gyan, rejoined Tamam Shud and appeared with the Bushwackers. In 1998 he established the Blues Doctors, whose members were Mike Gubb on piano and organ, harmonica player Jim Conway, bassist Graeme Gibb, drummer Rob Grosser and brass section Daniel Barnett and Ralph Franke. He further collaborated with multi-instrumentalist Clare O’Meara and fiddler Mark Oats under the name Limestone, and with Rob Grosser and bassist Bob Daisley as the Hoochie Coochie Men. In 2005 Gaze joined popular singer Jimmy Barnes on tour while continuing to work as a session musician, record producer and Field Operations manager for ACRO at the University of Queensland.