Thames Concerts will be presenting a Centenary Concert in memory of Eddie Harvey (1925-2012) on Saturday 15 November, the date of the hundredth anniversary of his birth.
The concert, starting at 7.30.pm at St Andrew’s Church in Surbiton, “will feature a full big band of distinguished musicians playing a mix of standards and Eddie’s own compositions and arrangements.”
The concert will be preceded by a discussion at 6.45pm, for which the panel will be
- Ben Costello, who is producing the concert for Thames Concerts, and was a teaching colleague of Eddie’s
- Phil DeGreg, the Cincinnati-based pianist, in the UK for the occasion
- Robert Sholl, Organist/Professor of Music at London College of Music/UWL
- Peter Vacher, journalist, and author of the Guardian obituary for Eddie Harvey (link below)
BIG BAND PERSONNEL
Saxes: Andy Panayi, Tony Woods, Tim Whitehead, Pete Hurt, Chris Biscoe.
Trumpets: Simon Gardner, Andy Greenwood, Martin Shaw, Steve Fishwick.
Trombones: Mark Nightingale, Harry Maund, Martin Gladdish, Sarah Williams.
Rhythm: Kate Williams/ Phil DeGreg (piano), Andy Cleyndert (Bass), Gary Willcox (Drums)
EDDIE HARVEY (1925-2012): Eddie played the trombone as a teenager and became a pioneer of the traditional jazz revival in the 1940s. He later became part of the modern jazz movement with Ronnie Scott and John Dankworth. He arranged and composed music for the British bands of Humphrey Lyttelton and for Jack Parnell at Associated TV (Sunday Night at the London Palladium). As one of Britain’s foremost jazz instrumentalists, he toured opposite Gerry Mulligan and the Modern Jazz Quartet, played with American bands including Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson and wrote music for Duke Ellington Orchestra in the US. A founder member of the South West London Way Out West collective, he remained active as a performer and arranger until his death in 2012.
Career as educator (quote from Alyn Shipton’s Times obituary): “Many traditional jazz musicians were self-taught, but Harvey swam against that trend and attended the Guildhall School of Music from 1950-52, while working with Dankworth. He later […] became an educator himself, teaching music at the City Lit, and at Haileybury School in the 1970s and 80s before going on to advise the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music on its jazz piano examinations. He later taught at the London College of Music (now the University of West London), The Royal College of Music and at his alma mater, the Guildhall. He was a regular contributor to summer jazz courses in many parts of the UK, and in recognition of his contribution to teaching, he was awarded the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Award for services to education in 2005.”
VENUE: St Andrews Church, Maple Rd, Surbiton KT6 4DS – very close to Surbiton station. The concert has been supported by the Harvey estate
3 responses
I am delighted that the centenary of a British jazz musician is being recognised. On Jazz Record Requests we frequently have 100th birthdays recognised (and rightly so) but not a word on, for example Tony Crombie or Kathy Stobart, or Eddie Thompson, all of whom were born in 1925, and all of whom were excellent musicians. Some of Tony’s work as a composer can often be heard on the soundtracks to various Danziger films and series , now being shown (or should that be inflicted!) on viewers to Talking Pictures (Freeview channel 82). They made some really cheap films, with terrible scripts and continuity errors, but were redeemed with excellent directors and performers, and more often than not, Tony and Bill Le Sage wrote the scores.
Ed was a giant of a man and it’s wholly appropriate that his centenary should be marked like this – He was a huge influence on musicians of my generation who went to his summer schools and evening classes.
Wise, likeable, and funny in equal measure, he was the first (as far as I know) person to formally teach improvisation in this country. Interestingly, it was often to Ed that I’d turn for non-musical advice, and our regular ‘St Margaret’s embroidery circle’ Friday afternoons are something I’ll always treasure.
I never heard him say a discouraging word to a student (he’d have made a great cowboy!) in the 30+ years that I knew him.
It seems appropriate now for me to say on all our behalves, “Cheers Ed!”
Hi Pete, thanks so very much for this. Eddie was indeed a wonderful colleague. LCM was a poorer place without him. Likewise, Cheers Ed!