Chris Ingham    jazz pianist  composer  producer  author

Dudley - the new CD  on Downhome Records 

Sleevenotes

Dudley Moore, beloved comic actor, we all know about.

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Perhaps fewer know about Dudley Moore, pianist — the virtuoso brilliantly exploiting the stylistic possibilities gifted to him by Errol Garner and Oscar Peterson in late night sessions at Peter Cook’s Establishment Club in 1960s Soho, dazzling appearances on BBC TV’s Not Only But Also and the sparkling Decca trio recordings.

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And perhaps fewer still, Dudley Moore, composer — purveyor of quirky, imaginative jazz originals and the witty music for Bedazzled and 30 Is A Dangerous Age, Cynthia, nuanced movie scores far superior to the movies themselves.

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In preparing a recording celebrating the music of Dudley, we were tempted to pay homage to his 1960s piano-trio style. After all, Chris, George and I had all been indelibly influenced by the very particular, tight-knit, hard-swinging playing of Dudley, bassist Pete McGurk and drummer Chris Karan. However, whilst exploring the tunes with Paul on trumpet, we began to discover the richness of his compositions and understand a more authentic, and perhaps more revealing way of entering into Dudley’s musical world. 

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As part of that process we took time to read something about the man’s complex and highly conflicted life, one filled with shades of light and dark, joy and woe. Here is not the place to explore any details of this, but what is musically relevant was the way we found these same shades expressed in his compositions. Some of his pieces are, of course, quintessential expressions of the bright, optimistic, swinging ‘60s in which Dudley came to fame, but others are deeply poignant, personal expressions of a darker, more complex world, whilst elsewhere you’ll find a unique and bittersweet mix of the two. 

It is this emotional range and depth that has made playing Dudley's music a rather intimate and heartfelt pleasure for all of us and, we sincerely hope, for you too.

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Rev. Andrew J. Brown

andrewjbrown.blogspot.co.uk

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For all the acclaim he received as a comic actor, and the affection with which he is remembered as a hilarious and lovable personality, it may be that the most interesting thing about Dudley Moore's reputation is how undervalued he is as a jazzman and composer.

It's easy to see why. In the 1960s, as modern jazz got edgier and angrier, the Dudley Moore Trio popping up on primetime TV with their slick, upbeat take on the Oscar/Erroll tradition hardly represented the hip forefront of what jazz was 'about'. And if a musician had any kind of showbiz profile - and goodness did Dudley have one of those - lack of jazz credibility was probably an inevitable side-effect.

And perhaps there was a hint of the dilettante-genius about Dudley. The organ scholar who specialised in classical parodies at Oxford, the adorable pint-sized stooge to Peter Cook's barbed flights of comic fancy, the Hollywood 'sex thimble', the emphasis of the classical repertoire in his latter musical efforts. This kind of versatility indicates a musician some way from being a dedicated jazz man and is the very enemy of jazz posterity.

Not that we particularly care about the state of Dud's jazz posterity. But it will be a privilege if our efforts open a few ears to the jazz side of this remarkable musician.

Chris Ingham

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Dudley Tracklist

30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia
From the 1968 co-written movie in which Dudley plays Rupert Street, a composer suffering an early midlife crisis. The title track is a cheeky bossa nova in which the breezy first theme is gradually submerged by the more formal second theme, as if turning 30 represents the loss of all that is fresh and carefree.

Not Only But Also
The frolicsome theme from the 1965-70 TV series with Peter Cook.

Millionaire
From Bedazzled, the music plays in the background while Stanley Moon (Moore) and Lucifer (Cook) watch Moon's wife (Eleanor Bron) cavorting with her lover.

Cornfield
Also from Bedazzled, a perky swinging romp which maintains a stubborn two-feel in the original recording, but not here.

Before Love Went Out of Style
First recorded on Today (Atlantic 1971), this aching ballad was lyricised by Fran Landesman and recorded by several singers, including Cleo Laine, though Dudley himself generally preferred the non-literal resonance of instrumental versions of his music.

Poova Nova
A bossa nova take the cycled chord sequence used by Dizzy Gillespie on Woody'n You, complete with counterpoint soprano voice (here courtesy of Paul Higgs), first recorded on the Decca LP, The Other Side of Dudley Moore (1965).

Sad One for George

From the same album, an affecting motivic ballad which skirts all soft chord options in favour of shadowy harmony and melancholy reiteration.

Waterloo

Performed by the Moore/McGurk/Karan trio on Not Only But Also in the mid 1960s but not recorded until 1971 with Pete Morgan on bass, this bewitching piece features a declamatory fanfare morphing into a shifting-sands bossa nova.

Bedazzled

Hypnotising piano clusters over a pedal bass characterise the main theme of the movie which appears in the soundtrack in two distinct incarnations; firstly, as a psychedelic pop pastiche featuring Peter Cook as louche singer Drimble Wedge and secondly, as seductive mood music when Stanley Moon is sorely tempted by Lillian Lust (Raquel Welch).

Amalgam

The Dudley Moore Trio (Decca 1969) was Dudley’s most ambitious record, replete with intrepid Moore originals, yet has never been given a CD reissue. Amalgam, with its hyperactive piano underpinning and stately tune, is nigh-on impossible to play convincingly with two hands and was originally recorded with Dudley overdubbing the melody. Here, Mr Higgs steps up to take the theme.

Moontime

A gorgeous wafting minor theme from Bedazzled, expressive of Stanley Moon’s hapless situation; trapped by unrequited love and a deal with the Devil.

Hello Sailor

Also known as Morning Walk, this vivacious brassy pop music reeks of the blonde-in-an-open-top-sports-car 1960s, yet is virtually buried in the movie 30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia.

Waltz For Suzy

Named for Dudley’s first wife and co-star in Cynthia Suzy Kendall, this enchanting tune has a beguiling Gallic quality and harmonic formality betraying Dudley’s love of Michel Legrand and Bach.

Duddly Dell

The B-side of Dudley’s first single Strictly For The Birds (Decca 1961), released in the wake of his burgeoning fame as part of the Beyond The Fringe team, is a typically playful, joyous trio piece, famous in the UK since 1976 as the theme for BBC Radio 4’s Quote, Unquote.
 

Love Song from an Imaginary Musical

From the 1969 Decca album, an extraordinarily desolate piece full of doleful, unsettled yearning.

Strictly For the Birds
Dudley’s first single from 1961 originally featured his own chirpy falsetto voice. Translated as a jazz quintet piece, it is revealed as an immensely appealing and authentic slice of mainstream swing.

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Chris Ingham (piano)

Formerly pianist-singer with the acclaimed Flanagan Ingham Quartet, Chris has led his own quartet since 2013. His projects, Hoagy (2014) and Dudley (2017), have toured extensively inspiring critical praise and audience acclaim. He is musical director of Jazz At The Movies and leads Rebop, a sextet specialising in modern jazz 1945-65. He is a record producer (Ruthie Henshall - I've Loved These Days, Simply the Songs of Burt Bacharach), author (Rough Guide To The Beatles / Frank Sinatra), TV composer (Wartime Crime) and host/house pianist of Jazz the Hunter Club and the Songbook Sunday sessions in Bury St Edmunds.
chrisingham.co.uk

Paul Higgs (trumpet)

Arranger and trumpeter for NYJO for many years, Paul has worked as a Musical Director at the RSC and National Theatre, as a TV and film composer and a record engineer and producer. One of the UK's most versatile and expressive jazz trumpeters, Paul has worked with Nancy Wilson, Shorty Rogers and John Dankworth and has recently released Pavane, a jazz/classical recording featuring his own evocative compositions.

paulhiggs.com

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Geoff Gascoyne (double bass - live)

An arranger, composer, bassist and producer of renown, in a 30-year career Geoff has worked with Michel Legrand, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Sir Willard White, US3, Sting, Charlie Watts, Benny Golson, Bill Bruford, Jacqui Dankworth,  John Martyn, Dianne Reeves, Guy Barker, Claire Martin, Eartha Kitt and he played a major part in the rise of Jamie Cullum with whom he worked exclusively from 2000 to 2007.

www.geoffgascoyne.com

Rev. Andrew J. Brown (double bass - album)

Andrew combines the roles of Minister of the Memorial (Unitarian) Church at Cambridge and professional jazz bass player. He has played and recorded with Peter Oxley, Steve Harley, the Flanagan Ingham Quartet and Riprap. As a member of the house trio at the Hunter Club, Bury St Edmunds, Andrew has accompanied Alan Barnes, Anita Wardell, John Etheridge and many of the UK's leading players.

andrewjbrown.blogspot.co.uk

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George Double (drums)

George is a busy freelancer and respected published drum educator, notably for Trinity College, London. He tours regularly with vocal legend Jack Jones and has played with Marc Almond, Ruthie Henshall and Kym Mazelle as well as on West End shows Wicked, Guys and Dolls, Avenue Q, Sinatra and Anything Goes. He drums with Jazz At The Movies, the Georgina Jackson Quartet and curates Hadleigh Jazz Club in Suffolk where he has accompanied Karen Sharp, Enrico Tomasso, Derek Nash and many other top jazz musicians.

georgedouble.com