-
I came across this find on YouTube. Someone made lots of live club recordings of pianist Tony Lee in the 70s and 80s. What is cool is that Tony Lee often accompanied various UK jazz musicians. So there are recordings featuring Terry Smith, Louis Stewart and Martin Taylor amongst others. I have downloaded a Louis Stewart session and the recording quality is quite good.
If you select the YouTube link for the video below (i.e. you need to get into YouTube), the video description lists all the available sessions he recorded, and at the very end there is a google drive link where you can download each session from.
-
10-21-2019 09:25 AM
-
v. interesting find - he's some piano player
but just piano trio - no LS on this take....
-
You didn’t read my post properly - you need to go to the actual video in YouTube , that is where there is the full list of recordings and a download link.
Originally Posted by Groyniad
Where it says ‘Tony Lee trio and Friends’ on the embedded video, select or click on that title line, it should take you into YouTube. Then open up and read the full description under the video.
-
Yes, I discovered that link through a very generous member here, and there are a treasure trove of recordings from mostly the Bull's Head of great players like Smith, Stewart and Taylor. Also, there are some recordings of Terry Smith's friend Dick Morrissey, who was IMHO, the heir to the throne of the great Tubbs himself! Originally Posted by grahambop
The neglect of Smith and Morrissey has been criminal; I've read a great deal on the history of British jazz in the 60s and 70s, and TS and DM are barely mentioned, if at all.
One would expect a book like "Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers, and Free Fusioneers: British Jazz, 1960-1975" by Duncan Heining, to have pages on both DM and TS, but TS is mentioned once; as co-founder of IF. One half of a paragraph is given to DM, although he was described as being "omni-present on the scene"! Heining's book degenerates into a Marxist polemic, and I had to throw the book across the room by the time I reached the concluding chapter, but it does contain a lot of info on the British jazz scene in those years in its almost 500 pages.
I then read "The Music's All That Matters: A History of Progressive Rock" by Paul Stump, expecting to find at least some mention of IF in its section
on Jazz-Rock, but the band wasn't even brought up! Instead, the same tired raves about Soft Machine went on for page after page.
I suppose I find this so frustrating, because I spent a great deal of time transcribing a genius level solo DM played on an IF tune I've arranged for big band, and when I mentioned that the tune was written by DM to the five sax players at a rehearsal, all I got were blank stares. None of them even heard of him. The band only made it to rehearsal letter B, because DM's use of changing meters was too much for the rhythm section and brass to handle.Next week I'm having it played by one of the best bands in this area of NY, and I'm confident that they'll read it down on the first try.
-
I’m halfway through Simon Spillett’s great book about Tubby Hayes at the moment, lots of stuff I didn’t know in there, it does seem that a lot of our UK jazz history has been neglected.
I just downloaded the Martin Taylor/Tony Lee recording, that is very tasty!
I once saw Dick Morrissey (with Jim Mullen), as well as being a great sax player he was a lovely bloke and he bought me a drink in the bar when I spoke to him after the gig, we chatted for ages (all about guitarists!)
-
try john wickes- innovations in british jazz 1960-1980- a good read
cheers
-
Wow! I would've asked the bartender if I could've bought the glass from the pub. Originally Posted by grahambop
Tal came down to a club I was playing at, and I saved the receipt from the diner where I bought him breakfast.
The only quote from Morrissey I found on the Net was:
"Charlie Parker is a genius. That's just the way it is!"
-
Sounds interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks! Originally Posted by neatomic
try john wickes- innovations in british jazz 1960-1980- a good read
cheers
I'm reading "Jazz From Detroit" now, the new book by Mark Stryker. Has a chapter on Kenny Burrell, of course.
-
You might be interested to know that the UK jazz writer Stan Britt (who I knew quite well) recorded hundreds of interviews and on his death a few years ago they were all given to the British Library. I am in touch with Stan’s brother who is pushing for these interviews to be digitised by the British Library and made available in their online service. So far the catalogue has been published online, but the digital files may take some time to complete. However I have looked at the catalogue and I can see several interviews listed which Stan did with Dick Morrissey. So hopefully you may be able to hear these at some point, if all goes to plan. Originally Posted by sgcim
Wow! I would've asked the bartender if I could've bought the glass from the pub.
Tal came down to a club I was playing at, and I saved the receipt from the diner where I bought him breakfast.
The only quote from Morrissey I found on the Net was:
"Charlie Parker is a genius. That's just the way it is!"
Just to whet your appetite:
-
Thanks for the link(s) - lots of excellent listening cued...
I used to go hear Morrissey Mullen most weekends at The Forum in Kentish Town, great band. One of the regulars used to join them on stage & dance shirtless for the last few tunes of the night.
-
Graham take a look at this list...wonder if the bbc will release the recordings..Peter Clayton fondly remembered as the host..BBC Sounds of Jazz – Jazz in Britain
-
Interesting...although the Beeb probably wiped all the tapes years ago!
-
Looks like some great stuff! Two of the Morrissey interviews also have John Mealing, keyboard player for IF. Other than Dennis Elliot, all of the members of IF were accomplished mainstream jazz players, and played on jazz records as sidemen or leaders before and after IF. Originally Posted by grahambop
You might be interested to know that the UK jazz writer Stan Britt (who I knew quite well) recorded hundreds of interviews and on his death a few years ago they were all given to the British Library. I am in touch with Stan’s brother who is pushing for these interviews to be digitised by the British Library and made available in their online service. So far the catalogue has been published online, but the digital files may take some time to complete. However I have looked at the catalogue and I can see several interviews listed which Stan did with Dick Morrissey. So hopefully you may be able to hear these at some point, if all goes to plan.
Just to whet your appetite:
I've never found any of Mealing's work other than an album with Passport and The Strawbs, but he did play with some jazz groups, too.
Some mouth-watering concerts voxsss posted on that BBC site. Peter King, Jimmy hastings, TS and DM. Hopefully the BBC didn't erase them all, but that was pretty common thing back then. Steve Allen had a TV show, the first "Tonight Show", and he had Tal, and many others on the show, but some 'genius' wiped out every tape of those shows!
-
i saw a few of those bands Kathy Stobart . mullen. t/smith .louis. peter king..etc etc..also looked forward to every sunday night .. peter claytons show..
-
I just checked the British Library catalogue to see which guitarists Stan Britt interviewed - it lists the following interviews:
Jim Mullen, Dave Cliff, John Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, John McLaughlin, Gary Potter, Ian Cruickshank, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, Tal Farlow, Stanley Jordan, Eddie Durham (he must be the oldest!), Albert Lee, BB King, Al Di Meola, Joe Pass, George Benson, Wah Wah Watson, Barney Kessel, Eric Gale, Jim Hall.
Surprisingly, no Terry Smith or Louis Stewart, even though I once saw Terry Smith at a pub in Croydon with Stan, and Terry came and chatted with us after the gig. I’d be surprised if Stan didn’t interview him at some point. It could be that some of Stan’s tapes got lost or damaged I suppose.
-
British Library has 300,000 hours of archive audio....but cant see any jazz...Skiffle yes...
-
Stan wrote a book, "The Jazz Guitarists" back in 1984. I'm not sure if I read it, but it's available at a college library I have access to, so I'm going to check it out. Originally Posted by grahambop
-
The link to the full catalogue is a bit hard to find for some reason, this is the link I have been using. Bear in mind a lot of this stuff can only be accessed on the premises, I don’t know how much is available online, probably only a small percentage. Originally Posted by voxsss
The British Library Sound & Moving Image catalogue
-
id love to hear some of those Peter Clayton shows again...someone somewhere might know..im not interested in Ukranian Reggae
-
6 volumes of
Best Of British Jazz -BBC JAZZ CLUB...audio cds...mostly TRAD....any takers...
-
I found it interesting to learn that there was a difference between what the British called TRAD, and what Americans called Traditional Jazz. Originally Posted by voxsss
"TRAD" was a journalistic term to describe the commercial pop/jazz played by Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Chris Barber, Terry Lightfoot and others.
The US Traditional Jazz from New Orleans in Britain was called "Revivalist Jazz, and featured such musicians as Humphrey Lyttelton playing the Armstrong/Bechet style jazz, Freddy Randall playing Chicago-style jazz, and Ken Colyer playing strict New Orleans Jazz.
The 'good stuff' isn't available online. There's a Morrissey Sextet (or Septet) tape there that features Smith, and Mealing, but none of the other members of IF, playing both straight-ahead jazz, and some stuff from the first IF album that I'd give anything to hear!
-
And since the early 1960's, there hasn't been ANY jazz style that has gained similar widespread popularity and familiarity in the UK. Look at all those UK late 50's/early 60's British films - although soon to be slowly overtaken by the early 60's UK beat bands - those clubs, milk bars, youth clubs & church halls featured on film still show teens and young twenty-somethings in slacks and woolly jumpers, energetically dancing to trad-type bands, a last-gasp (apparently hip!)Trad flowering, even as the route through Lonnie Donegan, Joe Brown, the Shads and British Beat eventually eclipsed that music, leaving only popular jazz-related instrumentals to occasionally creep into the 1960's UK Top 20.
'
(who today is even familiar with the UK Top 20? I'm sure 13-year old girls know how and where to find the videos that comprise it, but even this disappeared from my Freeview TV options some years ago...….)
As a young kid often walking through Finsbury Park underground station in the late 50's, there would sometimes be amateur Trad groups playing in the subterranean pedestrian tunnel leading down to the ticket office - and yes, on occasion they really DID have chipboard tea-chest basses!
Sadly, the BBC have over the decades been utterly clueless about recognising and preserving the value of their recordings - of both sound and film. I'm sure 60's John Peel sessions by rock band The Nice have "lost" certain tracks (e.g. where did that glorious 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' pre-shootout theme by The Nice disappear to? it doesn't appear to be on any issued CD). The Sanctuary Records/BBC-issued Nice recordings often sound like poor quality 'copies of copies of copies'. Back in the day there does seem to have been a failure by the BBC to esteem and recognise the value of popular culture. In this respect at least (plus the supposed greater ease of using digital media) I think things have improved since then.
Tragedies? The various warehouse fires/floods/failures to value, preserve or even properly index stock at the big jazz record companies' vaults and storehouses. I think particularly of that "lost" 2nd album by guitarist Les Spann - great line up, would love to have heard it - but apparently destroyed in a warehouse fire.
So the move towards artists' control over and self-issuing of their work can only be a good thing in this respect. And if nothing else, the advent of Youtube can sometimes lead us to the near-limitless discovery of artists and recordings we might not otherwise have stumbled upon....
* unforgettable little YouTube gem: check out the 3-minute marvel of:
Dean Martin and Caterina Valente - 'One Note Samba'
(and spot that cheeky blue comment by Dean halfway through the patter!)
Peter Clayton BBC session I'd like to hear again?
The one with guitarists (Ronan Guilfoyle?) and Esmond Selwyn in the same band, both doing some excellent stuff (late 1980's)
Lastly - did Soft Machine receive far too much uncritical praise over the years? Their impact and popularity certainly decreased into the 1970's. I was lucky enough to attend many of the free open air 'Blackhill Enterprises' pop concerts in the London parks in the late 60's/early 70's (wonderful times!). Nothing made so much impact on me as the first time I ever heard Soft Machine (1969, Parliament Hill Fields). The sheer power, harmonic and rhythmic sophistication and new ideas/sounds never before heard in the rock field - were utterly knockout (I was on a high for about 3 days!).
With the passing of time - and the instant online availability today of any music, reaching back to almost 100 years ago - it becomes difficult to remember or indeed to accurately assess the 'then' impact of any artist, their music and their innovations. From Soft Machine's 1967-68 English whimsy through to their 1970-ish arrival with newly sophisticated jazz credentials, what impressed me most then and now was the sheer speed at which they changed and advanced - from blistering rock (their Cooksferry Inn, Edmonton 1969 gig) into jazz sophistication ('70/'71Fairfield Halls/South Bank concerts).
And while the Wyatt era of Volumes 1 through 4 are the recordings I most listen to, the musical ideas on Volume II - utterly new and quite staggering at the time (and still so!) - are the ones which made most impact on me. 100 years on from today (if we're still here), the BBC '69 recording of 'Moon In June' might well be critically acclaimed as THE high-point of the classic prog-rock period...…….Though Peter Banks might argue that Flash's 1971 'Dreams of Heaven' deserves a look-in....
Last edited by QsDuesBlues; 10-24-2019 at 06:06 AM. Reason: clarification
-
great input...no worries Graham is on the case..im doing a bit myself...jazz preservation society .. alas no recordings..
-
Hopefully I will be advised when Stan Britt’s interview recordings are eventually available online, if so I’ll post about it here.
In the meantime you can see the extent of the material by using the link I gave, just type in ‘Stan Britt interview’ and you will see the listing of all 687 entries, quite a range of people he interviewed (not exclusively jazz).
The British Library Sound & Moving Image catalogue
-
Don't remember seeing them at The Forum, but certainly often at the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town, The Cricketers, The Half Moon and The Bulls Head. Originally Posted by dot75
Reply With Quote
Trenier Model E, 2011 (Natural Burst) 16"
Yesterday, 07:37 PM in For Sale