Humphrey Lyttelton and his band: Live at the Nottingham Jazz Festival 1972. Double CD compiled and mastered by Paul Adams; recorded by Allan Gilmour July 16, 1972. Calligraph CLG CD 049
The release date is July 22 2013 and the double CD will be available on Amazon and will be in the shops. Also available by Mail Order from the Calligraph website www.calligraph-records.co.uk
Bob Jackson is a Professor in Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit at the University of Warwick. Bob Jackson is a Patron of the Humph Trust http://www.humphreylyttelton.com/the-humph-trust/ which supports young, talented jazz musicians. Humphrey Lyttelton received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick in 1987 and his band played on many occasions at the University.
Serious fans of BBC Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue will know that the first programme in its long history was broadcast on the 11th April 1972. Samantha wasn’t yet around, but the chairman was one Humphrey Lyttelton, famous as a jazz trumpet player and bandleader, but still to emerge as a comedy performer with a style and timing mirroring the patterns of his music. Three months later, on July 16th 1972, Humph appeared with his band and guests at the Nottingham Festival. Fortunately the proceedings were recorded and at last have been issued as a fine double CD on the Calligraph label.
The recording is particularly memorable for me since I had been involved in organising the jazz programme for the Nottingham Festival during its first two years, 1970 and 1971. The Festival was a major annual event covering many aspects of the arts, and was not the Nottingham Jazz Festival as it says in the sleeve note. I was a teacher in Nottingham at the time, and performing jazz in my spare time, and my wife worked for the Festival Director, Richard Gregson Williams. One of her roles was to help organise the music programme, and much of the work on jazz was delegated to me as a volunteer. I then moved to Coventry in January 1972, but returned to Nottingham for the Festival, especially to get to Humph’s concert. Humph had guested with Jazz Spectrum (led by pianist Ralph Laing; I was singer and occasional trombonist) in November 1971 at Nottingham University, and we were keen that he should appear at the next Nottingham Festival.
The jazz scene in Nottingham in the 1960s had been excellent, and I first listened to Humph at the Dancing Slipper in West Bridgford, hearing various permutations of the band, and occasionally delighting in the performances of American guest soloists, notably Buck Clayton and Big Joe Turner. But it was the ‘UK’ talent that was remarkable in its quality – Tony Coe on tenor and clarinet, Joe Temperley on baritone, tenor man Danny Moss, bassist Dave Green and drummer Johnny Butts, to name some brilliant and distinctive voices, with Humph on trumpet, tenor horn, clarinet and announcements. Essential to the identity of the Slipper was the ever present organiser Bill Kinnell. But a second almost permanent presence was a talented amateur recording engineer called Allan Gilmour, who made hundreds of recordings on quarter inch open reel tape, stored in his garden shed! It was Allan who recorded the 1972 Humph gig at the Albany Hotel.
The line up was Humph’s regular band of the time, with Bruce Turner and Kathy Stobart reeds, Dave Green on bass, and Tony Mann drums. Since Colin Purbrook was indisposed, Eddie Harvey (former pianist, trombonist and arranger with Humph) deputised on piano, with Lyttelton alumni Tony Coe and John Picard appearing as guests, respectively on tenor sax and trombone. Fortunately, many of Humph’s witty and spontaneous announcements are included in the recording, preserving the atmosphere of the concert, raising a smile and complementing the music, like extra improvised solos.
The programme kicks off with a free blowing version of I Double Dare You, with some soaring alto from Bruce, creamy tenor from Kathy and Armstrong inspired trumpet lead from Humph. A warm interpretation of the ballad Talk of the Town follows, with Humph embellishing the main theme, followed by a storming version of Doggin’ Around, with a quirky, animated solo from a top-form Turner and fluent Hawkins like tenor from Stobart. Next comes a relaxed version of Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away from Me followed by a duet improvisation for trumpet and bass on a 12 bar blues – a regular party piece – introduced as ‘a Concerto for Dave Green on Trumpet and Humphrey Lyttelton on Bass’.
Tony Coe and John Picard are then featured with the rhythm section, giving a polished rendition of Rifftide, based on the chords of Lady Be Good. Coe’s bendy solo shows amazing technique and creativity. The same quintet is featured on Tenderly. Here both horns tend to sacrifice emotion and solo construction to technical display, and for me they lose the essence of a beautiful song. Coe and Picard continue with Hanid, Coleman Hawkins’ theme on the chords of Dinah, and disc one concludes with band and guests jamming on The Hucklebuck, with solos from Stobart and Lyttelton before a fade out during Turner’s solo, presumably because Gilmour’s tape ran out!
Disc two begins with a superb version of Slippery Horn by the Lyttelton band minus piano. The spirit of an Ellington small-group is captured perfectly, with wonderful Turner clarinet, sounding like Barney Bigard at his best, a muted trumpet solo from Humph and excellent purring baritone from Kathy Stobart. The same line up plus piano continue with Creole Love Call, featuring more Lyttelton trademarks – a stop chord cup muted trumpet solo, the second theme played as an expressive clarinet duet by Bruce and Humph, and then more wah-wah muted trumpet on the call and response last chorus. Coe then joins Bruce Turner and Kathy Stobart for an up-tempo three saxophone exploration of Sonny Boy, followed by a lovely version of the ballad Crazy She Calls Me, featuring Humph’s trumpet. The last number is an almost 15 minute jam on Ellington’s Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, a perfect closer for the concert. Humph signs off with The Song Is Ended, segueing into a brief rooty-toot parody of Good Night Sweetheart. As an encore, the whole line up play a brisk version of Indiana, leaving the audience shouting for more!
Hearing this excellent collection brought back lots of memories, including overhearing an interval conversation between Eddie Harvey and John Picard about trombone mutes, but most of all about the great jazz scene in Nottingham, the luxury of a wonderful arts festival (sadly long gone), and the privilege of experiencing such special music in the flesh. Allan Gilmour did a great job in recording the gig, but Paul Adams has done some sensitive editing and mastering. Steve Voce’s sleeve note is, as one might expect, entertaining and informative, studded with photographs of the musicians and a selection of Humph’s drawings. Most of all appreciation is due to Susan da Costa, Humphrey Lyttelton’s former manager, friend and custodian of Calligraph Records, for ensuring that Humph’s legacy is preserved for all to share.
Bob Jackson
1