Harold McNair (5 November 1931 – 7 March 1971) was a Jamaican-born saxophonist and flautist.

Early life

McNair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended the

Alpha Boys School Alpha Cottage School (often referred to as Alpha Boys School, Convent of Mercy "Alpha" Academy and now called Alpha Institute) was the name of the vocational residential school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, still run by Roman Catholi ...

under the tutelage of Vincent Tulloch, while playing with

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriot ...

(a lifelong friend who considered McNair his ''de facto'' younger brother), Wilton "Bogey" Gaynair, and Baba Motta's band. He spent the first decade of his musical career in

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

, where he used the name "Little G" for recordings and live performances. His early Bahamian recordings were mostly in

Caribbean music Caribbean music genres are very diverse. They are each synthesis of African, European, Arab, Asian, and Indigenous influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves (see Afro-Caribbean music), along with contributions from other comm ...

al styles rather than

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, in which he sang and played both alto and tenor saxophone. He also played a calypso singer in the film '' Island Women'' (1958). In 1960, he recorded his first album, a mixture of jazz and calypso numbers entitled ''Bahama Bash''. It was around this time that he began playing the flute, which would eventually become his signature instrument. Initially he had some lessons in New York, but he was largely self-taught. He departed for Europe later in 1960.

In Europe

Like many other Caribbean jazz musicians of the 1950s and 1960s (e.g.,

, Dizzy Reece and

Harry Beckett Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett (30 May 1935 – 22 July 2010) was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin. Biography Born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados, Harry Beckett learned to play music in a Salvation Army ...

), McNair moved to Britain. However, before arriving in London, he toured Europe with

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

and worked on film and TV scores in Paris. Once in London, he quickly gained a reputation as a formidable player on flute, alto and tenor saxophone, leading to a regular gig 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 ...

. His playing drew the admiration of

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...

, who was in London to shoot the motion picture '' All Night Long'' (1961). McNair was part of a quartet Mingus formed to rehearse with during his stay in Britain. However, the band never performed in front of a paying audience, due to a ban imposed by the Musicians' Union on US musicians in British nightclubs. A recording of the band exists, playing the earliest recorded version of the Mingus composition "Peggy's Blue Skylight". The Musician's Union ban was lifted later in 1961, leading to a residency by US tenor saxophonist

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

at Ronnie Scott's club.Obituary: Pete King
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 21 December 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2013. Ironically, McNair's own quartet were also on the bill, resulting in two of his performances with

Phil Seamen Philip William Seamen (28 August 1926 – 13 October 1972) was an English jazz drummer. With a background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s Bri ...

on drums being issued. Around the same time, he also recorded with the drummer

Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...

and the percussionist

Jack Costanzo Jack Costanzo (September 24, 1919 – August 18, 2018) was an American percussionist. Biography A composer, conductor and drummer, Costanzo is best known for having been a bongo player, and was nicknamed "Mr. Bongo". He visited Havana three ...

Later recordings

McNair cut his first all-jazz

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''Up in the Air with Harold McNair'' on a visit to Miami, before settling back in London permanently. His first UK album as a leader, ''Affectionate Fink'', was made for the fledgling

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

in 1965. The session saw him team up with

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Coll ...

's then current rhythm section of

David Izenzon David Izenzon (May 17, 1932 – October 8, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist. Biography Izenzon was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and later received a master's deg ...

(bass) and

Charles Moffett Charles Moffett (September 6, 1929 – February 14, 1997) was an American free jazz drummer. Biography Moffett was born in Fort Worth, Texas, where he attended I.M. Terrell High School with Ornette Coleman. Before switching to drums, Moffet ...

(drums), for a set of standards played with hard swinging intensity. McNair equally featured his tenor sax and flute on this session, delivering virtuoso performances on both. His next (self-titled) album, cut for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in 1968, recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

featured probably his best known composition, "The Hipster", which was included on

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

's recent ''Impressed Vol. 2'' compilation of 1960s British jazz. His next album was ''Flute and Nut'' (RCA, 1970), which featured

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

and string arrangements by John Cameron. This was quickly followed up in the same year by ''The Fence'', which moved in the direction of

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

. Another self-titled album was issued posthumously in 1972 by the B&C label, which mixed tracks from the 1968 RCA album with later, unreleased recordings. Recordings as a jazz sideman included sessions with the jazz-rock/big band ensemble

Ginger Baker's Air Force Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion supergroup led by drummer Ginger Baker. History The band formed in late 1969 upon the disbandment of Blind Faith. The original lineup consisted of Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on orga ...

and John Cameron's ''Off Centre''. He recorded with visiting Americans

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

, pianist/vocalist

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...

and drummer

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He wa ...

and performed with saxophonist

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 ...

at the Manchester Sports Guild in 1967.

Other recordings

McNair's unique phrasing on the flute in particular led to great demand for his services among non-jazz musicians, especially during the late 1960s. His flute was featured on the soundtrack for

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

's film '' Kes'' (1969), with music written by regular McNair collaborator John Cameron. Another notable soundtrack contribution was his tenor saxophone on the original 1962 soundtrack theme from '' Dr. No'' and his solo flute on Johhny Harris, ''Movements'' (Warner Bros. 1970) that was originally recorded for the original soundtrack of the film ''

Fragment of Fear ''Fragment of Fear'' is a 1970 British thriller film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Roland Culver, Flora Robson and Arthur Lowe. It was adapted from the 1965 novel '' A Fragment ...

''. His best-known sideman role came via his regular participation (with Cameron) on

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

's mid-to-late 1960s recording sessions, and as a member of Donovan's touring band. McNair arranged the hit single " There Is a Mountain" (1967) and played the flute

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

. Donovan's live album '' Donovan in Concert'' features McNair's flute and tenor extensively and demonstrates some of his finest recorded work. Throughout the late 1960s he also played on many other jazz-inflected

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

albums, including

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

's '' The Tumbler'' and

Davy Graham David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners ...

's '' Large as Life and Twice as Natural''.

Death

McNair died of lung cancer in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, on Sunday, 7 March 1971, at the age of 39.

Discography

Albums as bandleader: * ''Bacchanal At Chez Paul Meers'' (Carib LP, 2004; 1958); two tracks only as bandleader eanuts Taylor & Orchestra LP* as Little G, ''Bahama Bash'' (Top Rank, 1960) * Zoot Sims et al., ''Zoot At Ronnie Scott's'' (Fontana, 1961

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

; two tracks only (with Terry Shannon, Jeff Clyne,

) * ''Up in the Air with Harold McNair'' (Bahamian Rhythms, 1964) * ''Affectionate Fink'' (Island, 1965); with

Alan Branscombe Alan Branscombe (4 June 1936 – 27 October 1986) was an English jazz pianist, vibraphonist, and alto saxophonist. Biography Branscombe was born in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), in 1936. His father and grandfather were also professio ...

, Charles Moffett * ''Harold McNair'' (RCA, 1968); with

Bill Le Sage William A. Le Sage (20 January 1927 – 31 October 2001) was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. Early life Le Sage was born in London on 20 January 1927. His father, William (1899-1951) was a drummer and his tw ...

, Spike Heatley,

Tony Carr Anthony Carr MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A fo ...

* ''Flute and Nut'', RCA 1970 (with John Cameron) * ''The Fence'' (B&C, 1970); with

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

Ric Grech Richard Roman Grechko (1 November 1945 – 17 March 1990), better known as Ric Grech, was a British rock musician. He is best known for playing bass guitar and violin with rock band Family as well as in the supergroups Blind Faith and Traff ...

Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably D ...

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

, Colin Green, Alan Branscombe (reissued on CD in 2007 by Hux Records) * ''Harold McNair'' (B&C, 1972) * ''Alpha Boys' School Music in Education'' (Trojan 2006) (CD!); one track only ("The Hipster" taken from ''Harold McNair'') Jazz recordings as sideman: *

Big Band, ''Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 1: Lausanne 1960'' (TCB, 1960) *

, ''Whole Lotta Tony'' (Ember, 1961) *

, ''Equation in Rhythm'' (Fontana, 1962), credited as "Little Jesus" *

, ''Oh Gee: Live in Manchester'' (Jasmine, 1967) * Jimi Hendrix, ''Axis Bold as Love'', on the track ''If 6 were 9'' (Reprise RS 6281) *

, '' Trailways Express'' (Black Lion, 1968), with Peter King,

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

* John Cameron, ''Off Centre'' (Deram, 1969) *

, ''That's Just the Way I Want to Be'' (Fontana, 1970) *

, ''Live'' (Fontana, 1970) *

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...

's Air Force, ''Ginger Baker's Air Force'' (Polydor, 1970), with Steve Winwood, Rick Grech,

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

, Chris Wood,

Graham Bond Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...

, ''The Late Great Phil Seamen'' (SWP Records SWP 037, 2009), on the track ''Tangerine'', with Terry Shannon,

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). He worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was part ...

Session musician credits

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...

, ''Isn't This Where We Came In?'' (Deram, 1968) * Brian Bennett – ''Illustrated London Noise'' (Columbia, 1969) * Marc Brierley, ''Hello'' (CBS, June 1969) * John Cameron, ''Kes: Original Sound Track'' (Trunk, recorded 1968, released 2001) * CCS, '' CCS'' (Rak, 1970) * CCS, '' CCS II'' (Rak, 1972) * Peter Collins, ''Peter Collins First Album'' (Decca Nova, 1970) *

Cressida Cressida (; also Criseida, Cresseid or Criseyde) is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas, a Greek seer. She falls in love with Troilus, ...

, ''Asylum'' (Vertigo, 1971) * Syd Dale – ''Flamboyant Themes'' – Vol. III (KPM, 1968) * Syd Dale – Chorus And Orchestra (KPM, 1969) *

, ''

Fairytale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...

'' (Pye, 1965) * Donovan, '' Sunshine Superman'' (Epic, 1966) * Donovan, ''

Mellow Yellow "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. Content The song was ru ...

'' (Epic, 1967) * Donovan, ''

A Gift from a Flower to a Garden ''A Gift From a Flower to a Garden'' is the fifth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, and marks the first double-disc album of his career and one of the first box sets in folk music. It was released in the US (Epic Records L2N 6071 (m ...

'' (Pye, 1967) * Donovan, '' Donovan in Concert'' (Pye, 1968) * Donovan, ''

Hurdy Gurdy Man "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album ''The Hurdy Gurdy Man'', which was released in October of that ...

'' (Epic, 1968) * Donovan, ''

Barabajagal ''Barabajagal'' is the seventh studio album and eighth album overall from British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States on 11 August 1969 ( Epic Records BN 26481 (stereo)), but was not released in the United Kingdom be ...

'' (1969) * Nick Drake – ''

Bryter Layter ''Bryter Layter'' is the second studio album by English folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake. Recorded in 1970 and released on 5 March 1971 by Island Records, it would be his last album to feature backing musicians, as his next and final studio a ...

'' (Island, 1970)(flautist on Bryter Layer was Lyn Dobson) *

, ''Large as Life and Twice as Natural'' (Decca, 1968) * Kathe Green, '' Run the Length of Your Wildness'' (Deram, 1969) * The Picadilly Line, ''The Huge World of Emily Small'' (CBS, 1967)\ * Johnny Harris, ''Movements'' (Warner Bros. 1970) * Rosetta Hightower, ''Hightower'' (CBS, 1970) * Tim Hollier, ''Skysail'' (Philips, 1971) * Al Jones, '' Alun Ashworth Jones'', (Parlophone 1969) *

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

, ''Bootleg Him'' (1972) * Magna Carta, ''Magna Carta'' (Mercury, 1969) *

, ''The Tumbler'' (Island, 1968) *

Don Partridge Donald Eric Partridge (27 October 1941 – 21 September 2010)Report of death< ...

, ''Don Partridge'' (Columbia, 1968) *

Seven Ages of Man "All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy ''As You Like It'', spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII Line 139. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a ...

, ''Seven Ages of Man'' (Rediffusion, 1972) * Steamhammer, '' Steamhammer'' (CBS, 1969) *

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

, ''Caetano Veloso'' (Philips, 1971)

References

External links

* *
Harold McNair
discography by David H. Taylor

''Jamaica Observer'' article on Jamaican jazz musicians, including Harold McNair.

"Died On This Date (March 7, 1971) Harold McNair / Jazz Flute Great", The Music's Over.

Official John Martyn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Harold 1931 births 1971 deaths 20th-century male musicians 20th-century saxophonists CCS (band) members Deaths from lung cancer Ginger Baker's Air Force members Jamaican jazz flautists Jamaican jazz saxophonists Jamaican male musicians Jamaican session musicians Jazz fusion musicians Male jazz musicians Male saxophonists Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica 20th-century flautists