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Bartolo “Bert” Niosi, bandleader, conductor, arranger, clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, trombonist (born 10 February 1909 in London, ON; died 3 August 1987 in Mississauga, ON). Bert Niosi was known as “Canada's King of Swing” in the 1930s and 1940s, during his band's long residency at the Palais Royale dance hall in Toronto (1933–50). The orchestra broadcast regularly on CBC Radio and toured Canada in 1945–46. Niosi was also a member of CBC Radio’s popular The Happy Gang (1952–59) and served as musical director for several CBC TV series, including The Tommy Hunter Show (1965–76). Music critic Peter Goddard once wrote that Niosi “was likely listened to by more people who had more different interests than any other musician we have ever produced.”
Early Life and Career
Bert Niosi began studying flute and saxophone at age nine with Pasquale Venuta in London, Ontario. For a time in his teens, he played with Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians in Cleveland. He then toured on the Loew's vaudeville circuit with his own band, the McPhillips Buescher Boys' Orchestra. It included his brother Joe (bassist), Tony Briglia (drummer, later a founding member of the Casa Loma Orchestra) and Hugo D'Ippolito (pianist, later a member of the Royal Canadians).
Career Highlights
In 1931, Bert Niosi formed a nine-piece band to play at the Embassy Club in Toronto. In 1932, he expanded the band and moved to the Palais Royale dance hall. It was there, during his 18-year residency, that he became an institution in Canadian pop music as “Canada’s King of Swing.” The band, which included Niosi's brother Johnnie (drummer), was heard nationally on CBC Radio and toured Canada in 1945–46.
Niosi next embarked on a career with the CBC, first as a member of The Happy Gang 1952–59), and then as music director of the TV series Four for the Show, Cross-Canada Hit Parade and The Tommy Hunter Show (1965–76). He continued to lead a dance band on occasion and returned to the Palais Royale for appearances as late as 1979.
A versatile musician, Niosi was proficient on trumpet and trombone as well as with his accustomed alto saxophone and clarinet. Accompanied by his brothers, he played all four instruments on a CBC TV show circa 1957. In 1950, he played Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with the Maurice Solway String Quartet for CBC Radio.
Following Niosi's death, music critic Peter Goddard wrote: “He was likely listened to by more people who had more different interests than any other musician we have ever produced.”
Notable Recordings
Bert Niosi's recordings included several 78s from the 1940s with a jazz sextet for RCA Victor and Musicana, and one with his orchestra for Zephyr. He also made an LP as leader of the Jack Kane Band (1963) and others as a soloist with the Albert Pratz Orchestra and with the Johnny Burt Strings (1964). His compositions were recorded by Lucio Agostini and by the pianist Alexander “Ragtime” Read.
Family Connections
Two of Bert Niosi’s brothers were also dance band and studio musicians: bassist Joe Niosi (born 26 May 1906 in London, ON; died 14 May 1977 in Toronto, ON), and drummer Johnnie Niosi (born 26 September 1914 in London, ON; died 21 November 1965 in Toronto).
Johnnie Niosi played with an RCAF band in Ottawa after he left his brother’s orchestra in 1942. Joe Niosi played bass in the 1930s with Luigi Romanelli, Horace Lapp and Trump Davidson (touring in Britain with the latter's band under Ray Noble). Joe was also a member of The Happy Gang (1945–59) and of CBC orchestras under Cliff McKay, Chicho Valle and others.
(See also Dance Bands; Music at the CBC.)
A version of this article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.
