Talking of hazy, in the mid-1970s I managed a bit of a coup in securing the first ever BBC Live outside broadcast – You’ll perhaps remember that this was achieved by playing Radio 3 Audio along with BBC2 TV.
We constructed an unlikely
concert as part of the Newcastle Jazz Festival in November '76 – 4 sets
1.
The Alex Welsh Band with Bud Freeman, tenor sax. 2. Soft Machine. 3. The Syd
Lawrence Orchestra with Annie Ross, vocal. 4. The Roland Kirk Quintet with
Steve Turré, trombone, Hilton Ruiz, piano.
So
where’s the hazy bit?
Introduced
for Live TV by Spike Milligan …. HINT!
As this was of enormous prestige and high technical challenge, the University Theatre
(as it was then) was awash with BBC brass (close to 100 of them mostly staying
at the Gosforth Park Hotel).
Hazy
part 1 – The Sound check.
Enter
stage left – Rahsaan Roland Kirk, crashing into the mic array sending them
into the theatre front row. Upon re-assembly, a rather urgent young BBC Floor Manager
echoed his instructions from the mobile studio in the car park outside.
“Mr Kirk sir could you and the band play a
piece for us”
“Harrumph! “
Whereupon Kirk hit into a medium swing number Indiana – played in a Lester Young
Style that would have happily sat in Steve Andrews’ Savannah Syncopators repertoire.
“Thank you Mr Kirk – perhaps now a more up
tempo piece.”
“Mo Fokel “ or something similar.
1-2,-1234 count in by Kirk of at least 280
bpm into a blistering – Indiana.
“Thank you Mr Kirk – I believe you play more
than one instrument at once – might we hear something?”
“Mo Fukel sona bits” or something similar.
Honk Honk from 2 saxes with the bells right up to
the mics followed by a free form complex time band rendering in at least 3
different keys of….wait for it… Indiana!
“Thank you Mr Kirk.
All fine!”
Kirk was “mo fukelin” his way off stage with
a definite grin and the BBC team breathed a sigh of relief. Myself and the TV producer,
Tony Cash were laughing away at the piss-take we had all been experiencing from
Kirk.
The
concert was, as you might expect from the line-up, of exceptional quality.
If
you wanted totally predictable spot on delivery of timed autocue reportage
commensurate with all the top brass of the BBC present – who would be the last
person you would engage as the presenter – you got it - Spike Milligan.
ROLLING
Off
the credits and into Spike in 5- 4- 3 -2 -1…- Camera 1
The
Auto cue rolled and some bland text eased up the screen about to introduce the
big start of Syd Lawrence. At which point Spike took out a monocle and glared
threateningly into the camera affecting a German accent.
“Ladies unt Gentlemen
- This is not known generally but during zee war, Syd Lawrence was a Luftwaffe
pilot, who shot down Glenn Miller just to steal his arrangements unt here he is
tonight to play zem – HERR SYD LAWRENCE!”
Syd and the band took at least 10 secs to stop
laughing and start playing. The BBC went into the first of many flat spins,
until the talented Director Robin Lough just winged it which in a sense was a
better manifestation of the jazz genre.
Other
memorable parts of the show to me were Soft Machine’s, John Marshall who’s drum kit was quite the largest I’d ever seen…AND of course Roland Kirk, who having crashed on
stage which was the only thing that was consistent with his sound check,
introduced his set with a crude sound coming from a small recorder under his
shirt – The BBC thought there was breakthrough from some other sound source and
were in an ultra-flat ultra-spin. But Kirk explained that Ain’t Misbehavin’ was a way of introducing his set which was to be
a tribute to Fats Waller with solos on conch and many other surprises for the
now, busking in the best possible way, BBC crew.
I
did take Kirk along to Roy’s Two Rooms in Gallowgate for a bite to eat. I am
not sure that the patron at the time, Roy Santos, had ever seen a large black
man wearing a top hat have steak and fries PLUS Peach Melba….All on the same
plate!
I
am told, but haven’t checked myself, that extracts of that show can be
purchased from the archives https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200022199/ - Andy H.
See also: Reminiscing in (and out of) Tempo by Andy Hudson -Part One.
3 comments :
Fascinating reminiscences, Andy! Was that Ellington's 70th birthday concert in 1969? I was there as a 14-year-old schoolboy who had recently discovered jazz. I ventured backstage after the gig to collect autographs from the sax section - unfortunately, the only one I could find was Russell Procope. It sounds like Hodges, Gonsalves and the rest were across the road having a pint with you - if only I'd known! (And, by the way, thank you for allowing me to join the Newcastle Big Band a couple of years later - I was so lucky to have that amazing apprenticeship as a musician!)
I remember going a couple of times to an enjoyable jazz session in Gosforth with Cormac on alto. I knew of him from the Newcastle Big Band Sunday lunchtime sessions. It was a classic bebop quintet playing Parker stuff - Donna Lee etc. Was it at the Gosforth Hotel? An upstairs room I think. What was the full line up?
Roly
Being a member of the audience at the time and having just re-listened to the BBC Festival broadcast from '76 with Spike Milligan's witticisms it was nice to read of these insider comments from the time of the recordings..............
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