“A remarkable life…did he ever sleep? ” wrote John Bungey in his review of film composer, arranger, conductor and saxophonist John Altman’s 2022 remarkable memoir “Hidden Man – My Many Musical Lives”.
John Altman has won or been nominated at the BAFTAs, the Emmys and the Golden Globes for his work on films…but one constant in his life for the past four decades, both during his time in LA and since he returned to London, has been to run a big band. The fortieth anniversary of the band is to be marked with a concert on 29 June – booking details below.
UK Jazz News: The John Altman Big Band has a kind of “theme song” that you always play, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”? When did you write the arrangement/ what’s the story?
John Altman: I always kept my commercial and film work separate from my jazz and big band, until I realized that I have over 50 years of musical achievements that I should be celebrating. One such achievement was arranging conducting and whistling ‘Bright Side’ for Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It’s become iconic and has been voted the most popular comedy song of all time, and weirdly is the most performed song at funerals. So a couple of years ago I started writing a samba (!!!) arrangement and then decided ‘why not just celebrate it as people know it, adapting my original chart?’ It’s not strictly jazz, but it gets an amazing response from audiences!
UKJN: Do you keep adding new arrangements to the band’s pad?
JA: I try to write an arrangement whenever I get some spare time! Everything we play is arranged and/or composed by me. It’s a mixture of originals to feature virtually everyone in the band and arrangements of standards that I have always loved.
UKJN: Was there a specific occasion/ reason to put the band together in 1985?
JA: I arranged a worldwide hit for Alison Moyet – That Ole Devil Called Love – based on a slightly obscure Billie Holiday track – it was Alison’s parents’ favourite song and recorded as a sort of gift for them. None of us expected the success it had – I had already written big band charts for the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Neil Innes, some movies and various commercials and television dramas and enjoyed the experience. Two of my mother’s brothers had been great big band arrangers – Sid Phillips with the Ambrose band, and Woolf Phillips with the Skyrockets at the London Palladium – so I had always loved the possibilities of having a big band. Then I got to use the band on many records (Bjork’s “It’s Oh so Quiet”, Tindersticks “Rented Rooms”, George Michael’s “Kissing a Fool etc)”, in movies (“Hear my Song”, “Funnybones”, “Little Voice”, “Shall We Dance”, “101 Dalmatians” etc) TV dramas (No Bananas, The Old Devils, Pronto, Ellington etc) many TV commercials, and on tour with Alison Moyet, apart from my own concerts in the UK, US and Australia!
UKJN: Are any of the players from that first gig still in the band?
JA: Quite a few when available. On this particular gig we have Jamie Talbot, Bob Sydor and Mitch Dalton who were there at the beginning. Sadly, we have lost quite a few long time band members, and I wrote an arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Lester Left Town”, his tribute to Lester Young, to honour those we’ve lost.
UKJN: Is it true that you once had Jacob Collier in the band..or in another of your groups?
JA: Jacob as a teenager was occasionally the pianist in my quintet! When I asked him his response was ‘no one has ever asked me before’ so I can claim a first. Incidentally his first showcase gig was at the PizzaExpress Dean Street, immediately following one of mine at midnight!
UKJN: The first thing one notices about the book is the cohort of friends who contributed plaudits for it: Quincy Jones, Hans Zimmer, Jon Batiste, Jeff Goldblum, Joss Stone… Do you feel the book has worked to get your story better known?
JA: Definitely. The problem with ’lurking in the shadows’ is that when you want to emerge, people say ‘who on earth are you and why are you namedropping furiously?’ Having played saxophone with everyone from Chet Baker to Little Richard via Prince and Nick Drake, mentored Amy Winehouse, worked on 4,000 plus commercials, many multi-platinum records. and having created at least three iconic film sequences with over 130 movie credits (Bright Side of Life, the tank chase in James Bond’s Goldeneye, and the band playing on deck in the movie Titanic) I can’t help the incessant dropping of names – it’s my life!
UKJN: And you are currently making an audiobook of it.. when should that appear?
JA: Recording the audiobook as we speak – hopefully won’t take too long to complete!
UKJN: Any other plans… passions… hopes… dreams?
JA:Hopefully to continue with the band and keep playing and enjoying hearing fresh young talent!
One Response
Altman’s book contains the most shameless namedropping I’ve ever come across. It’s also a very entertaining read. I enjoyed it immensely.