Due preziose pubblicazioni, uscite nelle scorse settimane quasi in contemporanea, hanno per protagonista Graham Collier (1937-2011), figura centrale nelle vicende del jazz nel Regno Unito a cavallo tra gli anni Sessanta e Settanta, noto e stimato tra colleghi ed estimatori come musicista, compositore, intraprendente band leader, valido educatore e prolifico autore di testi di insegnamento musicale. A una - Live At Ronnie's, da un concerto dell'ottobre 1969 - provvede John Thurlow di Jazz in Britain, dell'altra - Smoke-Blackened Walls & Curlews, con registrazioni del luglio 1971 - si occupa Matt Parker di British Progressive Jazz, con Collier nel ruolo di contrabbassista assieme ad Alan Wakeman, Harry Beckett, Geoff Castle, Stan Sulzmann, Nick Evans e John Marshall tra gli altri. I due album offrono interessanti materiali inediti e assieme contribuiscono a richiamare lo spirito avventuroso e pionieristico del jazz britannico dell'epoca, accolto e perfino promosso - ma solo per una breve stagione - presso i canali televisivi ufficiali della BBC, come ricorda Duncan Heining citando soprattutto il programma Jazz Scene: "BBC 2 had been established to provide more ambitious programming than its more populist sibling. Jazz 625 was the channel’s first jazz offering and ran for eighteen episodes between 1964-1966. Jazz Scene lasted from 1969-1970 totalling thirty-two episodes. In theory, the channel was an ideal host for the left-field music that was coming out of the British scene at the time. However, when its run came to an end, a decision was clearly taken not to recommission or replace the series. Jazz on BBC television over the next few years – and beyond – would be confined to segments on general arts programmes and occasional TV specials. Explaining why this was so is beyond my brief here. What I would stress is that a change was in the air culturally and jazz was a victim of that change not least in terms of its access to broadcast media. By the early seventies, Britain was shifting away from the cultural pluralism that had characterised the previous decade. Composer/bandleaders like Graham Collier would continue to produce important music over their careers. The difference was that they would do so in the margins and often against the odds. Collier was, in many ways, cannier than most of his peers in creating work opportunities. He became adept at getting money out of arts bodies, his groups played in schools, he ran workshops, he wrote books on jazz and composed music for radio plays and films. In fact, quite how he did all that while running a regular band is simply astonishing. But thank crikey he did. As Collier’s biographer, I refuse to pander to the notion that musicians like Collier, Michael Garrick, Mike Westbrook and others were at their creative peak in those heady years. Yet, I must allow that the music these artists made then – not least a consequence of working with top producers and engineers and recording in top-flite studios – offers a unique glimpse into a special time. The music of these jazz pioneers has an immediacy and sense of urgency, as if they felt that their time had come. Everything seemed possible, for a moment at least."
https://jazzinbritain.co.uk/live-at-ronnies
https://britishprogressivejazz.com/smoke-blackened-walls-curlews