George Melly and jazz

 

George Melly

He was ( died 2007) a jazz singer and multi talented writer and critic. Never handsome and looking decrepit in later life it was his expressive face which turned his songs into near theatrical events. By later life his voice which was never great had subsided into more like  rhythmic speech. However his acting out became more dramatic. He could draw out double entendres from almost non existence which delighted his audience.

He wrote 3 volumes of autobiography, “Scouse Mouse” covers his Liverpool childhood, “ “Rum, bum and concertina” his short time in the Navy and “Owning up” which covered his career as a jazz singer from 1948 to 1973. They were actually written in reverse order. During his jazz career he sang with most well known jazz bands such as Mick Mulligan’s Magnolia band. He retired from jazz singing  only to return in later life mainly with John Chilton’s Footwarmers.

Extravagantly bisexual “Owning up” is partly about his heterosexual exploits while a jazz singer. In contrast his Navy book is mainly about his homosexual relationships. Both are remarkably frank and clearly Melly was rather proud of his sexual adventures..

I saw Melly at the Liverpool Playhouse late in his second career in jazz. By that stage there was little pretence he was a singer as he was a celebrity and performer. He appeared in a suit in black with copious white trimming in the style was called a “zoot” suit, complete with black trilby. The best description is a prohibition era Chicago gangster garb. The hat took an important role as he acted out his songs. The songs were taken largely from his very well worn repertoire but his comic presentation amused and he brought out all the smutty parts.

I associate George Melly with Peter the sales manager of the small firm I joined after leaving Castrol for the first time. I had been recruited by Steve  his partner in co-owning the company. They had ambitions to float as a public company and they saw me as lending credibility to this as technical manager. Some years previously while working for one of their suppliers I was able to make some product improvements they needed so my stock was standing high. This was enhanced because working in my spare time I was able to exploit some novel technology on their behalf. I learned of this technology from a translated Russian paper. I was able to turn it into a product in which they saw great potential

Peter in late middle age was a chunky individual; a youthful athlete gone to seed . Normally we had little contact but occasionally we went on customer visits together. Invariably I drove in Peter’s rather smart saloon. Peter wasn’t very talkative and his method of direction was by hand signals while saying nothing. I found this very disconcerting and never got used to it.

Peter did however admit to an interest in jazz. Thinking he would enjoy it I loaned him a copy of “Owning up”. His only comment was later to say “ I shagged ( well known lady singer ) under the stage once”. I was quite gobsmacked by this rather unlikely story and I just didn’t know what to say.  I was unimpressed by his boast, and I couldn’t say I didn’t believe him as he was, after all, the co -owner of the company.

There was a sad coda for Peter. He became seriously ill, got back with his divorced wife, and I last met him shuffling along on her arm in Burton-on -Trent I was happy to sit and chat  with them in large supermarket except that I was paged over the public address as Annette was taken ill ( nothing serious). I was forced to dash away promising to see them again. Sadly Peter died not long afterwards.

Most of the famous jazz singers such as Bessie Smith or Ella Fitzgerald are female and George Melly was the only male singer who comes immediately to mind. I suppose Louis Armstrong in later life is the only other I can recall. Melly was as much an actor and character as a singer.

The history of jazz is very convoluted. To greatly oversimplify it grew out of Storyville ( the poor district of New Orleans ) as predominantly coloured music with an informal improvisational style which grew out of piano rags.. It developed into a big split between white, big, commercial bands playing dance music and those who sought the more “traditional” sound played to fans.. This split occurred in the 40’s. The dance band style perhaps reached its peak with Glenn Miller before almost dying out with the style continued briefly in the UK by such as Henry Hall. Much disagreement among the traditional styles led first to the bebop style with such as Charley Parker and Dizzy Gillespie

By the 50’s traditional jazz, meaning  the development of the Storyville style, became quite popular. This was the era when George Melly was with the Mick Mulligan band. Jazz had its popularity in part because of its raffish associations and was much beloved by students and the like. I vividly remember walking through Clock Square in Leicester on a Sunday evening, after seeing Annette back, listening to jazz coming from an open window  I notice that folks my age or somewhat older are still a big cohort of fans.

Trad jazz enjoyed a brief revival at the start of the 60’s but jazz music is now very much a minority taste. I had reason to visit New Orleans for a conference. Some local restaurants had resident bands but the ultimate was to visit Preservation Hall. This is a bare building where a band plays in original New Orleans style. It is very cheap to enter although you had to queue ( stand in line as Americans say ) for some time to gain admittance as it is small.. Seating is on wooden benches, sitting on the floor, or standing round the sides; I found it hideously uncomfortable and the ambience somewhat museum like. I’m afraid I left at the interval. The players were a mix of elderly mostly black men and young , mostly white. I’m glad I went as a piece of living history.