Phil Seamen
Encyclopedia
Phillip William "Phil" Seamen (28 August 1926 in Burton-on-Trent – 13 October 1972) was an English
jazz
drummer.
With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz
. Notable examples included Joe Harriott
, Tubby Hayes
, Stan Tracey
, Ronnie Scott
, Dick Morrissey
, Harold McNair
, Don Rendell
, Victor Feldman
, Dizzy Reece
, Tony Coe
, Tony Lee
, and George Chisholm
, to name but a few. Later in his career he worked with Alexis Korner
, Georgie Fame
, and had a spell with Ginger Baker's Air Force
, the leader of the band being one of Seamen's foremost disciples. Drug addiction and alcoholism hampered him throughout his career.
and his Georgians in 1944. He joined the Tommy Sampson Orchestra in 1948, and by 1949, Seamen and tenor saxist Danny Moss
had formed a bebop quintet from within the ranks and which was featured on a radio broadcast by the orchestra in September 1949.
He then went on to play in the Joe Loss
Orchestra for about 14 months, the most popular dance band of the time. Then the top job with Jack Parnell
from 1951 until midway '54, from 12 to 17-piece band. Seamen was much sought after during the 50s, also playing in Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists projects from 1952–58, from 1954 onwards with the Joe Harriott
Quartet, the Ronnie Scott
Orchestra and Sextet, and an ever extending list including Dizzy Reece
, Victor Feldman
, Jimmy Deuchar
, Kenny Baker
, Vic Ash
, Don Rendell
, Stan Tracey
, Tubby Hayes
, Laurie Johnson
, as well as blues stars Big Bill Broonzy
and Josh White
, countless sessions.
He married the young West End dancer Leonie Franklin in 1956, whom he had met while with Parnell, working together in the show Jazz Wagon. On 8 February 1957, Seamen was finally on his way to America, about to fulfill a lifelong dream. The Ronnie Scott Sextet were going over on the Queen Mary
to do a tour as part of a Musicians' Union
exchange deal. But going through customs in Southampton prior to boarding, Her Majesty's custom officiers took one look at him, pulled him aside and he got busted for possession of drugs; he never visited the States.
In 1958 the West End
production of West Side Story opened with him - Leonard Bernstein
reputedly specifically asked for him and, despite the heroin and alcohol, the producers hired him. Gene Krupa
, Louis Bellson, Kenny Clarke
, Philly Joe Jones
were famous colleagues who held him in great esteem.
at Ronnie Scott's, recorded with Carmen McRae
, in 1964 played r&b with Alexis Korner
and Georgie Fame
. He started teaching in 1962, one of his pupils being Ginger Baker
, who went on to influence a whole generation of rock drummers.
However, his heroin addiction meant his health was deteriorating, and increasingly many bandleaders would no longer hire him. He did work at Ronnie Scott's - with British bands, but it is a grave misconception that he was ever 'the house drummer'.
Notable exceptions were with Freddie Hubbard
in 1964 and Roland Kirk in 1967 (followed by a UK tour).
From 1965-66 his regular gig was with the Dick Morrissey
Quartet. Seamen also worked with the Harry South
Big Band, in 1967 with Stan Tracey and Joe Harriott. He studied tympani at the Royal School of Music briefly with Sir James Blades
: "Phil was so enthusiastic to begin with, but increasingly didn't show up. It was the drugs, you know. It was so sad. He was a percussion genius."
In 1967 Philly Joe Jones and Seamen met and became good friends.
, Ginger Baker formed his own group Air Force, initially for just two concerts, and asked Seamen to join.
The première was at the Royal Albert Hall
on 17 January 1970. Seamen did a series of concerts with Air Force, but by May found the music too shallow. "Too bloody loud!" was his comment. But this taste of super-stardom seemed to jolt Seamen into some kind of new found self-respect. He formed a quartet with Derek Humble
in 1970, but Humble died in January 1971. Seamen then worked regularly with the Brian Lemon
Trio, and played with Tony Coe, Tubby Hayes.
In May 1972 the co-operative group Splinters, an initiative by Stan Tracey, played their first gig. An all-star improvising group, the object was to bring together musicians with different backgrounds: Tubby Hayes, Trevor Watts, Kenny Wheeler
, Tracey, Jeff Clyne
, John Stevens and Seamen. Seamen had always been wary of 'free jazz
' but here, as he had done in Joe Harriott's freeform quintet, he played 'time'. However, Seamen died the following October.
Seamen was almost as well known for his dishevelled lifestyle as for his drumming, battling both drug addiction and alcoholism until his death. He was equally known for his sharp wit. Demonstrating his skills as a raconteur, an entire side of the LP The Phil Seamen Story was devoted to Seamen's spoken retrospective on his career. In 2009, highlights of his playing from between 1953 to 1972 was released as The Late Great Phil Seamen on SWP Records.
Whereas he had been a jazz star and acclaimed drummer throughout the 50s, as the 60s progressed his heroin addiction caused him big problems and there were periods when he had sunk pretty low. On 13 October 1972 Phil Seamen, then 46, fell asleep in a chair in his flat in Old Paradise Street in Lambeth, south London, and didn't wake up.
A photograph of Seamen is included in the collection at the National Portrait Gallery
He can be seen on DVD backing the great multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk in the documentary film Sound (1967), and there are two other video clips of him playing to be seen on YouTube - one with Don Rendell
and one backing Al Cohn
and Zoot Sims
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer.
With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz
British jazz
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in...
. Notable examples included Joe Harriott
Joe Harriott
Joseph Arthurlin 'Joe' Harriott was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone....
, Tubby Hayes
Tubby Hayes
Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...
, Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...
, Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
, Dick Morrissey
Dick Morrissey
Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
, Harold McNair
Harold McNair
Harold McNair was a renowned saxophonist and flautist.-Background:...
, Don Rendell
Don Rendell
Donald Percy 'Don' Rendell is an English jazz musician and arranger, specialising on tenor saxophone, but also playing soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet....
, Victor Feldman
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Dizzy Reece
Dizzy Reece
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Tony Coe
Tony Coe
Anthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
, Tony Lee
Tony Lee (pianist)
Tony Lee was a British jazz pianist who played with the likes of Tommy Whittle, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Barney Kessel, Sonny Stitt, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Smith, Tubby Hayes, Dick Morrissey and legendary UK drummer Phil Seamen.He appeared on at least two recordings with Seamen - Phil...
, and George Chisholm
George Chisholm (musician)
George Chisholm OBE was a Scottish jazz trombonist.Born in Glasgow to a family of musicians, Chisholm's musical career began in the Glasgow Playhouse orchestra. In the late 1930s he moved to London, where he played in dance bands led by Bert Ambrose and Teddy Joyce...
, to name but a few. Later in his career he worked with Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
, Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
, and had a spell with Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion band comprising Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, Phil Seamen on drums, Alan White on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute, Graham...
, the leader of the band being one of Seamen's foremost disciples. Drug addiction and alcoholism hampered him throughout his career.
Early career
Seamen began playing drums at the age of six, turning professional at the age of 18 by joining Nat GonellaNat Gonella
Nathaniel Charles Gonella was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist and mellophonist born in London, perhaps most notable for his work with the big band he founded, The Georgians....
and his Georgians in 1944. He joined the Tommy Sampson Orchestra in 1948, and by 1949, Seamen and tenor saxist Danny Moss
Danny Moss
Dennis "Danny" Moss MBE was a British jazz tenor saxophonist. He was known for playing with most of the high profile figures of British jazz, including Vic Lewis, Ted Heath, Johnny Dankworth, Alex Welsh, and Humphrey Lyttelton....
had formed a bebop quintet from within the ranks and which was featured on a radio broadcast by the orchestra in September 1949.
He then went on to play in the Joe Loss
Joe Loss
Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...
Orchestra for about 14 months, the most popular dance band of the time. Then the top job with Jack Parnell
Jack Parnell
John Russell Parnell was an English bandleader and musician.-Biography:Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London....
from 1951 until midway '54, from 12 to 17-piece band. Seamen was much sought after during the 50s, also playing in Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists projects from 1952–58, from 1954 onwards with the Joe Harriott
Joe Harriott
Joseph Arthurlin 'Joe' Harriott was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone....
Quartet, the Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
Orchestra and Sextet, and an ever extending list including Dizzy Reece
Dizzy Reece
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Victor Feldman
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Jimmy Deuchar
Jimmy Deuchar
James "Jimmy" Deuchar was a jazz trumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland. He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (trumpeter)
Kenny Baker was born on 1 March 1921 in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire and died 7 December 1999. He was an accomplished player of jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, and a composer.-Biography:...
, Vic Ash
Vic Ash
Victor "Vic" Ash , is an English jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.Ash began playing professionally in 1951 when, together with Tubby Hayes, he joined the band of Kenny Baker, with whom he played until 1953...
, Don Rendell
Don Rendell
Donald Percy 'Don' Rendell is an English jazz musician and arranger, specialising on tenor saxophone, but also playing soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet....
, Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...
, Tubby Hayes
Tubby Hayes
Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...
, Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson is an English film and television composer, and bandleader.-Career:...
, as well as blues stars Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
and Josh White
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
, countless sessions.
He married the young West End dancer Leonie Franklin in 1956, whom he had met while with Parnell, working together in the show Jazz Wagon. On 8 February 1957, Seamen was finally on his way to America, about to fulfill a lifelong dream. The Ronnie Scott Sextet were going over on the Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
to do a tour as part of a Musicians' Union
Musicians' Union
Organizations calling themselves the Musicians' Union include:*Musicians' Union *Musicians' Union *Several locals of the American Federation of Musicians, e.g. Musicians' Union Local No. 6 San Francisco*Musicians Union of South Africa...
exchange deal. But going through customs in Southampton prior to boarding, Her Majesty's custom officiers took one look at him, pulled him aside and he got busted for possession of drugs; he never visited the States.
In 1958 the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of West Side Story opened with him - Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
reputedly specifically asked for him and, despite the heroin and alcohol, the producers hired him. Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, Louis Bellson, Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
, Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
were famous colleagues who held him in great esteem.
Seamen in the 1960s
During the first half of the 60s he worked often with Tubby Hayes, and Joe Harriott. In 1962 he played a couple of nights with Dexter GordonDexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
at Ronnie Scott's, recorded with Carmen McRae
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
, in 1964 played r&b with Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
and Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
. He started teaching in 1962, one of his pupils being Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
, who went on to influence a whole generation of rock drummers.
However, his heroin addiction meant his health was deteriorating, and increasingly many bandleaders would no longer hire him. He did work at Ronnie Scott's - with British bands, but it is a grave misconception that he was ever 'the house drummer'.
Notable exceptions were with Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
in 1964 and Roland Kirk in 1967 (followed by a UK tour).
From 1965-66 his regular gig was with the Dick Morrissey
Dick Morrissey
Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
Quartet. Seamen also worked with the Harry South
Harry South
Harry South was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who later moved into work for film and television....
Big Band, in 1967 with Stan Tracey and Joe Harriott. He studied tympani at the Royal School of Music briefly with Sir James Blades
James Blades
James "Jimmy" Blades OBE was an English percussionist.He was one of the most distinguished percussionists in Western music, with long and varied career. His book Percussion Instruments and their History is a standard reference work on the subject Blades was born in Peterborough, England in 1901...
: "Phil was so enthusiastic to begin with, but increasingly didn't show up. It was the drugs, you know. It was so sad. He was a percussion genius."
In 1967 Philly Joe Jones and Seamen met and became good friends.
1970s
After the break-up of Cream and the short-lived Blind FaithBlind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, Ginger Baker formed his own group Air Force, initially for just two concerts, and asked Seamen to join.
The première was at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
on 17 January 1970. Seamen did a series of concerts with Air Force, but by May found the music too shallow. "Too bloody loud!" was his comment. But this taste of super-stardom seemed to jolt Seamen into some kind of new found self-respect. He formed a quartet with Derek Humble
Derek Humble
Derek Humble was an English jazz alto saxophonist.Humble was born at Livingston, Durham, England and played professionally from his teenage years. He was working with Kathy Stobart by 1950 and played with Vic Lewis in 1951 and Jack Parnell in 1952...
in 1970, but Humble died in January 1971. Seamen then worked regularly with the Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
Trio, and played with Tony Coe, Tubby Hayes.
In May 1972 the co-operative group Splinters, an initiative by Stan Tracey, played their first gig. An all-star improvising group, the object was to bring together musicians with different backgrounds: Tubby Hayes, Trevor Watts, Kenny Wheeler
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....
, Tracey, Jeff Clyne
Jeff Clyne
Jeffrey Ovid 'Jeff' Clyne was a British jazz bassist .-Biography:...
, John Stevens and Seamen. Seamen had always been wary of 'free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
' but here, as he had done in Joe Harriott's freeform quintet, he played 'time'. However, Seamen died the following October.
Seamen was almost as well known for his dishevelled lifestyle as for his drumming, battling both drug addiction and alcoholism until his death. He was equally known for his sharp wit. Demonstrating his skills as a raconteur, an entire side of the LP The Phil Seamen Story was devoted to Seamen's spoken retrospective on his career. In 2009, highlights of his playing from between 1953 to 1972 was released as The Late Great Phil Seamen on SWP Records.
Whereas he had been a jazz star and acclaimed drummer throughout the 50s, as the 60s progressed his heroin addiction caused him big problems and there were periods when he had sunk pretty low. On 13 October 1972 Phil Seamen, then 46, fell asleep in a chair in his flat in Old Paradise Street in Lambeth, south London, and didn't wake up.
A photograph of Seamen is included in the collection at the National Portrait Gallery
He can be seen on DVD backing the great multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk in the documentary film Sound (1967), and there are two other video clips of him playing to be seen on YouTube - one with Don Rendell
Don Rendell
Donald Percy 'Don' Rendell is an English jazz musician and arranger, specialising on tenor saxophone, but also playing soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet....
and one backing Al Cohn
Al Cohn
Al Cohn was an American jazz saxophonist and arranger and composer.-Biography:Alvin Gilbert Cohn was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was initially known in the 1940s for playing in Woody Herman's Second Herd as one of the Four Brothers, along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff...
and Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
.
As leader
- Now....Live (Verve 1968) Phil Seamen Trio (with Tony Lee - piano and Tony Archer - bass)
- Phil Seamen meets Eddie Gomez (Saga 1968) (with Tony Lee - piano, Eddie GomezEddie GomezEdgar "Eddie" Gómez is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, perhaps most notable for his work done with the Bill Evans trio from 1966 to 1977.-Biography:...
- bass - Phil on Drums (Decibel 1971) (with Ray Crane - trumpet, Gerry Salisbury - cornet, Keith ChristieKeith ChristieKeith Ronald Christie was an English jazz trombonist. He was the brother of Ian Christie....
, John PicardJohn PicardJohn Picard is an architect, builder, entrepreneur as well as a renowned building efficiency and sustainability expert. He is currently the founder and CEO of John Picard & Associates, an environmental and sustainability consulting firm working with international clients.He began his career as a...
- trombones, Sandy Brown - clarinet, Tommy WhittleTommy WhittleTommy Whittle is a British jazz saxophonist.Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland and started playing clarinet at age 12 before taking up the tenor saxophone at 13. He moved to Chatham, Kent at 16 and in 1943 started playing in the dance hall band of Claude Giddins in nearby Gillingham...
- tenor sax, Brian LemonBrian LemonBrian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
- piano, Lennie BushLennie BushLeonard Walter "Lennie" Bush was an English jazz double-bassist.Bush contracted polio as a child and as a result possessed a limp for the rest of his life...
- bass) - The Phil Seamen Story (Decibel 1972) (Phil talks and plays)
As sideman
- Storm Warning! - Dick MorrisseyDick MorrisseyRichard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
Quartet (1965) - Sound Venture - Georgie FameGeorgie FameGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
(1966)
Posthumous releases
- The Late Great Phil Seamen (SWP Records 2009) (compilation of recordings from between 1953–72, with bands led by Jack ParnellJack ParnellJohn Russell Parnell was an English bandleader and musician.-Biography:Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London....
, Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Dizzy ReeceDizzy ReeceAlphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Ronnie Scott, Stan Tracey, Harold McNairHarold McNairHarold McNair was a renowned saxophonist and flautist.-Background:...
, Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
, Joe Harriott, Kenny Graham, Tony CoeTony CoeAnthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
)
External links
- Memories of Phil Seamen
- Seamen backs Roland Kirk in 1966 on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....