Simon Spillett's new book on the rise of British modern jazz comes with a limited edition 2CD set of unissued material.
Here's the scoop...
A heads-up on where things are with Jazz In Britain’s next book… Further Shadows: Essays on British Modern Jazz 1950-1975 by Simon Spillett… which will come with a double-CD capturing the music behind the words…
The plan is to launch the book as a pre-order next week, at which point we will announce the publication date. Now here’s the thing… this book plus the music (and the CDs will only be available with this book and not sold separately)… is in a very limited edition of ONLY 300 COPIES.
The double-CD includes 22 tracks (19 of them PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED) and features artists including Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Jimmy Deuchar, Stan Tracey, Peter King, Harry South and Dudley Moore, with tracks by bands as diverse as the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and the Bebop Preservation Society.
The book itself records the ups and downs of many of London’s leading jazz voices of the day – Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, Stan Tracey and Jimmy Deuchar among them – together with the tales of heroes perhaps less widely sung, such as Harry South, Allan Ganley and Peter King. Within this span we encounter populism (Dudley Moore), hard-core idealism (the Spontaneous Music Ensemble) and even something close to nihilism (the story of forgotten drummer Benny Goodman). There is revisionism too, with detailed examinations of legendary bands, such as the vaunted Rendell/Carr Quintet and Bebop Preservation Society, and classic albums (Stan Tracey’s ‘Under Milk Wood’). The framework around players and performances is provided by studies drawing in iconic Soho venues including the first Ronnie Scott’s club and the Flamingo, as well as an in-depth account of the work of the pioneering Tempo record label, and overdue tributes to such influential movers and shakers as promoter Bix Curtis and producer/compère Tony Hall.
The book is being printed in, and will ship from, the UK, and international shipping costs will be the same as our last hardback Keith Tippett biography… in other words… ‘significant’. However, we are expecting two US outlets as well as some EU-based retailers to take copies; in fact we will press them next week to commit to this, so it will be worth checking back about that.
When launched, the pre-orders will be available here: https://jazzinbritain1.bandcamp.com/merch
