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Terry Smith


sgcim

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I recently discovered this video on youtube, and did a search and found that TS had no thread here.

Here he is with the Tony Lee Trio doing a Stevie Wonder tune:

I've been a fan of TS since I went to see Black Sabbath at the Fillmore East, and opening for them was some British Jazz-Rock band named IF. I came away sick of BS, and in love with IF, and Smith's burning plectrum technique.

I later discovered TS and Dick Morrissey had been Melody Maker pollwinners before they started IF, and TS had been musical director for Scott Walker, who produced TS' first LP back in 1968, "Fallout".

He recorded with Jack McDuff on "In Search of a New Home" back then, and then played in a few bands, IF, Zzebra, before resuming his jazz career.

I sent away to the UK to his record Co. directly, Actone Records, for his last CD, "Tenderly" a few years ago.

He goes back to his Wes influence, abandoning his exciting plectrum technique for the use of his thumb.

Someone taped the LP he made in 1977 with Tony Lee for me years ago, but I can't find it after a few moves.

Was it ever released on CD? Has anyone heard the McDuff LP?

There's also a recording someone made with their tape recorder at the Bull's Head of TS with the Tony Lee trio that was put up on youtube. Any Brits ever catch him there?

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They made him play pentatonic scales and use wah-wahs and distortion for the first IF LPs, but when I saw him at The Gaslight in NYC a year after I first saw them at the Fillmore, he was literally on fire the whole night. We sat at the table right in front of him, and I think I got the best guitar lesson I ever took that night.

I think we've talked about IF here before, but it's worth repeating that most of their stuff with the original band gets into serious grooves, even though most of them use compound time signatures.

Dennis Elliot sold out big time by joining Foreigner with his fellow sellout from KC, Ian MacDonald.

Mealing became a big producer...

J.W. passed this year, Morrissey a few years back.

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I've got a copy of that Terry Smith/Tony Lee Trio LP. It was put out on the tiny Lee-Lambert label, don't think it has been reissued on CD (although Vocalion have reissued some of the Lee-Lamberts, including the Martin Drew).

The rare 'Fallout' LP on Philips was also reissued on CD by Sunbeam. Should still be available.

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Edited by sidewinder
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Mealing became a big producer...

J.W. passed this year, Morrissey a few years back.

I didn't know that Mealing became a producer. Can you name any albums he worked on? I love his work on Passport's second album.

I don't think that I knew that JW passed away. Maybe I did but don't remember. Are you positive what his last name was? Many times I saw it printed as both Hodkinson and Hodgkinson.

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I don't know what albums Mealing produced, but I looked at his credits on Discog, and he did arranging for numerous recording artists.

On my IF 3 LP, JW is listed as Hodkinson. i was saddened to find that he passed away in July of 2013.

I've got "Fallout" on the Sunbeam CD. There's a nice booklet that has Smith's recollections of the session. He said that Scott Walker decided to produce some jazz albums, and he chose TS as his first one. TS recalled he got to the studio in the morning, and was surprised to see the top players of the day waiting for him- Ray Warleigh, Gordon Beck, Kenny Wheeler and Harry South among others.

I had the TS LP with Tony Lee on tape, but just tore apart half of my closet looking for it. I guess I'll start on the other half...

It really deserves a CD release.

Here's Pt. 1 of the Bull's Head gig with Smith and Lee:

Edited by sgcim
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  • 9 years later...

Two Emails sent to me by Dick Morrissey''s son:

https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/12/07/terry-smith-what-we-played/

and also some files on the net of taping going on in The Bull's Head of people like Morrissey, Terry Smith and Tony Lee, another great UK player almost completely unknown in the US:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_4h4o5gAuTOTEdVdzJXSmI2M1E?resourcekey=0-4MrnTKWHVZYG3wTDWCtCTA

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17 hours ago, sgcim said:

Two Emails sent to me by Dick Morrissey''s son:

https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/12/07/terry-smith-what-we-played/

and also some files on the net of taping going on in The Bull's Head of people like Morrissey, Terry Smith and Tony Lee, another great UK player almost completely unknown in the US:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_4h4o5gAuTOTEdVdzJXSmI2M1E?resourcekey=0-4MrnTKWHVZYG3wTDWCtCTA

Thanks sg!

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22 hours ago, GA Russell said:

Thanks sg!

Dick's son got back to me about Miles Davis'  thoughts on If. The comment he really made was much more profane, but TS probably cleaned it up for the interview .

What he really said was, "You guys sound like a bunch of N-words.

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