[Dixielandjazz] Jazz in Scotland

Wed Mar 26 09:32:07 PDT 2008

Hi Louis, Marek et al,

Thanks for your reminders, Louis and Marek: the main point of my post was to 
show that not only are there excellent established bands, which are too 
numerous to mention without this turning into a book, but there are some 
very talented newcomers, bands and individuals working in the older styles.

The youngsters are almost exclusively involved in more contemporary forms of 
jazz, so, since this is a Dixieland mailing list, I merely singled out the 
guys who get involved in playing the older forms of the music as names to 
watch out for. Indeed it's youngsters such as these that we'll rely on to 
keep the older styles of jazz alive, and list members who are musicians will 
know that the crucial thing is for them to get the experience of working 
with older musicians who are steeped in these styles. The good ones will 
learn by osmosis how to phrase and solo within the idiom without pastiche. 
One young musician playing right across the styles that I failed to mention 
in my initial post was Owen MacDonald, bassist son of bassist father Kenny. 
Another is the very fine drummer Tom Gordon, who divides his time between 
Scotland and London, and plays with trombonist Dave Batchelor's Scottish 
Jazz All-Stars alongside Lennie Herd, Forrie Cairns, Brian Kellock, Ronnie 
Rae, Fionna Duncan and guitarist John Russell (of Swing 2008).

Similarly, I only mentioned the newer bands as they won't be on most list 
members' radar yet. The Scottish scene is very strong in more contemporary 
styles, but there are plenty of long-established bands working in the older 
styles too. It's vitally important that they draw in young musicians to keep 
the traditions alive. My band has an "A-team" personnel, but we also have a 
pool of young players that we can draft in as cover when needed. This way, 
we've got adequate reserves who are familiar with our repertoire, and we're 
helping a number of youngsters get practical experience right across the 
band. I met a young drummer recently who plays in a New Orleans style band 
and who was interested in learning more about Big Sid Catlett. I really envy 
him the chance to hear those Armstrong All-Star Symphony Hall tracks for the 
first time!

Marek asked about The Diplomats of Jazz and Swing 2008: Both are still going 
strong and Jim Petrie is playing as well as ever. Swing 2008, or as I prefer 
to call them (at least for today) Swing 2008.23497, must spend a fortune 
revising their stationery every year. Not for them the ornate music stand 
banners with the band name on them! Actually 2 of them are in my band: As 
well as Roy Percy on bass, Dick Lee is our lead alto-player and one of our 2 
featured clarinettists, the other being Martin Foster. Maybe I should also 
have mentioned Dick's septet, which has a line-up of 3 saxes/clarinets of 
various sizes, flute, solo guitar, rhythm guitar and bass. Dick is an 
outstanding arranger and composer and writes all their material, so quality 
is guaranteed.

If there's any band or musician I've overlooked, I'm sorry! The alternative 
is to write a history of Jazz in Scotland to be read by a handful of people.

Regards,

Ken Mathieson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Louis Lince" <louislince at neworleansmusic.demon.co.uk>
To: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 12:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz in Scotland

> Hi Ken,
>
> What about Bill Salmond's band and Violet Milne's Spirits of Rhythm, to 
> say nothing of the excellent Criterion Brass Band....all from Edinburgh!
>
> My two-pennyworth!
>
> best
>
> Louis
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ken Mathieson" <ken at kenmath.free-online.co.uk>
> To: <louislince at neworleansmusic.demon.co.uk>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 11:19 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Jazz in Scotland
>
>
>> Hi Listers and Listees!
>>
>> I spotted Judy's post about the non-existence of quality jazz in 
>> Scotland, but decided to let it pass on the grounds that she obviously 
>> just hadn't heard the right bands or musicians. Then in today's Issue 40, 
>> Robert Calder made his response (which I've snipped in the interests of 
>> brevity, sorry Robert), in which I got named and thereby converted from a 
>> lurker to a protagonist (I'm not sure if that makes me a lurkee now, an 
>> ex-lurker, or a reformed lurker). I think I pefer disgraced ex-lurker.
>>
>> Jazz in Scotland is indeed in good health and, since most of the list's 
>> active posters seem to be in California, you'll all be aware of a couple 
>> of bands from hereabouts which are/have been regular visitors to your 
>> fair land: Mike Hart's Syncopters and Fat Sam's Band. I played drums and 
>> arranged for Fat Sam for a protracted period (I was sentenced to 15 years 
>> but got 3 years off for outrageous behaviour), during which I worked the 
>> Sacto Jubilee and the LA Classic many times and remember some of you guys 
>> fondly. Bill Gunter's name came up the other day and I just about 
>> remember marathon joke and anecdote sessions in his yard, fuelled by Mr 
>> Coors' giggly juice.
>>
>> To business: there is an astoundingly talented pool of young musicians 
>> coming up in Scotland. Almost of all of them play in fairly modern 
>> styles, but a few are interested enough in the older forms of jazz to 
>> get involved in playing them. Brian Kellock, mentioned by Robert in his 
>> post, is a ferociously swinging piano player who has welded an amazing 
>> range of influences from Waller to Cecil Taylor into a highly personal 
>> style and is equally at home in a Dixieland rhythm section or in a very 
>> modern jazz trio. He is unquestionably a world-class player and well 
>> worth catching if you get the chance.
>>
>> Another fine pianist is the much younger Paul Kirby, whose personal style 
>> reminds me a lot of Bud Powell, but who has spent time studying the 
>> Armstrong Hot 5 & 7 as well as Jelly Roll and other old-timers. He plays 
>> with my band as first-call dep/sub for Tom Finlay. Paul Harrison is 
>> another fine keyboard player (he plays piano and Hammond organ) whose 
>> playing transcends styles: he's a musical chameleon who can fit in with 
>> pretty well anyone.
>>
>> Trombonist Phil O'Malley is a name to watch out for: He's 
>> academy-trained, a wizard sight-reader, has a great sound and is 
>> developing into an outstanding soloist, who reminds me a bit of John 
>> Allred when he first burst on the scene. There's also a superb young 
>> tenor-player, Konrad Wiszniewski (born and bred in Scotland in spite of 
>> his name), similarly well-trained, possessed of a gorgeous tone, who is a 
>> lyrical soloist with plenty to say regardless of style. Both Phil and 
>> Konrad play in Tommy Smith's excellent big band, the Scottish National 
>> Jazz Orchestra (as does Brian Kellock). They also play in my Classic Jazz 
>> Orchestra (CJO) and enjoy the experience of playing a wide range of music 
>> from Jelly Roll Morton to Horace Silver. I've only mentioned a few of the 
>> brightest youngsters: the ones who take the time and trouble to learn 
>> about the earlier forms of jazz and to play a vital role in keeping these 
>> styles alive.
>>
>> In addition to Fat Sam and Mike Hart, two professional standard 
>> traditional bands exploring the older styles have been created in the 
>> last 4 years: my own CJO and a 4-piece called Quattro McJazz. My band is 
>> an 8-piece, whose repertoire covers lots of Bix, Louis, Oliver, Ellington 
>> and Morton as well as mainstream/modern material by Slide Hampton, Oscar 
>> Pettiford, Clark Terry, Buck Clayton, Buddy Tate, Horace Silver etc. 
>> There's planty about us on our website: www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk 
>> if you can be bothered to have a look (N.B. the site is due a major 
>> update, which is timed to concide with the release of our new CD on Lake 
>> Records later in April).  Most of the guys in CJO are escapees from Fat 
>> Sam, although trumpeter Billy Hunter, saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and 
>> pianist Tom Finlay are still there and play with my band when out on 
>> parole.
>>
>> Quattro McJazz is a great wee hard-driving quartet comprising Forrie 
>> Cairns (wonderful fierce clarinettist), Lennie Herd (great hot trumpet 
>> lead and soloist), Alastair McDonald (an outstanding banjoist - they do 
>> exist!, guitarist and singer, well-known in Scottish folk music circles) 
>> and Roy Percy (bass), who also plays in my CJO and with almost every 
>> other band in Scotland it seems. There are a couple of reasons why Judy 
>> isn't aware of people of this calibre: They're all busy professionals 
>> working in a variety of settings outwith the Dixieland festivals, and 
>> it's often economically inviable to tour the jazz clubs and festivals in 
>> England, so Scottish musicians tend to be better known in Europe and 
>> beyond than in England. As Robert points out, there seems to be less 
>> cross-border touring going on nowadays
>>
>> Finally (whew!), Robert mentioned George Chisholm in his post. Alas 
>> George passed on many years ago, but his great buddy in the bands of 
>> Ambrose, the Squadronaires, Danny Polo, Benny Carter, Fats Waller, 
>> Coleman Hawkins etc, trumpeter Tommy McQuater died recently at the age of 
>> 93, although it should be pointed out that his liver was 186. Tommy was 
>> an outrageous character, but a great player and a consummate pro. He was 
>> greatly admired by people like Manny Klein and Clark Terry, which tells 
>> you he could play a bit.
>>
>> Enough already. Regards and best wishes to old pals everywhere.
>>
>> Ken Mathieson
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