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How many of these guys have you heard? Or heard of?
UK Jazz Guitar Pioneers
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12-30-2017 01:23 PM
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I know of most of these players, met three of them and gigged with one of those three, a loooooong time ago.
I knew Mairants in the late 60's/early 70's - he was into all sorts of playing, equally at home in classical guitar and in jazz. I bought a guitar from him in his shop in Rathbone Place, and chatted to him often. He was a polite and friendly man - I also used to see him from time to time in a pub in Soho, not far from his shop; I don't recall the name of the pub but I recall it had many photos of guitarists in it, including some of Ivor, and various posters - he was well known there, and had in fact supplied many of the photographs himself, many of which were autographed.
Denny Wright I met in either '81 or '82 - don't remember which; a band I was in at the time supported a band he was in during one of the early Edinburgh Jazz Festivals, in one of the rooms in Meadowbank sports stadium. We chatted a while - when he and the other members of his band arrived, he sat down and watched me play then came over to talk; I had an amp at the time with the brand name 'Loco' and so had he. That's what attracted his attention first, he told me there were only 4 of them in the country at that time, and now that he'd met me, he knew the owners of all 4. The first thing he said to me when he came over was "You've completed my collection!" His was the only one I ever saw apart from my own - they were small, light and highly portable which is why both of us had them. His playing was full of life and vigour - a little messy but a lot of fun, always inventive and very engaging.
In '83, I did a gig in that year's Edinburgh Jazz Festival with the same band as before; we had three guests playing with us, one of whom was Jim Douglas. The others were trumpeter Digby Fairweather and the trombonist Roy Williams. I remember the gig with clarity and not a little pleasure, it was lots of fun and the audience was attentive and appreciative - it was in a hotel in Stockbridge, I seem to recall. Douglas was a fine player, in the swing style; he had family in Haddington, just outside Edinburgh and was staying with them for the week of the festival; he arranged to come and sit in with us a couple of days later at our regular weekly gig in town, but sadly some family thing came up which prevented him from coming.
I had friends in common with both Ike Isaacs and Judd Proctor, but never actually met either of them; in addition, I recall in the 60's a weekly tv show called 'On the Braden Beat' which was a kind of magazine show which broadcast on Sunday evenings - they had a resident jazz quartet which featured Dave Goldberg on guitar. Goldberg was an extremely accomplished player, sadly under-recorded. He died far too young, he had a lot to offer. He played with the cream of British jazzers of the day and played some concerts with Benny Golson. Here he is in a big band setting, with, among others, the sax player Tubby Hayes, who remains to this day one of the best jazz musicians the UK has ever produced.
Last edited by reventlov; 12-30-2017 at 08:32 PM.
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Great post. I've already seen that video a few times, as I'm a fan of old Tubby. My dad had two LPs when I was a kid, one was Tubby with piano, bass and drums, the other was of Lester Young. They both remain my favourite jazz players. My dad played sax too, but not in Edinburgh - we lived in Dundee.
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Ditto Rob,
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
I used to see & hear Tubby Hayes at least once a week in my youth, at the Flamingo in
Wardour Street. He was one of our finest ever Jazz musicians. I note in the clip that
Jimmy Deuchar tpt, was in the band led by Benny Golson. Did I spot Keith Christie
on trombone also.? Megastars in my youth. I met Ivor Mairants and Ike Isaacs several
times. both were absolute gentlemen. Dave Goldberg (Gtr) was pals with my eventual
tutor Cedric West, many years hence. Happy times.
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interesting early 60's uk flick by the great director basil dearden...all night long...a shakespearean tale reworked in a modern jazz setting..with our favorite prisoner-patrick mcgoohan- (who was a drummer)
lots of great players throughout..inc tubby, johnny dankworth, barry morgan etc..and guest shots by brubeck and mingus!
cheers
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That's a mad clip!
Alan, you heard Tubby Hayes live once a week? My, that must have been something.
They're all just names to me, never met any of them. I have a memory of seeing Ivor Mairants in his shop, but I'm not sure if I'm imagining it - it was so long ago.
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I've just seen this on Amazon: Seven Tubby Hayes CDs for £13. Quite a bargain.
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I don't know how I managed to miss that - I played several gigs with Jimmy in the mid 80s. He had, for a few months in '85, a big band gig in Edinburgh on a Friday evening. I had a trio at the time, guitar, bass and drums; Jimmy turned up one night and asked for a sit-in - he played his socks off, he just flew. It turned out that he was living in Dundee at the time, and the bar where we played was literally next door to the station where Jimmy's train to Edinburgh stopped. Our gig started at 8pm and his didn't start until 10.30, so it was decided that he would join us for our first set before going on to his big band engagement. This arrangement carried on for three months or so until he got a better paid gig with the BBC Radio Orchestra in Glasgow. He was a superb player and generous with his advice and encouragement - I learned a huge amount from him. He also had some great stories of the London scene, most of which I wouldn't repeat in polite company..... Originally Posted by silverfoxx
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You should write your memoirs...
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I think I just did Rob, that's pretty much it Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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no guitar..but one of my faves ever...from around that period
stan tracey..with great saxman bobby wellins--Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"
rip both stan and wellins
cheers
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Last heard that about a decade ago. Wonderful.
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To continue in this vein, if I may, I recall too being in the Florida Club Leicester Square London
and witnessed a stunning performance by Victor Feldman(rip) on Piano.Vibes and Drums,
also present were Dave Goldberg on Guitar,as well as the usual suspects. Ronnie Scott,
etc., Victor performed Midnight Sun on Vibes, the crowd listened in silence to this remarkable
rendition. Vic moved to America , even playing with Steely Dan much later on.
The Balloon burst in the Sixties with the Pop Boom.Last edited by silverfoxx; 12-31-2017 at 04:32 PM.
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Seems to have been a great time for jazz in the UK, not only gigs but TV as well. Some great performances on YouTube from the black and white into early colour periods, with a lot of experimental large ensemble works. All gone from Tv now, sadly.
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Ike Isaacs gets only a short mention but he was an important figure on the guitar scene. Ike worked with Stephane Grappelli, wrote many guitar books and articles and was both father figure and teacher to many players in Australia (he moved here to Sydney in 1981) and back in Britain. I believe both John McLaughlin and Martin Taylor took guitar lessons with Ike.
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Martin readily acknowledges his debt to Ike, and has played with him many times.
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Here's Martin introducing Ike:
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How about Frank Evans?
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The Tubby Hayes biography 'The Long Shadow of the Little Giant' by Simon Spillett is a great read, as is the Joe Harriott biography 'Fire In His Soul'. They both died grossly under-valued. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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I’ve got Frank Evans’ book of solo guitar arrangements, it’s good stuff. Originally Posted by rob taft
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Also worth a mention outside the big three (JM,MT,AH): Terry Smith, Chris Spedding, Dave Cliff, Phil Lee, Gary Boyle, Brian Godding, Fred Frith, Kenny Shaw, Ed Speight, Bernie Holland and (not British, but active in Britain) Amancio D'Silva.
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I've got Tubby's biography on order, plus the seven CDs for £13 I mentioned earlier. January will be dedicated to him.
I remember Fred Frith from the 1970s, and also (not mentioned above) Derek Bailey ( Homage To Derek Bailey – ArchtopGuitar.net )
I also remember Gary Boyle from Isotope, again back in the 70s. What a great player he was, and what a great group they were - I had their first album at the time. I'll need to research some of the others.
The Big Three will be remembered for many a century.
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Great writeup on Frank Evans here, with some scores: Frank Evans | Gypsy Jazz UK
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Brian Godding is a new name to me but I've heard all of the others, some fine players on that list. Also, I've had some online contact with Bernie Holland; in fact, Bernie has posted a number of times on this forum, although I've not seen anything from him recently. Apart from his many other accomplishments, he wrote a tune called 'Diamond Dust' which was recorded by Jeff Beck on his 'Blow by Blow' album. Here's Bernie's own version of the tune - Originally Posted by bleakanddivine
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....and here's Bernie Holland once again, taking a solo in a performance by Long John Baldry, a UK based blues singer.
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