Dave Cliff (born 25 June 1944) is a British jazz guitarist.

Career

Cliff was born in Hexham,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

. In 1967, he moved to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and gained a diploma in jazz studies from Leeds College of Music while studying with bassist

Peter Ind Peter Ind (20 July 1928 – 20 August 2021) was a British jazz double bassist and record producer. Early life Ind was born in Middlesex. His father was a builder. Ind began to learn the violin at the age of eight and played in his school orches ...

and Bernie Cash. Ind became a mentor to him. At Leeds Cliff was influenced by listening to the music of

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

. In 1971, after moving to London, Cliff became established on the local scene. During 1976–1977 he toured the UK with Lee Konitz and

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

, both students of Tristano and familiar to Ind. During the next year Cliff toured the UK with Soprano Summit (

Kenny Davern John Kenneth Davern (January 7, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American jazz clarinetist. Biography He was born in Huntington, Long Island, to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry. His mother's family originally came from ...

and

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

). Beginning in the 1980s, he worked increasingly as a freelance musician. He recorded his first solo album, ''The Right Time'', in 1987 with

Geoff Simkins Geoff Simkins (born 13 October 1948) is an English jazz musician who plays alto saxophone. Career Simkins started playing jazz in his early teens. His first instrument was drums, but he quickly changed to the alto saxophone. He turned professio ...

on alto saxophone. With Simkins he also recorded ''West Coast Blues'' (1991) (cassette only), ''Sippin' at Bell's '' (1994) and ''The Music of Tadd Dameron'' (1996). Cliff has appeared frequently at

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

in varied settings. He has worked with Harry Allen, Mike Carr, Buddy Childers, Richie Cole,

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

, Phil DeGreg,

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

Allan Ganley Allan Anthony Ganley (11 March 1931 – 29 March 2008) was an English jazz drummer and arranger. Career Ganley was born in Tolworth, Surrey, England. A self-taught drummer, in the early 1950s Ganley played in the dance band led by Bert Ambro ...

Herb Geller Herbert Arnold Geller (November 2, 1928 – December 19, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life His mother, Frances ''(née'' Frances Mildred Fullman, al ...

, Scott Hamilton,

Ken Peplowski Ken Peplowski (born May 23, 1959) is an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and known primarily for playing swing music. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records. In ...

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

, Irene Reid,

Spike Robinson Henry Bertholf "Spike" Robinson (January 16, 1930 – October 29, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, recording on several labels, including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and ...

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age ...

, and Warren Vaché. In 1998 Cliff won the BT Jazz Awards in the guitar category. Around 2015 Cliff retired from professional playing on the grounds of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Influences

Cliff's influences on guitar include

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nat ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, and

, whose influence he encountered when working and studying with Peter Ind.

Teaching

Cliff has taught at

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

in Cardiff, Trinity College of Music in London, Original UK Jazz Summer School,

Jamey Aebersold Wilton Jameson "Jamey" Aebersold (born July 21, 1939) is an American publisher, educator, and jazz saxophonist. His Play-A-Long series of instructional books and CDs, using the chord-scale system, the first of which was released in 1967, are an ...

Summer School in London, and Kristiansand in Norway.

Discography

As leader

* 1987 ''The Right Time'' with

(Miles Music) * 1991 ''West Coast Blues'' with

* 1995 ''Sipping at Bells'' with

(Spotlite) * 1997 ''The Dave Cliff Geoff Simkins 5 Play the Music of Tadd Dameron'' with

(Spotlite) * 1998 ''Tribute to Paul Desmond'' with Mark Ramsden ( 33 Records) * 1998 ''When Lights Are Low'' (Zephyr) * 2004 ''Tranzatlantic Interplay'' with Phil DeGreg (Strugglebaby)

As sideman

With

* 1977 '' Live at the Montmartre Club: Jazz Exchange Vol. 2'' with Lee Konitz (Storyville, 1977) * 1994 '' the warren vache quintet: Jazz at the Amerika Haus Hamburg, Volume 2 Nagel-Heyer Records * 1995 ''The Hamburg Concert'' * 1995 ''Tribute to Coleman Hawkins'' * 1995 ''A Man and His Music'' With others * 1985 ''The Dirty Bopper'',

Bruce Turner Malcom Bruce Turner (5 July 1922 – 28 November 1993) was an English jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Biography Born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England, and educated at Dulwich College, he learned to play the clarine ...

* 1989 ''

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

'',

Julia Fordham Julia Fordham (born 10 August 1962) is a British singer-songwriter. Her professional career started in the early 1980s, under the name "Jules Fordham", as a backing singer for Mari Wilson and Kim Wilde, before signing a recording contract of h ...

* 1997 ''Christmas Love Song'', Scott Hamilton * 1998 ''Days of Wine and Roses'',

Tony Coe Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...

* 2004 ''The Anglo/American/Scottish Connection'',

Jimmy Deuchar James Deuchar (26 June 1930 – 9 September 1993) was a Scottish jazz trumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland. He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s. Deuchar was taught trumpet by John Lynch, who lear ...

* 2008 ''Conversation'',

References

Sources

John Chilton John James Chilton (16 July 1932 – 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1 ...

, ''Who's Who of British Jazz'', London: Cassell, 1997.

External links

Dave Cliff's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliff, Dave 1944 births Living people People from Hexham Alumni of Birmingham Conservatoire Alumni of Leeds College of Music English jazz guitarists English male guitarists British male jazz musicians