Anthony Reeves (born 18 April 1943,

New Eltham New Eltham is an area of south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It lies south east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. History New Eltham is a largely residential suburb of Greater London developed on former farmland ...

, South East London) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

/contrabassist, noted for his "distinctive and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects.

Career

As a teenager Reeves learned orchestral

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

and played in local

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 ...

-oriented groups (also sometimes the Wes Minster Five) with Colfes Grammar School, Lewisham schoolmates,

Dave Greenslade David John Greenslade (born 18 January 1943) is an English composer and keyboard player. He has played with Colosseum from the beginning in 1968 until the farewell concert in 2015 and also from 1973 in his own band, Greenslade, and others inclu ...

and

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later form ...

; Reeves and Hiseman would later record with

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

on the album ''

Bare Wires ''For the American band see Matthew Melton'' ''Bare Wires'' is a studio album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, featuring Mick Taylor on guitar, released in 1968 on Decca Records. The album was the last John Mayall studio album to feature the ...

'' and then go on to form

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

. Keen on jazz, Reeves played in the

New Jazz Orchestra The New Jazz Orchestra (NJO) was a British jazz big band that was active from 1963 to 1970. Neil Ardley recorded several more albums with many of the NJO's members, which were released under his own name. Origins and members The NJO was the offs ...

and had learned many standard songs. He worked in the music industry for several years, first in the quality control department of

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

listening to output that ranged from medieval classical music to

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...

, after four years becoming assistant producer to Tony D'Amato, then briefly a record plugger for

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

. In late 1964 he suggested for Pye release, and played on, the instrumental UK hit

Sounds Orchestral Sounds Orchestral was a British studio-based easy listening group, assembled by John Schroeder (musician), John Schroeder with Johnny Pearson in 1964. Career John Schroeder had worked with Johnny Pearson previously over at Oriole Records (US), ...

's "

Cast Your Fate to the Wind "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is an American jazz instrumental selection by Vince Guaraldi; later, a lyric was written by Carel Werber. It won a Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition in 1963. It was included on the album ''Jazz Impress ...

". He became assistant to

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

at Pye before leaving to become a freelance producer for CBS and Polydor and creative director of the Greenwich Gramophone Company. He also recorded with the Mike Taylor Quartet on the album ''Pendulum'' in 1965 and with

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 ...

on ''Folk, Blues and Beyond'' and ''Midnight Man'' in 1966. Shortly afterwards Reeves took up electric bass, just before Hiseman recommended him to Mayall. After two albums with Colosseum he left to concentrate on session work and production, working with the Woods Band,

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

(''The North Star Grassman and the Ravens''), Paul Kent,

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. ...

(''Bless the Weather''), Day of Phoenix and Burning Red Ivanhoe from Denmark, and Chris DeBurgh. In 1972 he rejoined Dave Greenslade and formed the band

Greenslade Greenslade were an English progressive rock band, formed in the autumn of 1972 by keyboard player Dave Greenslade and bassist Tony Reeves, with keyboardist Dave Lawson and drummer Andrew McCulloch. History The band made their live debut at ...

. Reeves remained with the band until 1974, recording three albums with them. As with Colosseum, his departure was motivated by a desire to focus on his career as a producer. In 1973 he played on '' Mike Taylor Remembered'', a tribute to the musician, with Neil Ardley, Jon Hiseman, Ian Carr, Barbara Thompson and other major modern British jazz players. Subsequently he played with

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fus ...

and in jazz band called Big Chief, with former Colosseum saxophonist

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 ...

and former Curved Air guitarist Mick Jacques. He still plays with Big Chief, Blue Amba and The Warthogs, and plays double bass at The Constitution pub in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

(Davy Graham's local) every other Tuesday in the Cellar Bar, where he met multi-instrumentalist and songwriter

JC Carroll Jean-Marie "JC" Carroll is an English composer, songwriter and musician. He has been a members of the post-punk group The Members for over 40 years, and is an established film composer. Biography JC Carroll was born in Camberley on 9 February ...

, with whom he performs and records sporadically. They recorded a live album on their first show together in Ascot. They are understood to be working on an extended raga called looking for gold and an acoustic album. Reeves is also head of the British sound technology firm

MTR Professional Audio MTR Professional Audio is a UK sound technology company founded in the latter 20th century by the musician Tony Reeves Anthony Reeves (born 18 April 1943, New Eltham, South East London) is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for hi ...

, in business for almost 30 years.

References

External links

MTR Audio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Tony 1943 births Living people English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists Musicians from London British rhythm and blues boom musicians English blues guitarists Greenslade members Curved Air members John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers members Colosseum (band) members New Jazz Orchestra members