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 British jazz. Notable examples included

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 ...

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. Early life ...

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Inspi ...

, Ronnie Scott,

Denny Termer Dennis William "Denny" Termer (1 October 1925 – 1 December 2011) was an English pianist and accompanist. Born in London, England, Termer began his musical career at the age of 15. Termer met Stanley Watson, who introduced him to Laurie Morgan w ...

, Dick Morrissey, Harold McNair,

Don Rendell Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an English jazz musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Career Rendell was born in Plymouth, England, an ...

, Victor Feldman, Dizzy Reece, Tony Coe, Tony Lee, and George Chisholm, among others. Later in his career he worked with Alexis Korner 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 ...

, and had a spell with Ginger Baker's Air Force, the leader of the band being Seamen's foremost disciple. Addiction to alcohol and other drugs hampered his career.Phil Seamen Biography
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

'' Retrieved 26 May 2020.

Early career

Seamen began playing drums at the age of six, turning professional at the age of 18 by joining Nat Gonella and his Georgians in 1944. In 1946, aged 20, he spent a year with Gordon Homer at the Coronation Ballroom in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...

. Brian Fahey, composer, stated, "This was a very good big band. I wrote a lot of scores for it. I did my first broadcast with Gordon. Phil Seamen, only 20 then, was the drummer and it was obvious to me that he was destined to become one of the most exciting drummers in the world." He joined the Tommy Sampson Orchestra in 1948, and by 1949, Seamen and tenor saxist Danny Moss had formed a bebop quintet from within the ranks and which was featured on a radio broadcast by the orchestra in September 1949. He then went on to play in the Joe Loss Orchestra for about 14 months. Then the top job with Jack Parnell from 1951 until midway 1954. Seamen was much sought after during the 1950s, also playing in Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists projects from 1952 to 1958, from 1954 onwards with the

Quartet, the Ronnie Scott Orchestra and Sextet, and an ever extending list including Dizzy Reece, Victor Feldman, Jimmy Deuchar, Kenny Baker, Vic Ash,

Laurie Johnson Laurence Reginald Ward Johnson, (born 7 February 1927) is an English composer and bandleader who has written scores for dozens of film and television series and has been one of the most highly regarded arrangers of instrumental pop and swing ...

, as well as blues stars

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

and Josh White, countless sessions. He married the young West End dancer Leonie Franklin in 1956, whom he had met while with Parnell, working together in the show ''Jazz Wagon''. On 8 February 1957, Seamen was finally on his way to America, about to fulfil a lifelong dream. The Ronnie Scott Sextet were going over on the ''Queen Mary'' to do a tour as part of a Musicians' Union exchange deal. But going through customs in Southampton prior to boarding, custom officiers took him aside and he was found to be in possession of drugs; he never visited the States. In 1958, the West End production of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'' opened with him -

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

reputedly specifically asked for him and the producers hired him.Phil Seaman Biography
''Last.fm'' Retrieved 29 May 2020.

Seamen in the 1960s

During the first half of the 1960s, he worked often with

, and

. In 1962, he played a couple of nights with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

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 ...

, recorded with Carmen McRae, in 1963 played R&B with Alexis Korner and 1964 with

. He started teaching in 1962, one of his pupils being

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 ...

, who went on to influence a whole generation of rock drummers. However, his heroin addiction meant his health was deteriorating, and increasingly many bandleaders would no longer hire him; his employment was limited to occasional sit-ins at Ronnie Scott's. Notable exceptions were with

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives ...

in 1964 and Roland Kirk in 1967 (followed by a UK tour). In the 1960s, Phil Seamen made appearances at the Midland Jazz Club in Birmingham at

Digbeth Civic Hall The O2 Institute (originally known as the Digbeth Institute) is a music venue located in Birmingham, England. The venue opened in 1908 as a mission of Carrs Lane Congregational Church. It has also served as an event centre, civic building and ...

. He can also be heard from this time on the album "Clarinet Jamboree" with clarinet players

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

, Terry Lightfoot, Sandy Brown and Archie Semple. He accompanies Sandy Brown, and plays in a remarkable modern jazz style in "The Last Western".

1970s

A photograph of Seamen is included in the collection at the National Portrait Gallery.

Death

Phil Seaman died in October 1972 in his sleep at his home in Old Paradise Street

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

, at the age of 46.

Discography

As leader

* ''Now! ... Live!'' (Verve 1968) Phil Seamen (with Tony Lee - piano and Tony Archer - bass) * ''Phil Seamen meets Eddie Gomez'' (Saga 1968) (with Tony Lee - piano, Eddie Gómez - bass * ''Phil on Drums'' (Decibel 1971) (with Ray Crane - trumpet, Gerry Salisbury - cornet, Keith Christie, John Picard - trombones, Sandy Brown - clarinet,

Tommy Whittle Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist. Biography Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by A ...

- tenor sax,

Brian Lemon Brian Lemon (11 February 1937 – 11 October 2014) was a British jazz pianist and arranger. Biography Lemon was born in Nottingham, England. After leaving school in the 1950s, he began playing professionally at Nottingham's Palais de Danse and ...

- piano, Lennie Bush - bass) * ''The Phil Seamen Story'' (Decibel 1972) (Phil talks and plays)

As sideman

With Victor Feldman *''

Suite Sixteen ''Suite Sixteen'' is an album by vibraphonist Victor Feldman recorded in 1955 which was first released on the British Tempo Records and subsequently released on the Contemporary label in 1958.958 With

*'' Free Form'' (Jazzland, 1960) *'' Abstract'' (Capitol, 1962) With

Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art Wo ...

*''Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated'' (Decca 1963, issued in 1965) With Dick Morrissey *''Storm Warning!'' (Fontana, 1965) With

*''Sound Venture'' (Columbia, 1966)

Posthumous releases

* ''The Late Great Phil Seamen'' (SWP Records 2009) (compilation of recordings from between 1953 and 1972, with bands led by Jack Parnell, Victor Feldman, Dizzy Reece, Ronnie Scott, Stan Tracey, Harold McNair, Jimmy Witherspoon, Joe Harriott, Kenny Graham, Tony Coe)

References

External links

* *
Memories of Phil Seamen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seamen, Phil 1926 births 1972 deaths English jazz drummers British male drummers People from Burton upon Trent Golders Green Crematorium 20th-century English musicians 20th-century drummers 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians