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| Archie Shepp |
I came across the name of Archie Shepp in the births column today, 24th May 1937, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I had an encounter back in 1967 one evening with Archie Shepp and some of his musicians at a late night, after hours, gathering in Holland Park. They had just come from Ronnie Scott’s. During that evening I also met the bassist Jimmy Garrison, a musician I admired, particularly for his work with John Coltrane. Jimmy Garrison did not ‘smoke’, but he drank a lot of whisky. He was an extremely charming and gentle man. During the course of our conversation (I confess I cannot now recall after 43 years just what it was we talked about) he said “I believe”. He did not specify just what it was he believed, but at the time, I felt I knew what he meant. He was a believer. It is a matter for others to decide. There are a couple of You tube videos of John Coltrane’s Quartet from 1961 which includes a rendition of a track entitled Impressions, with a long bass solo by Jimmy Garrison. The Quartet also includes McCoy Tyner on piano and Elvin Ray Jones on Drums.
In addition, there is a clip from a jazz film directed by Jack Smight entitled The Music of Miles Davis. It was a made for television film released on the 9th April 1959, with Miles Davis on trumpet, John Coltrane on Sax., Jimmy Wilbur Cobb on drums, Gil Evans on piano and Paul Chambers on bass. I’m sorry to say I do not know the names of some of the other musicians, but so what.
As to Archie Shepp, that's another story.
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