RIP Jeff Clyne
Jeff Clyne, one of the best jazz bassists to come out of the UK, passed away on November 16th of a heart attack.
Clyne, who was 72, broke onto the scene in the 1950’s, and in 1958 joined Tubby Hayes’ band, the Jazz Couriers. In 1965, Clyne played on Stan Tracey’s classic album “Under Milk Wood,” and later became a force in the free jazz movement towards the end of the 60’s.
Other notable artists he played with include Zoot Sims, Ronnie Scott, Gordon Beck, and Gilgamesh.
When I first started listening to jazz, I heard Jeff everywhere in UK jazz – whether bop or fusion or contemporary. His electric playing with Nucleus, Turning Point and the like were a major inspiration for me and his upright playing was always excellent.
There is a facebook memorial page for Jeff here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=19…
And I wrote about Jeff here:
http://philwbass.posterous.com/jeff-clyne-1937-…
And I wrote about Jeff here:
http://philwbass.posterous.com/jeff-clyne-1937-…