South Venture (Georgie Fame & The Harry South Big Band & Lulu)

Description

The story of Georgie Fame - a popular artist at the top of the charts with underlying jazz sensibilities - is far too well-known to recount here, but it is worth noting that his transition from pop star to jazz singer owes much to his exposure to the music of the Dick Morrissey Quartet. Indeed, two of the greatest drummers from the Blue Flames, Phil Seamen and Bill Eyden, were both poached from Morrissey's group. The quartet's pianist was Harry South, and when Fame decided to pursue his broader musical ambitions, he chose South and his big band as collaborators, creating the album Sound Venture, a classic that became one of the iconic records of the decade. This LP, South Venture, assembled from South's archives, contains a wealth of previously unreleased tracks and can be seen as a sequel to that historic achievement. And we have added a long-forgotten element to the story of the Blue Flames - a session that Georgie and his band recorded in February 1966.