- Alan Clare
Alan Clare (Born Alan Jaycock) (31 May 1921 - 29 November 1993)
A self-taught pianist, he became a professional musician at the age of 15 and during the next few years became a familiar figure on the
London jazz scene.He played withCarlo Krahmer ,Sid Phillips and others in the early '40s before military service intervened. Wounded soon afterD-Day , he returned to civilian life, playing in the comedy band led bySid Milward and also began a long sporadic association withStephane Grappelli .In the early '50s, Clare was busy playing jazz in small groups, some of which he led, mostly in nightclubs such as the Studio Club in London’s West End. In the mid 1950's, through into the '60s he fronted a trio with
Lenny Bush on bass andTony Kinsey on drums. The three would appear regularly at the Star Club a popular west end nightspot in London frequented by showbusiness stars, politicians and royalty. He worked in many other clubs includingThe Kool Kanary , Rake and Downbeat, right through to the 1980s and into the early 1990s until ill health prevented his continued performance.His piano style used a light, subtle touch and he had a vast knowledge of tunes and chord progressions. Allied to a gift for accompaniment and the ability to play with unflagging swing, he became highly respected in the UK Jazz scene and was often referred to as "The Musician's Musician" or "Pianist's Pianist".
It was his involvement in the jazz scene that lead to his teaming up with
Spike Milligan (himself an accomplished jazz trumpeter). Alan appeared in both Spike's series "Q" and "There's A Lot of It About", and not just in musical sketches.In these shows he would often appear in sketches reading his lines directly from the scriptas part of a long-running joke.He lived for many years in the
Holland Park area of London and one of his albums was called "Holland Park". After his death a commemorative bench was placed in the park itself, with the inscription: "Alan Clare - The musician's musician - His melodies live on."Albums
"Holland Park"
References
"Who's Who of British Jazz"- John Chilton. 2ndedition (Jun 2004)Continuum Publishing
External links
*imdb|0163485
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
