The Jazz Organ Scene

Great Britain

Georgie Fame Georgie (born Clive Powell; *1943) began piano lessons at age seven. When rock and roll started to be broadcast on the radio during the mid-fifties, his interest in the piano became serious. Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard were among his idols and that was the basis of his earliest "professional" style. Upon leaving school, shortly after his 15th birthday, he followed the family tradition and took a job as an apprentice cotton weaver in one of the many local mills, but his leisure time was spent playing piano in various pubs and with a local group, "The Dominoes."   In July 1959, Georgie left his job at the weaving mill and joined Rory and the Blackjacks. This band however broke up. Georgie tried unsuccessfully to make his way back home. In October of that year, the Marty Wilde Show was performing at the Lewisham Gaumont and Rory Blackwell arranged for Georgie to audition "live" for impresario Larry Parnes. After walking on stage, without any rehearsal, he sang Jerry Lee Lewis’ High School Confidential and was promptly hired as a backing pianist for the Parnes "stable" of singers. He then renamed Clive Powell "Georgie Fame", and the name has stuck to this day. By the age of 16, Georgie had toured Britain extensively, playing alongside Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Tony Sheridan, Freddie Canon, Jerry Keller, Dickie Pride, Joe Brown and many more. During this time, Billy Fury selected four musicians, including Fame, for his personal backing group and the "Blue Flames" were born. At the end of 1961, after a disagreement, the band and Fury parted company.   The band’s reputation spread rapidly, and in 1963 their first album, Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo, was recorded live at the club. A string of hit records in the following years included the No. 1 best sellers, Yeh Yeh, Getaway and The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde. Due to his great popularity, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were the only UK act invited to perform with the first Motown Review when it hit London in the mid-1960s. During this time, Georgie also pursued his interest in jazz, recording the milestone album, Sound Venture, with the Harry South Big Band. This led directly to successful tours of the UK and Europe in 1967 and 1968, which found Georgie singing with the Count Basie Orchestra.   From 1970 to 1973, Georgie Fame worked almost exclusively in a partnership with fellow musician Alan Price. In 1974, Georgie reformed the Blue Flames and they continued working with him to this day. At that time, Georgie also began to regularly step away from the keyboards to sing with Europe’s finest orchestras and big bands.   In 1981, Georgie co-produced and performed with jazz vocalist Annie Ross, on the album In Hoagland, which featured the music of the legendary Hoagy Carmichael. A similar tribute to Benny Goodman, In Goodmanland, recorded in Sweden with vocalist Sylvia Vrethammar, followed in 1983. Another project, completed in the eighties, was a musical written with fellow composer Steve Gray. It was also in 1989 that Georgie Fame joined forces with Van Morrison, after having been invited to play Hammond organ on Van’s Avalon Sunset album the previous year. He continued to record and tour with Morrison throughout the nineties.   In 1990, Georgie Fame signed with producer Ben Sidran’s Go Jazz Records. He recorded with artists such as Van Morrison, Jon Hendricks, Boz Scaggs, Will Lee, Robben Ford, Richard Tee and Bob Malach, and special guests Dr. John, Phil Woods, Stanley Turrentine and Grady Tate. In 1997, bassist Bill Wyman began forming his new band The Rhythm Kings and Georgie became a founding member. During 1999, Fame presented several radio programs on BBC Radio. In the year 2000, Georgie’s critically-acclaimed CD, Poet in New York, was voted Best Jazz Vocal Album by the Academie du Jazz in France.   Georgie is equally at home in the company of jazz groups and big bands, orchestras, rock groups and his own band, The Blue Flames. As a sideman, he has recorded with many artists, including Gene Vincent, Prince Buster, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Andy Fairweather-Low, Bill Wyman and Van Morrison. Ever on the road, Georgie continues to perform his unique blend of jazz/rhythm and blues for live audiences at clubs and music festivals throughout Europe.   Amongst his musical influences and heroes, he names Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Mose Allison, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonius Monk, Betty Carter, Peggy Lee, Jimmy Smith, Booker T, Chet Baker, Johnny Griffin, Jon Hendricks, Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Sonny Rollins, Richard “Groove” Holmes and many, many more. taken from the official web site, abbreviated

contact:	georgiefame@absoluteelsewhere.net
homepage:	georgiefame.absoluteelsewhere.net
	www.myspace.com/georgiefamebeatclassics
	Click on the logo to see Georgie's tour dates.

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