John Burch (born John Alexander Burchell; 6 January 1932 – 18 April 2006) was an English pianist, composer and bandleader, equally at home playing

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

, blues,

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

Life and career

Burch was born in London on 6 January 1932. Having started piano lessons at age 12, he played in army bands during his military service stationed in Germany and in the late 1950s toured military bases with his trio. In 1959, he toured France with bassist

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 ...

and saxophonist

Bobby Wellins Robert Coull Wellins (24 January 1936 – 27 October 2016) was a Scottish tenor saxophonist who collaborated with Stan Tracey on the album '' Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"'' (1965). Biography Robert Coull Wellins was ...

. In 1960 Burch joined

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 ...

's Jazzmakers. In the early and mid-1960s he led a quartet and an octet with

Dick Heckstall-Smith Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith (26 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for pri ...

, Ray Warleigh, Peter King, Hank Shaw and future

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

founders

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 ...

and

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

. In the 1960s, Burch was one of many UK-based musicians who "moved easily between traditional jazz, bebop, blues, skiffle, boogie, and rock". As an accompanist, he played with American musicians who were visiting the UK; in 1966 these included Freddie Hubbard,

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. '' Grove Music Online''. '' Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The yea ...

, and

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

. As a composer, he wrote "Preach and Teach" (1966) which provided the B-side of

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were a British rhythm and blues group during the 1960s whose repertoire spanned jazz, soul music, soul, ska, and calypso music, calypso. They were originally the backing band for rock and roll singer Billy Fury. ...

' hit "

Yeh Yeh "Yeh, Yeh" (in some territories released as "Yeah, yeh, yeh") is a Latin American music, Latin soul music, soul tune that was written as an instrumental by Rodgers Grant and Pat Patrick (musician), Pat Patrick, and first recorded by Mongo Santa ...

" and was also recorded by

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

. He composed Fame's follow-up, "In the Meantime", and also its B-side, "Telegram". He was also a teacher on the Barry Summer School jazz-education project, which was attended by pianist

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 ...

. In 1984, he re-formed the octet with

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerg ...

. He dedicated his "Resurrection Ritual Suite" to Dick Morrissey and on his death had just completed a tribute to

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: * Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadiu ...

called "Just by Chance". Burch died from cancer on 18 April 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, John English composers English jazz pianists 2006 deaths 1932 births Morrissey–Mullen members