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

Key Information

Career

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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

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General discographies

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  • Harris, Rex; Rust, Brian (1958). Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide. Harmondsworth: Pelican Books. LCCN 58-1954.
    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

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British discographies

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Label discographies

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Other work

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Brian Rust

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Brian Rust is a British discographer, music historian, and broadcaster known for pioneering modern discography and compiling the foundational reference work on early jazz recordings. Born Brian Arthur Lovell Rust in London on March 19, 1922, he developed an early fascination with gramophone records and jazz as a child, purchasing his first jazz record as a teenager in 1936. After working as a bank clerk and serving as a conscientious objector in the auxiliary fire service during World War II, he joined the BBC Gramophone Library, where he began systematic research into recorded music. His breakthrough came with Jazz Records 1897–1942 (first published in 1961 and later expanded), which established comprehensive standards for documenting session details, personnel, and issues in early jazz and ragtime, influencing subsequent discographies across genres of vernacular music. Rust authored numerous influential works, including The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942, British Dance Bands on Record, British Music Hall on Record, and The Complete Entertainment Discography, covering pre-LP era popular music. He contributed record reviews to The Gramophone for over two decades, wrote liner notes for countless reissues, and presented the Capital Radio program Mardi Gras from 1973 to 1984, specializing in 78 rpm discs with an enthusiastic, scholarly style. A self-described "mouldy fig," he championed the vitality of 1920s jazz while dismissing later styles such as swing and bebop. After leaving the BBC, he continued his research independently from his home in Swanage, Dorset, until his death on January 5, 2011.

Early life

Childhood and early record collecting

Brian Arthur Lovell Rust was born on 19 March 1922 in Golders Green, Middlesex, England. He acquired his first gramophone record at the age of five, marking the beginning of his lifelong interest in recorded music. Rust's passion for jazz records developed during his adolescence, when he began actively seeking out older recordings. On 31 March 1936, at age 14, he purchased his first significant jazz record, "Ostrich Walk" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, from a junk shop. This record, by the pioneering white New Orleans quintet, exemplified the vitality, accessibility, and danceability that appealed to him in early jazz. Rust formed an early preference for pre-1930s styles that emphasized these qualities, showing little interest in later developments such as swing. This formative collecting experience provided the foundation for his later expertise in jazz discography.

War years and early career

After leaving school at the age of 16, Brian Rust began his working life as a bank clerk in the City of London. When the Second World War began, he registered as a conscientious objector and served as an auxiliary fire officer in the Auxiliary Fire Service in London. After the war ended, he returned to bank work briefly before moving into music-related roles.

Career in music documentation and broadcasting

Work at the BBC Gramophone Library

Brian Rust joined the BBC Gramophone Library in 1945 after contacting Valentine Britten, a former HMV shop colleague who had become the librarian, securing a position within six weeks following an interview. He remained in the role until 1960. His vast knowledge of recorded music and virtually photographic memory were highly valued during his tenure. In his position, Rust suggested and selected appropriate records to fit various broadcast programmes when staff requested recommendations for specific needs. This work provided him with extensive access to the BBC's archival holdings of early recordings, enhancing his already deep expertise in the field. Due to BBC restrictions on regular journalism for employees, Rust contributed monthly reviews to The Gramophone magazine starting in 1948 under the pseudonym "Oliver King."

Major discographical publications

Brian Rust authored several landmark discographical works that became essential references for researchers, collectors, and historians of early recorded music, particularly in jazz, ragtime, dance bands, and related popular genres. His most influential publication, Jazz Records 1897–1942, first appeared in 1961 and documented thousands of jazz recordings from the advent of commercial recording through the early swing era, including details on artists, titles, dates, labels, matrix numbers, and personnel. The book underwent multiple revisions and expansions, with a significantly enlarged edition published in 1978, and was later retitled Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897–1942 in its final major iteration. Among his earlier works, Rust collaborated on King Joe Oliver (1955), a biographical and discographical study of cornetist Joe Oliver, and Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide (1958), which combined discographical listings with evaluative commentary on key recordings. In the 1970s and 1980s, he produced a series of comprehensive discographies focused on popular music forms, including The Complete Entertainment Discography: From the Mid-1890s to 1942 (1973); The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942 (1975); British Music Hall on Record (1979); and British Dance Bands on Record 1911–1945 (1987, co-authored with Tony Rust and Malcolm Shaw). These volumes provided exhaustive listings of recordings by artists, often drawing on primary label files and Rust's extensive knowledge of the BBC Gramophone Library's holdings. Rust's publications set a rigorous standard for discographical methodology, emphasizing accuracy in dating, personnel identification, and source documentation, and they remain foundational resources for the study of pre-World War II recorded sound.

Journalism and liner notes

Brian Rust contributed regularly to The Gramophone magazine as a reviewer of jazz records for more than 20 years, offering informed commentary on new releases and reissues drawn from his deep knowledge of recorded music. He wrote sleeve notes for hundreds of LP releases, supplying detailed historical and discographical information that accompanied many jazz and dance band albums, particularly those reissuing material from the early decades of recorded sound. His writings often reflected a preference for pre-1930s jazz and related genres. In 1990, Rust published My Kind of Jazz, an autobiographical work that presented his personal appreciation of the music's development while seeking to highlight neglected figures and events in its history.

Radio broadcasting

After relocating to Swanage in 1970, Brian Rust embarked on a notable phase of his career in radio broadcasting. From 1973 to 1984, he hosted the programme Mardi Gras on Capital Radio, where he presented selections exclusively from 78 rpm records. Rust's on-air manner was particularly distinctive, characterized by great enthusiasm and a scholarly yet playful approach that led to his style being described as "a cross between an Oxford don and an overgrown schoolboy." This engaging presentation helped bring early recordings to a broader audience during his tenure on the station.

Contribution to film

Music advisor on The Shining

Brian Rust served as music advisor on Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining, credited specifically for "20's music" alongside John Wadley. He provided expertise on authentic 1920s period recordings to inform the film's use of vintage music. The role drew directly on his renowned knowledge of early jazz and dance band records, which he had documented extensively in his discographical works. His contribution helped ensure the accuracy of the pre-war era soundtracks featured in scenes such as the Overlook Hotel ballroom. This remains Rust's only documented credit in film or television production.

Personal life and death

Family and later years

Brian Rust was married to Mary Denning for over six decades until his death. The couple had three children: daughters Angela Kidd and Pamela Jackson-Cooke, and son Victor. In 1970, Rust moved from Hatch End in north-west London to Swanage, a coastal town in Dorset, where he spent his later years. Despite declining health, he remained active in discography, supervising revisions to his existing books, contributing to further label discographies, and publishing his memoir My Kind of Jazz in 1990. He lived quietly in Swanage, content in the company of his family and fellow collectors. His long-running radio programme on Capital Radio concluded in 1984.

Death

Brian Rust died peacefully in his sleep on 5 January 2011 in Swanage, Dorset, England, at the age of 88. He had resided in Swanage since 1970. He was survived by his wife of six decades, Mary, his daughters Angela and Pamela, his son Victor, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Legacy

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