When Jimi Hendrix first
arrived at Heathrow in September 1966, accompanied by his manager,
former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, he was taken straight
around to Zoot Money's flat, in Fulham, to borrow a guitar.
Hendrix ended up playing Zoot's piano; it was the start of a
good friendship. Chas Chandler was no fool. Zoot's R&B show
during the sixties was as influential an introduction as you
could get to the swinging London club scene.
Zoot Money has remained a classic
UK R&B singer and keyboard player despite the uncertainty
of the music business, which has pushed and pulled his career
during the past three decades. As a rising rock and roll singer
on the Bournemouth music scene during the late fifties, Zoot
was a member of the local Black Hawks and the Sands Combo until
he discovered the keyboard grooves and soulful sound of Ray
Charles. Enlisting the help of then jazz guitarist Andy Summers,
tenor sax player Nick Newell and drummer Colin Allen, the Big
Roll Band evolved and became one of the best R&B bands in
Britain, fusing R&B and jazz.
A lucky break occurred in 1963
when Alexis Korner's manager spotted Zoot and he was offered
a temporary job on keyboards with Blues Incorporated. With the
other Big Rollers in hot pursuit, the band ensconced itself
in London and that led to a memorable round of one nighters
and all nighter club sessions including the Flamingo with Zoot
whipping up a storm on the Hammond on "Let The Good Times
Roll", "Night Time Is The Right Time" and "Bright
Lights, Big City.
Zoot's unique humour and zany
character together with the Big Roll Band's sophisticated soulful
sound brought freshness to the R&B scene in contrast to
the comparative seriousness of Mayall, Clapton, Korner, the
Stones, the Yardbirds, Chris Farlowe and Georgie Fame. As the
Big Roll Band headed down the commercial road the promotion
of Zoot's increasingly outrageous club routine included a pre-'Full
Monty' trouser- dropping routine. Despite the commercialisation,
a classic Big Roll Band live album, Zoot - Live At Klook's Kleek,
remains.
Zoot's career over the years
has diversified into acting with film and TV parts including
Porridge and Dennis Potter's Karaoke. In recent years, Zoot
has returned to more consistent live R&B playing with a
partnership with Dick Heckstall-Smith, Spencer Davis and as
a member of the Alan Price Band as well as their offshoot the
Electric Blues Company in which Zoot is featured as singer and
keyboard player. The band's gigging schedule has been extensive
and has helped lead to Zoot's re-establishment as a leading
R&B player.
Zoot continues to run his Big
Roll Band, playing gigs at selected venues. His songwriting
credits include "It Never Rains But It Pours" for
Jimmy Witherspoon. Zoot's notoriety and keyboard craftsmanship
are also acknowledged as his appearance at 1995's Alexis Korner
Memorial Concert in which he played and recorded great versions
of Alexis Korner's songs "Wild Women and Desperate Men"
and "Geneva."
Mutual admiration abounded.
At fellow Flamingo performer Georgie Fame's recent 55th birthday
gig at The Forum, Kentish Town, Zoot was invited up on stage
to sing James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag."
Zoot's most recent project has
been as producer for Ruby Turner's new album on Indigo, Call
Me By My Name. Is this a new role for Zoot? I caught up with
the man in Fulham.
Zoot, record production
is a new venture for you, isn't it?
Not quite. I produced the Tutti
Frutti album from the television series. This album with Ruby
has been the first as a sole producer. I have always preferred
playing to production, although many of my own producers have
said, probably in frustration - "You should do it yourself".
How did your involvement
with the album come about?
Del Taylor of Indigo invited
me to meet Ruby and discuss the idea. Although we had not met
before, Ruby and I had a previous link through Alexis (Korner)
by playing on his recordings at different times. Of course I
knew Ruby's work. I went with Del to see her at the Jazz Café
- she's got a great voice that you can't say no to.
How would you describe
your record production style?
Infuriating! If I have a style,
it is to capture a performer when they don't know they are producing
something great and make it represent what they would like to
hear.
How was the collaboration
with Ruby?
We both worked very hard towards
what we wanted which wasn't always the same thing - but we were
always in concert, not in competition. I was like a 'feeder'
in football. Also I had the role of sergeant major if things
were going off course. It worked well.
Did you have a hand
in choosing the material for the album?
We had about thirty songs to
choose from , a third co-written by Ruby. Ruby's style, which
I have a lot of respect for, is that she has to be very committed
and believe in a song before she goes with it. She gives 100%
and Ruby's 100% is all anyone needs.
Did you also play on
the album?
Yeah, on almost all the tracks.
I contributed some keyboards. "You Were Never Mine",
which is a duet between Ruby and me, was originally an outsider
but it's turned out great, providing dynamics that the album
needed.
Who else is on it?
Andrew Williams on keyboard
(from Ruby's band) who co-wrote some songs with Ruby. Bobby
Tench, on guitar, who also plays with me in the Electric Blues
Company. The infamous Boz Burrell on bass (a current Big Roller).
Sam Kelly who, I believe, is the British Blues Connection Drummer
Of The Year and Kidderminster's very own Stan Webb.
What's coming up next?
I'm awaiting a call from the
cash rich bastards! In the meantime, there is an unreleased
live, sixties Big Roll Band club tape and some solo stuff from
the seventies which I am going through and will hopefully be
out early next year. Also, if the money is right, a fresh album
and maybe an original line up Big Roll Band Millennium tour!
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