Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

-born

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 major ...

guitarist with a distinctive style, like

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 ...

before him, picking with the thumb rather than a

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

Biography

Jim Mullen was guitarist with

Pete Brown & Piblokto! Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Bro ...

for two albums in 1970. He then played with

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...

's Oblivion Express, appearing on the band's first three albums together with future

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

drummer

Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...

. Mullen then joined Kokomo and later toured with the

. It was while both musicians were touring the United States with AWB in the mid-1970s that Mullen met

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

player

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 ...

, and throughout the 1980s, he found critical notice as joint leader of the British

jazz funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creati ...

band

Morrissey–Mullen Morrissey–Mullen were a British jazz-funk/fusion group of the 1970s and 1980s. Considered one of the most popular jazz groups in London, the band was led by Dick Morrissey on tenor and soprano saxes and flute, and Jim Mullen on guitar, who joi ...

. Record producer

Richard Niles Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist. Biography Early years Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writ ...

, who produced the band's sixth album, '' It's About Time'', later produced three solo albums for Mullen. Mullen has also played and recorded with, among others,

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

Hamish Stuart James Hamish Stuart (born 8 October 1949) is a British guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer. He was an original member of the Average White Band. Biography Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Stuart attended Queens Park School in ...

Joanna Eden Joanna Eden is an English jazz singer, songwriter and pianist. Biography Eden was born in Lincolnshire into a musical family, the daughter of an RAF bass player, John, and a drama teacher, Diana. She started learning the piano at six and perfor ...

Tam White Tam White (12 July 1942 – 21 June 2010) was a Scottish musician, stonemason and actor. Biography Born Thomas Bennett Sim White in Edinburgh, Scotland, White was primarily known as a blues vocalist with a trademark gravelly voice. In the 19 ...

, Claire Martin, Mike Carr,

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

Dave O'Higgins Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing i ...

and

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 ...

Sinan Alimanović Sinan Alimanović (born 11 February 1954) is a Bosnian jazz pianist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger and educator. Biography Sinan Alimanović has worked with American and European jazz musicians such as Randy Brecker, Harvie S, Duško ...

, David Tughan, Jimmy Smith,

Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was r ...

and Frank Holder. Mullen has recorded as part of The AllStars, a collective of session musicians on their

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

-produced album ''All About the Music'', alongside special guests

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

, Hamish Stuart and Angelo Starr. In 2014, he featured prominently on the Citrus Sun album, ''People of Tomorrow'', produced by Incognito co-founder, Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick. Mullen has won many British music awards including "Best Guitar" in the British Telecom Jazz Awards (1994, 1996 and 2000).

Discography

;As leader/co-leader *1980: ''Live at

Ronnie Scott's 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 Sco ...

'' - with Mike Carr and Harold Smith *1990: ''Into The 90's'' *1993: ''Good Times and The Blues'' - with

and Mike Carr *1993: ''Soundbites'' *1997: '' Big Blues'' - with

*2000: ''Burns'' *2001: ''We Go Back'' *2001: ''...but beautiful'' - Jim Mullen–Helmut Nieberle Sextett (Bobtale Records) *2002: ''

jimjam ''Jimjam'' (stylised as ''jimjam'') is a 2000 recording by UK jazz-funk guitarist Jim Mullen, featuring fellow-Scot Hamish Stuart on rhythm guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Ian Thomas on drums. The professional collaboration between Mullen and ...

'' - with

*2003: ''Rule of Thumb'' - with

Laurence Cottle Laurence Cottle (born 16 December 1961) is a Welsh bass guitarist and composer. Career His solo recordings have been mostly in jazz and jazz fusion. He was a member of the fusion quartet The Fents and appeared on their second album, ''The Ot ...

*2003: ''Live in Glasgow'' - with

Gary Husband Gary Husband (born 14 June 1960) is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboard player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer. Husband is a member of John McLaughlin's group The 4th Dimension, he also regularly pe ...

, Mick Hutton and Gareth Williams *2005: ''Gig Bag'' - The Organ Trio (Jim Mullen/Mike Gorman/Matt Skelton) *2007: ''All About the Music'' - The AllStars *2007: ''Smokescreen'' - The Jim Mullen Organ Trio featuring

Stan Sulzmann Stanley Ernest Sulzmann (born 30 November 1948) is an English jazz saxophonist. Biography He was born in London, England. Sulzmann began playing the saxophone at age of 13 and played in 1964 Bill Ashton's London Youth Jazz Orchestra, later ...

*2009: ''Make Believe'' - The Jim Mullen Organ Trio featuring Stan Sulzmann *2012: ''String Theory'' - The Jim Mullen Quartet *2014: ''Catch My Drift'' - The Jim Mullen Organ Trio ;As sideman *1970: ''

Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever ''Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever'' is the first album by Pete Brown and Piblokto!, released in 1970 on Harvest Records. The title and cover celebrate Brown's art school background. Background Having pr ...

'' -

(

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

SHVL 768) *1970: '' Thousands on a Raft'' - Pete Brown & Piblokto! (Harvest SHVL 782) *1977: ''Benny and Us'' -

Additional Musicians
AWB official website. Retrieved 9 August 2013. *1977: ''

The Atlantic Family Live in Montreaux ''The Atlantic Family Live at Montreux'' is a live recording made at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival. It featured the Don Ellis Orchestra together with the Average White Band and guest musicians. It was originally released as a double album on v ...

'' *1998: ''TimePeace'' -

*1999: ''Lifetime'' -

*2001: ''Alive'' -

*2001: ''Cartoon Capers'' *2002: ''The Mose Chronicles: Live in London, Vol. 2'' -

(

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

) *2002: ''He Never Mentioned Love'' - Claire Martin *2002: ''Speak Your Peace'' -

*2005: ''Builders' Brew'' - David Tughan (OT Records) *2014: ''People of Tomorrow'' - Citrus Sun (Dome Records) *2019: '' One Fine Day'' -

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

(

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

)

References

External links

Mullen's myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Jim 1945 births Living people Scottish jazz guitarists Musicians from Glasgow Morrissey–Mullen members