Jeff Clyne
b. 29 January 1937, London, England. An admirer of Scott La Faro, Eddie Gomez, Jaco Pastoriusand Stanley Clarke, Clyne is a versatile performer on the electric and conventional basses and was in heavy demand throughout the '60s and '70s for his ability to contribute convincingly to a wide range of styles. He fitted in equally comfortably with the fusion of Turning Point or the free experimentalism of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME). He is primarily self-taught, although he did spend some time studying with orchestral players and, like the majority of British players of this vintage, gained valuable experience during his National Service with the 3rd Hussars in the mid-50s. After spells with Tony Crombie's Rockets and Stan Tracey he joined the Jazz Couriers, co-led by tenorists Ronnie Scottand Tubby Hayes, in 1958. His association with Hayes continued for the next 10 years or so, but he also worked with a whole string of influential and acclaimed bands during the following two decades. He was an original member of the SME and was also a partner in its sister band, Trevor Watts's Amalgam. In the mid-60s he worked with Tracey again, his warm sound contributing much to the acclaimed UNDER MILK WOOD. After taking up the bass guitar he became a founder member of Ian Carr's Nucleus, where he stayed from 1969 to 1971. Turning Point was founded with Pepi Lemer in 1976. He has also worked with (among many others) Gary Boyle's Isotope, John McLaughlin, Tony Oxley, Keith Tippett's Centipede, Dudley Moore, Blossom Dearie, Norma Winstone, Eli ‘Lucky’ Thompson, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods and Eddie Lockjaw Davis and the London Jazz Composers’ Orchestra.