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Home , British jazz, Dave Shepherd, Digby Fairweather, Freddy Randall, Ian Carr, Jimmy Deuchar

Ne w s L E T T e R Editor: ISSUE 16 ° May 2008 swinging shepherd!

Digby Fairweather introduces and wonderfully generous , distinguished human being. So, rather than interview guest at this year’s a formal ’interview’, our Summer Event (see box meeting will be right) in July. simply a whatever-comes-next chat between old friends. Welcoming Dave Shepherd Dave’s regular designation as to the interview chair at our ’Britain’s ’ is far Summer Jazz Event 2008 is one more than a handy publicity tag. of the most exciting things to When pianist , a happen to the NJA - and to me – in many a moon. Because lifelong colleague of the ‘King of since Artie Shaw gave up writ- Swing’, began visiting Britain in ing books and joined his princi- the 1970s, his automatic clar- pal rival, Benny Goodman, in inet partner for international touring and recording was Dave Editors Note: Saturday 26th July

NATIONAL JAZZ ARCHIVE JAZZ NATIONAL some (literally) heavenly clar- inet section, Dave is, quite Shepherd, who by then had 1.30–4.30pm at Loughton Methodist probably, the greatest swing already been playing for more Church Tickets at £10 can be obtained clarinettist in the world. than a quarter of a century. from David Nathan at the Archive and He’s much more fun to inter- After post-war beginnings cheques to be made payable to view, too. Whereas Artie (as I amid the flourishing east- National Jazz Archive. know from experience) made fraternity, he his interrogator feel like a joined drummer Joe Daniels in feather in a wind-tunnel, and 1951, then graduated summa Benny, by all accounts, never said cum laude to the band of his much at all, Dave has a fund of hero in 1954. stories of his 62 years at the Thereafter, an accelerating forefront of . I know career , in both business and that because we have been music, took him first to the friends for over half that time. USA in 1956, to play, amongst Before then, for me, he was a others, with pianist Billy personal hero, whose elegant Maxted’s band, then back to and regularly hard-swinging England to tour with the Jazz Goodman-style quintet had To day Unit and Jazz At The graced the BBC’s airwaves for Philharmonic (starring Ella over two decades, and whose Fitzgerald and a cast of now-leg- renewed partnership on-record endary Americans) a year later. and off in the early 1970s with For most of the 1960s Dave another hero, legendary cornet- continued leading his own quin- N J A tist Freddy Randall, convinced tet, but rejoined Randall twice, Loughton Library, Traps Hill me that Dixieland was the music first for a late sortie amid the Loughton, Essex IG10 1HD I wanted to play most of all. declining Trad Boom and later Tel. 020 8502 0181 When I finally shared a stand in the legendary partnership Fax 020 8508 5041 with my hero in 1975 I was left which took the Randall- e-mail: [email protected] in no doubt that he was both a Shepherd All-Stars to the website: nationaljazzarchive.co.uk supremely talented musician , numer- SUPPORTED BY ESSEX continued on page 2 COUNTY COUNCIL LIBRARIES continued from page 1 ous BBC broadcasts and two five- OUTREACH UPDATE star albums for Black Lion. Later, Dave led his own All-Stars, Graham Langley writes: toured with more distin- guished alumni and freelanced with The Institute of Popular Music has , before accepting taken delivery of nearly 30 years of Jazz leadership of the Pizza Express All- Journal International recently donated Stars - resident weekly from May by one of our supporters in Oldham.. 1980 until 2001 at the famous Brunel University, which houses our ‘reserve collection’ has Dean Street establishment. During been the beneficiary of a large number of the books and that time they played host to innu- periodicals bequeathed to the Archive by the late Kevin merable American greats, from Henriques (see item in Archival News, p6). Ruby Braff and Wild Bill Davison to Al Cohn and Jimmy Witherspoon. I have started to investigate whether we can establish From 1995, Dave joined the some useful international links, initially with European Great British Jazz Band and, after archives.The first successful relationship has been forged leaving Essex for the south coast, with the RoJaRo Archive in Norway, and we are in the continued working with his own process of exchanging periodicals from our duplicate quintet as well as clarinettist Chris stocks. RoJaRo stands for Rock / Jazz / Roots, and their Walker’s group in a collaboration mission is to index the world’s popular music publications. appropriately titles ‘Swing Fever’. For those researchers among you, a visit to It’s good to have him back, near http://www.rojaro.com may prove useful. Search for the his old Theydon Bois home, sur- artist of your choice and you will find countless references rounded by flocks of friends and to articles, record reviews etc, over 1.5m in total - not the fans our Summer Jazz Event. Be article itself, just the periodical name, issue and page there, by hook or crook - for, red number, but this will give you a starting point.Then you sky or not, this promises will know what to ask our Archivist, David Nathan, for. Shepherd’s delights to spare!

CHARLES FOX 1992, this vast and unruly mass of paper was transported to Behind these six windows, the Loughton by the original three upper stories of no. 40, Archivist, Ken Jones. It took ten The Esplanade, Weymouth, years for our heroic volunteer, Dorset, lived and worked one of Brian Robinson, to sort and file Britain’s most distinguished jazz it all and it now resides at critics, the late Charles Fox. the Archive. Anyone who was acquainted Charles’s work on jazz cov- with Charles knew him to be a ered many spheres. He wrote learned and scholarly man of numerous books and served as many interests, in particular jazz critic of the New Photo courtesy of Brian Robinson jazz, cricket and poetry. They Statesman for many years, but and unfailingly courteous, also knew that his formidable it was probably his broadcast- these, if re-broadcast now, intellect was not matched by an ing which had the greatest would stand as a dignified equally formidable orderliness impact. Not only did he intro- reproach to the idle, slangy, when it came to his library and duce programmes such as Jazz uninformed chat which have personal papers. His book- Today, which presented live ses- largely taken their place. shelves, for instance, were often sions by both new and estab- Fortunately, Charles wrote filled two-deep, the books lished musicians of the time, full scripts for everything. behind being accessible only via there were also the long, in- They’re all in those eight filing excavation through the books depth interviews with major cabinets.Why not ask to take a in front. figures, like Roy Eldridge and look when you visit the After Charles’s death in Gil Evans. Impressively learned Archive?

2 National Jazz Archive Newsletter Issue 16 meet our new patrons.....

We welcome five new Watts’s Moiré Music she Tomorrow’s Warriors. Gary distinguished Patrons of the struck out on her own.As also formed and led the National Jazz Archive. well a string of successful hugely successful band Jazz recordings under her own Jamaica. Since 1996, in Baroness Valerie Amos name, she has worked with a partnership with Janine Irons, Jazz lover bewildering assortment of top he has run the Dune Music Baroness Amos performers, ranging from Sir Co, which includes is the EU’s Paul McCartney to Gerry management and publishing Special Rafferty to Ladysmith Black divisions and an award- Representative Mambazo. winning record label. In 2007 to the African received the Union and was, Deirdre Cartwright BBC Radio Jazz Award for until June 2007, Leader of the Deirdre Services to Jazz. House of Lords. Other posts Cartwright have included Secretary of became known Courtney Pine State for International to literally Among the Development, Parliamentary millions as the best-known of Under-Secretary for Foreign guitar all British jazz and Commonwealth Affairs presenter of artists, and government whip. Born in the ground-breaking BBC TV Courtney Pine Guyana, Baroness Amos has series Rockschool, introduced has been a degrees in sociology from the by Herbie Hancock. She first magnetic figure University of Warwick and in came to notice in the 1980s, and a source of cultural studies from the touring worldwide with the inspiration to University of Birmingham. She Guest Stars.As a solo artist young musicians ever since his was chief executive of the she has played with American appearance on the scene in Equal Opportunities guitar legend Tal Farlow and the mid-1980s. He is a Commission from 1988 to Jamaican composer Marjorie virtuoso saxophonist and a 1994. Whylie.With her own band dedicated seeker after new she has recorded several modes of expression within Liane Carroll successful albums, the latest the jazz idiom, recently being Tune In,Turn On, Stretch incorporating contemporary Out. She co-runs Blow The popular styles into his own Fuse, a London club with a distinctive approach. Courtney famously forward-looking also presents Jazz Crusade on musical policy. BBC Radio Two. He holds a honorary doctorate of music Gary Crosby from the University of Inspiring Westminster and was Multi-award-winning pianist teacher, appointed OBE in 2000, for and vocalist Liane Carroll is dynamic Services to Jazz Music. widely hailed as one of the organiser and most entertaining and moving top-rank bass Congratulations to another of artists on the current jazz player, Gary our Patrons, scene. Born in London and Crosby manages to be at least Sir Michael raised in Hastings, she was three people at a time. He Parkinson, on playing piano at the age of was a founder-member of the his Knighthood, three and working original, ground-breaking Jazz awarded in the professionally at 15.After Warriors, and now directs the 2008 New Year touring the world with Trevor fortunes of their successors, Honours

Issue 16 National Jazz Archive Newsletter 3 Archive Fundraiser at T by PETER VACHER Photos by JOHN ROOT

Jazz musicians are invariably generous with their time and creativity when it comes to good causes.Take and Campbell Burnap, who led a rousing lunchtime session at London’s 100 Club in January to raise dosh for Joined by soprano saxist the National Jazz Archive. John Altman and the spirited clarinet of Julian They did it in the best way, Stringle, they soared on playing well-wrought, Love Me Or Leave Me, cheerful Dixieland, Relaxed on Fine And anchored by Pete Cater’s Mellow, with Val Wiseman’s urgency, with guitarist Paul affecting vocal, and then Seeley cleverly concocted Blues For Kevin, complementing the front- in memory of the late, liners, bass guitarist Pete jovial man-about-jazz, Skivington and pianist John Kevin Henriques. China adding excellence. The session raised a total of £745.00 for the Archive’s work.

Our thanks to Roger and Jeff Horton for providing use of the 100 Club and the services of its staff, and to Jane Hunter-Randall for looking after the box office.

4 National Jazz Archive Newsletter Issue 16 The 100 Club

Issue 16 National Jazz Archive Newsletter 5 ARCHIVAL NEWS by DAVID NATHAN framed pictures of Duke volunteers - Wally Barnard, Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Carter, Alan Quaife and Kelley Reid Edmiston plus portraits of Chet Baker George Wilkinson - for their Kelley, who is the daughter of and . ongoing support, and to Bill Edmiston and Barbara Christine Smith, who assists Reid, two of the founders of when time permits outside her Preservation Hall in New duties at Loughton Library. Orleans, visited the Archive in The balance of material from January, along with John Ian’s collection was brought in, NEW BOOKS Godsill, who had been storing courtesy of George Foster, Ian Carr – Music Outside material for her, most of which assisted by Duncan Heining. (2008 updated edition), she has now kindly donated to Northway Publications us.This includes material relat- ing to and Jimmy Pateman Roy Cook – I Should Be Chicago, and particularly to Jimmy’s daughter Amanda and So Lucky, Groveside jazz historian Bill Russell. sons John and Richard kindly donated their late father’s Digby Fairweather – On Kelley commented that she excellent collection of books, The Road With George ‘donated these items on behalf magazines, records and CDs to Melly, JR Books of her parents and all the won- us. It included a run of the derful musicians of the jazz American magazine Just Jazz Walter Hanlon – 1950s family of Chicago, New Guitar, which we did not hold. Jazz In London & Paris, Orleans and Preservation Hall, Tempus and is honoured to be associ- ated with the National Jazz Hilary Moore – Inside Archive.’ Val has given us copies of British Jazz, Ashgate Double Bassist, Jazz Halo At the same time, John Godsill (Dutch), and Signal To Noise The undermentioned also made donated correspondence he magazines, and also updated much appreciated contributions: had been holding on behalf of our issues of Straight No Campbell Burnap, Ralph Carter, Len Page, including letters from Chaser and Wire. Derek Coller (on behalf of the Lawrence Marrero and research International Association of Jazz material on Willie Cornish. Record Collectors), Janet Cook Just Jazz (Jazz Journal), Kenneth Cook, This fine magazine continues Valerie Early, Digby Fairweather, Kevin Henriques to support the Archive by George Hulme (on behalf of Kevin, a prolific writer on jazz inclusion in each issue of a free the Count Basie Society), and for many years jazz critic of advertisement. Our grateful Barbara Jay, Fran Liggett, the Financial Times,sadly passed thanks to Mike Murtagh and Stephen Luke, Dr Jim Marshall, away in December 2007, leaving John Rickard for this. Paul Munnery, Bernard Reeves, his terrific collection of jazz Waltham Abbey Library, Terry material to the Archive. Apart Whitney, Tommy Whittle. from books, magazines, LPs and Volunteers CDs, the substantial number of The Trustees and Archivist To them and all our donors, photographs included large, continue to be grateful to the our grateful thanks.

6 National Jazz Archive Newsletter Issue 16 Celebrity Interview 22nd November 2007 SIR JOHN AND DAME CLEO TO THE RESCUE

wo legends of British jazz came to the rescue when Tcrisis threatened the Archive’s most prestigious annual public event, back in November. An ailing Acker Bilk had to cancel his Celebrity Interview at 48 hours’ notice and it seemed that ticket holders for the event at Loughton Methodist Church would have to be turned away. But a call to Sir was met with a promise, to step into the breach himself, and Dame Cleo promised to join him - and she readily agreed. Skilfully hosted by musician and broadcaster Campbell Burnap, the Campbell Burnap (left) with Dame Cleo and Sir John. Photo John Root couple entertained the audience six pounds a week, she stuck out Sir John has appeared with and for well over two hours with tales for seven and got it. So began one conducted virtually every major of their long and illustrious of the great musical partnerships symphony orchestra in the USA, careers. of the 20th century. while Dame Cleo had appeared at Sir John, who was born in The Seven went on to become all the world’s most famous Woodford, said that his earliest Britain’s leading modern jazz concert venues, including 30 jazz influence was Benny combo, followed in 1953 by the appearances at Carnegie Hall. Goodman. After studying clarinet first in a string of successful Since 1969, the couple have lived at the , his Dankworth big bands. The at Wavendon, near Milton Keynes, first full-time job was with a Loughton audience heard where concerts and educational comedy band, Freddie Mirfield’s Experiments With Mice, the single activities are a constant feature of Garbage Men. Their act entailed that took the Johnny Dankworth The Stables, the concert hall they Freddie smashing first a violin and Orchestra into the charts in April have created in the grounds of then a guitar over the young 1956. This consisted of the tune their home. Both spoke with pride recruit’s head, twice nightly . John Three Blind Mice, wittily arranged about their two children - Alec, took to wearing a padded wig in to parody various big-band styles. one of Europe’s leading bassists, self-defence. It was produced by George Martin, and Jacqui, the distinguished singer More artistically satisfying, and rose to Number Five and stayed in and actress. much less painful, was his meeting the singles chart for eight weeks! Now both aged 80, Sir John and with at the 1949 John and Cleo married in 1958, Dame Cleo seem as busy and Paris Jazz Fair.Bird turned up at the as Cleo began to make her own lively-minded as ever.They are also without his saxophone way as both singer and actress, greatly loved, almost as much for and borrowed John’s. As the notably in The Seven Deadly Sins their thoughtfulness and session proceeded, they both and Showboat - the audience generosity as for their exceptional shared the instrument, passing it heard her celebrated version of Bill talents. At November’s event Sir back and forth between them. from that show. John, at the same John spoke movingly about their Dame Cleo, from Southall, had time, was embarking on a new and friendship with Acker Bilk, wishing been seeking a chance to join a successful career as a composer of him a speedy recovery. professional band when, in May film music. It has often been said Their readiness to turn out at 1951, she was sent to audition with that the sound of the British film short notice on a winter’s night, the young Johnny Dankworth renaissance of the 1960s (The during one of their rare free Seven. Since this was a ‘co- Servant, Darling, Modesty Blaise, evenings, was, in the words of operative’ band, all the members Accident, etc) is the sound of a archivist David Nathan, ‘typical of had to agree on the choice of Dankworth score. the generosity they have always vocalist. ‘Do you think she’s got By the early 1970s they had shown towards the National Jazz something?’ John asked. ‘She’s got established the huge international Archive.’ everything!’ replied trumpeter reputation which they now enjoy, Needless to say, there was a Jimmy Deuchar. They offered her both separately and in partnership. prolonged ovation.

Issue 16 National Jazz Archive Newsletter 7 Editorial

or a South Londoner, the very word ‘Loughton’ has an alien ring, suggestive of some Ultima Thule beyond the wastes of Ftranspontine London. So when, twenty years ago, Digby Fairweather called to tell me that the plan he had been hatching, for a permanent collection of jazz books, papers and memorabilia, had finally reached fruition, my first recourse was to a map. The Archive’s first home, when I finally reached it, was not large. In fact it was little more than a big, walk-in cupboard.As Digby and I stood wedged among tottering heaps of old Melody Makers and Jazz Journals, people kept arriving with bundles of assorted stuff to add to the chaos.This, I thought, promised to be one of those brave British jazz visions - long on enthusiasm, short on method and resources - doomed to collapse under the weight of their own expectations. But I had failed to reckon with Digby’s remarkable powers of persuasion, the persistence of others involved and the far-sighted Dave Gelly. generosity of Essex County Libraries. In due course the Archive had Photo Peter Vacher more space, its own archivist and the kind of day-to-day support that only a statutory authority can provide. And now, of course, people like me wonder what on earth we would do if it weren’t there. Because when I really need to look up something in an out-of-print book, or get some idea of the everyday jazz world in some distant year, this is the place to come.The crucial point is this: you never know what’s going to be useful.We all gather our own little collections of stuff that we think might come in handy, but we have to be selective, and the one thing you chuck away is the thing you’ll want at some time in the future. You don’t have to be on any particular mission, though. Just spending a hour or so browsing can be prove fascinating. Believe me, there’s nothing quite as addictive as the small ads in old copies of . How much did it cost to visit the Marquee, or the Flamingo, or Studio 51, or Ronnie’s in, say, 1962? Prices of instruments? You’d never believe what you could get a Selmer Mark VI tenor for along Charing Cross Road in 1958. No, I’m not going to tell you, it‘ll make you cry. If you must know, come and look it up. One function of this Newsletter, along with letting you know what’s been going on and what’s planned for the future, is to encourage you to join us in keeping the Archive healthy and growing. Do you have some material - books, magazines, pictures, programmes, souvenirs, letters, autographs - that you could donate? If you can’t bear to part with them now, you might consider leaving them in your will.The names of major donors are listed in the Archive. And we always need money to improve facilities and buy things to add to the collection. Why not become a Friend of the Archive? You do this by making a deed of covenant, which enables us to recover income tax, or by using a CAF Charity Card, which makes your contribution even more valuable, at no extra cost to you. As a Friend you get the Newsletter regularly and first refusal for tickets to archive events. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just noticed a job I might have gone for, half a century ago – ‘£11 per week, read, busk, no characters’. DAVE GELLY

As we went to press we received the sad news of the death of , a towering figure in British jazz and a great friend of the Archive. We fondly remember the wonderful Celebrity Interviews he gave us in 2004 and 2005.

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