Rummaging through a heap of old LPs the other day I came across a superb Decca release from 1958: Our Kind of Jazz by the Ted Heath Orchestra - plus guests. And listening to the wonderful hi-fidelity mono recording it still sounds as fresh as the day it was recorded at Decca's Broadhurst Gardens studio, West Hampsted almost exactly fifty years ago.And what a truly stunning outfit Ted Heath put together for this recording, every bit as powerful as the Count Basie and Herman bands, and you only have to look at the line-up to see why - it's like reading the Who's Who of British jazz.
On saxes alone we have Don Rendell and the much lamented Ronnie Scott - two guys who are still an inspiration to new players - plus Tubby Hayes, who, with Scott created the Jazz Couriers back in the fifties, and a player who subbed for Paul Gonsalves in the Ellington band when Paul failed to turn up for a concert. Also in the sax section we have Tommy Whittle, who for a while was the musical director of the Dorchester Hotel Orchestra. You only have to listen to these four tenor players kick-off side one of the LP with Ronnie Roullier's 100 miles an hour 'Four Fours' to hear section and solo sax playing at its best; you simply don't want the track to end. The sax section is completed by Ken Kiddier, Henry MacKenzie, and Ronnie Chamberlain, whose soprano work must surely have inspired a very young John Surman.
The trumpet section is made up of the now legendary Bobby Pratt (who died in 1968 aged 41) who gave the Heath brass its clear, crisp, and often soaring drive. Sitting next to Bobby is Eddie Blair, who later played for John Dankworth and a player who was this country own Miles Davis. Alongside the trumpet section - which also included Bert Ezard and Duncan Campbell, and of course the great Kenny Baker who was a favourite at virtually every British jazz festival until his death a few years ago - you have the fantasy trombone section made up of Keith Christie, who again played for John Dankworth, Wally Smith, Jimmy Coombes (two Heath veterans), and the late, great Don Lusher who went on to front the band after Heath's death in 1969, plus Maurice Pratt, who was another Dankworth sideman.
The rhythm section is a formidable battery, and one of the best ever assembled, with Ike Isaacs on guitar (he later played with Stephane Grappelli and Digby Fairweather), Johnny Hawksworth on bass (he wrote the music for several British TV sit-coms of the 1970s), and the spirited Ronnie Verrell on drums, who supplied the beat for the drummer Animal in The Muppet Show. Oh, and not forgetting the one and only Stan Tracey on piano and vibes, and you don't hear Britain's best jazz pianist play vibes any more.
Anyway, the whole LP is a delight from start to finish, and it's still available on CD, search it out.
