Bassist with arguably Lyttelton's best line-up
The jazz bassist Brian Brocklehurst, who has died aged 80, made any bandstand a more cheerful place. He was always smiling, enthusiasm personified, and usually smoking a curly pipe. His accuracy and swing made him one of the best players of his generation and brought him success in the companion worlds of jazz performance and commercial sessions. Valued by jazz musicians such as Humphrey Lyttelton, Tommy Whittle and Tony Kinsey, he was equally popular with folk performers such as Ralph McTell and stage stars, notably Liza Minnelli.
By 1957 the Lyttelton band was moving away from its traditional stance to a more swinging, mainstream style and Brocklehurst, an avowed modernist, was recruited for its new rhythm section. At the time, Humph noted: "Brian walked straight in, and there and then established himself as a sort of built-in fan club for the band. When the band is going well, he finds it hard to contain his enthusiasm, hugging his bass and chuckling with glee. As well as providing us with the finest bass-playing to be heard this side of the Atlantic, he has effected a 50% increase in the female population of the jazz club." Known for travelling to gigs around London on his bike, the bass strapped to his back, Brocklehurst was a fresh-air fanatic, seldom seen wearing anything more than a short-sleeved shirt, however cold the weather.
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire, Brocklehurst grew up as part of a musical family. His first professional experience was on drums and guitar, but he concentrated on the bass from 1949, moving to Manchester where he was apprenticed with some of the city's better palais bands, also expanding his jazz horizons at the city's Club 43.
By 1952 he was working in Bournemouth with Ivor Raymonde's band and well-placed to relocate permanently to London, where he settled into the jazz life, playing with the pianist Eddie Thompson's trio, then with Joe Crossman briefly in India, before spending time in touring big bands led by Ken Mackintosh and Jack Parnell. Selected by the tenor saxophonist Tommy Whittle in 1957 to tour the US, he impressed Whittle with "his lovely, big sound and marvelous 'time' feeling".
Then came the period with Lyttelton, three glorious years with arguably the trumpeter's best-ever lineup, the band travelling extensively and backing US singing stars such as the gospel singer Marie Knight and former Basie stalwart Jimmy Rushing. Along the way Brocklehurst participated in a raft of classic Lyttelton mainstream albums, including I Play As I Please (1958), Humph in Perspective (1958), Triple Exposure (1959), Blues in the Night (1960) and many more.
After leaving Lyttelton in 1960, Brocklehurst branched out into radio and session work, his jazz appetite sustained by periods with Thompson, the drummer Tony Kinsey and the mighty Ted Heath Orchestra. As resident bassist on BBC Radio's Country Meets Folk series, he recorded often with folk musicians including Richie Havens, the popular duo of Robin Hall and Jimmy McGregor, and McTell, who recalled his "almost overpowering aftershave". A session regular, Brocklehurst backed Minnelli, Petula Clark, Shirley Bassey, Marlene Dietrich, and Simon and Garfunkel, among others, and appeared with Terry Lightfoot's band in the 1962 film It's Trad, Dad!.
Content to freelance, Brocklehurst composed, led his own groups and taught, working often with the pianist and promoter David Lund. He was awarded the gold medal of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in 2002.
Brocklehurst is survived by his sister.
? Brian Brocklehurst, bassist, born 16 August 1930; died 25 October 2010
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/dec/22/brian-brocklehurst-obituary
Shanna Moakler Portia de Rossi Jolene Blalock Nichole Robinson Monet Mazur
No comments:
Post a Comment