JOHN HELLIWELL - Always Listening
Many will have heard John Helliwell's playing without realising it. As a member of the rock/pop band Supertramp for more than two decades his distinctive and soulful saxophone and clarinet was frequently heard on radio, television, and in film soundtracks too. What many will not know is just how varied a career he has led playing music of many different genres. An avid listener, Helliwell brings to his own music a melting pot of all his musical experiences, which he then brings forth with fresh and exciting music that is shot through with a melodic way in negotiating the music that is engaging as it is lyrical.
Throughout his career he has always remained faithful to his early musical loves, that of the classical music he heard around the house as a child and his passion for jazz. It is this passion for modern jazz that has found the saxophonist playing in some pretty heavyweight company. With his Crème Anglaise recording in 2010 which featured guitar supremo, Mike Walker; and the excellent Paul Wertico/John Helliwell Project with whom he recorded a stunning version of Jarrett's 'My Song', alongside Neal Hefti's 'Girl Talk', and 'Your Song' by Elton John!
This penchant for bringing such diverse musical sources together is once again brought in to focus with his latest album Ever Open Door released on Challenge Records. An ambitious project that utilises a classical string quartet and Hammond organ along with John's beautiful tenor saxophone and clarinet, in what is arguably his finest recording to date.
It was therefore a real pleasure to meet up with the saxophonist, not far from his home near the Lake District, and over a socially distanced coffee we talked about the new album, and the road that has led to his current musical projects. I begin by asking John how the new album might be perceived. "Yeah, a good question, it's not pop! It is jazzish." he replies with a grin. "Well, my Crème Anglaise album fell between funk and jazz. It's just me I guess and the way I like to play, and I do like good tunes and ballads. I'd like to think it's quite sophisticated, intimate music with a jazzy feel. I feel that this new music would be good to feature at both jazz and classical festivals. It has that appeal to both audiences. Perhaps as a musician I don't fall into any specific field, and maybe have to create my own."
So just how did the concept for the music come about. "I've been playing the number 'Waly Waly' for a long time," explains the saxophonist, "and about three years ago a friend of mine asked me to play at his daughter's wedding. it was a lovely little church in Tunstall, just south of Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria, and I said 'Yeah sure' and I thought I'd play 'Waly Waly', as it is a lovely stand alone tune. I then found out that there was going to be a string quartet playing at the wedding too so I thought, 'That's interesting', and I called my friend, the saxophonist and composer/arranger, Andy Scott and asked him if he could knock me up a little arrangement of 'Waly Waly' which he very kindly did. It went down really well, and that was the seed planted. About a year later I was thinking of doing an album, and it was nice playing with the string quartet, so why not do a full album? So, thinking about material that would be suitable I thought an album of ballads would be nice. There would be no rhythm section so this sounded ideal for this type of repertoire, and then I had the bright idea of adding the Hammond organ to the line up. So, Andy Scott and I discussed the idea, and decided that string quartet and organ it would be, and we got about fourteen tunes together. I arranged a concert in Chester at a place called the Storyhouse at a little music festival in the summer of 2019. As we were there for the concert, I also booked a recording studio for the following day. So, we recorded the evenings performance live, and two of those tracks, 'The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men' and 'Father O'Shea' are on the album; and we recorded twelve of the tunes again the next day in the studio.
Throughout his career he has always remained faithful to his early musical loves, that of the classical music he heard around the house as a child and his passion for jazz. It is this passion for modern jazz that has found the saxophonist playing in some pretty heavyweight company. With his Crème Anglaise recording in 2010 which featured guitar supremo, Mike Walker; and the excellent Paul Wertico/John Helliwell Project with whom he recorded a stunning version of Jarrett's 'My Song', alongside Neal Hefti's 'Girl Talk', and 'Your Song' by Elton John!
This penchant for bringing such diverse musical sources together is once again brought in to focus with his latest album Ever Open Door released on Challenge Records. An ambitious project that utilises a classical string quartet and Hammond organ along with John's beautiful tenor saxophone and clarinet, in what is arguably his finest recording to date.
It was therefore a real pleasure to meet up with the saxophonist, not far from his home near the Lake District, and over a socially distanced coffee we talked about the new album, and the road that has led to his current musical projects. I begin by asking John how the new album might be perceived. "Yeah, a good question, it's not pop! It is jazzish." he replies with a grin. "Well, my Crème Anglaise album fell between funk and jazz. It's just me I guess and the way I like to play, and I do like good tunes and ballads. I'd like to think it's quite sophisticated, intimate music with a jazzy feel. I feel that this new music would be good to feature at both jazz and classical festivals. It has that appeal to both audiences. Perhaps as a musician I don't fall into any specific field, and maybe have to create my own."
So just how did the concept for the music come about. "I've been playing the number 'Waly Waly' for a long time," explains the saxophonist, "and about three years ago a friend of mine asked me to play at his daughter's wedding. it was a lovely little church in Tunstall, just south of Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria, and I said 'Yeah sure' and I thought I'd play 'Waly Waly', as it is a lovely stand alone tune. I then found out that there was going to be a string quartet playing at the wedding too so I thought, 'That's interesting', and I called my friend, the saxophonist and composer/arranger, Andy Scott and asked him if he could knock me up a little arrangement of 'Waly Waly' which he very kindly did. It went down really well, and that was the seed planted. About a year later I was thinking of doing an album, and it was nice playing with the string quartet, so why not do a full album? So, thinking about material that would be suitable I thought an album of ballads would be nice. There would be no rhythm section so this sounded ideal for this type of repertoire, and then I had the bright idea of adding the Hammond organ to the line up. So, Andy Scott and I discussed the idea, and decided that string quartet and organ it would be, and we got about fourteen tunes together. I arranged a concert in Chester at a place called the Storyhouse at a little music festival in the summer of 2019. As we were there for the concert, I also booked a recording studio for the following day. So, we recorded the evenings performance live, and two of those tracks, 'The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men' and 'Father O'Shea' are on the album; and we recorded twelve of the tunes again the next day in the studio.
John Helliwell's Crème Anglaise
"The people that we got to play on the new album are right at the forefront of modern classical crossover music. There is a group of players up north called The Manchester Collective that are very prominent in the area, and one of the leaders is a violinist called Rakhi Singh, and she's the leader of the string quartet with her sister, Simmy. Just great players! And of course, it is all partly influenced by Andy Scott's fantastic arranging for the strings. I like to play melodies. Ninety-nine percent of what I play is melodic, although I do improvise of course. However, it is necessary in this context to keep the structure quite strict at all times because the string players are reading all the time. But there is one number on their called 'The Lads In Their Hundreds' which is totally notarranged and specifically so. We were rehearsing the tune, and I was just going over it with organist, John Ellis, without any music, and the cellist Ashok Klouda played a couple of notes. I thought, 'That sounded good' so I said 'Stop! No more rehearsing for this, we'll just do it'. The first time I heard that piece was on the Quercus album (on ECM Records) with the vocalist, June Tabor, Iain Ballamy on saxophone and pianist, Huw Warren. I've subsequently heard lots of people sing it, and many versions, but it is such a great number.
"In fact there is a lot about death and disaster on this album. There is also the Paolo Fresu tune, 'Del Soldato In Trincea', which is about the deaths of Italian soldiers in the First World War and was written for a film. Then there is Mark Hart's piece, 'Lullaby For Channing', that is in actual fact a tune he wrote after his baby daughter sadly died. It was about twenty years ago or more, and we were on tour with Supertramp. In the lyrics it is all about how he's going to see her again sometime. It's such a lovely piece, and I played that on the Crème Anglaise album too."
In typical Helliwell fashion, Ever Open Door, is a delightful mix of the old and the new, with an irreverence to musical genre that brings together traditional songs and pop music in an entirely original and fresh setting. As John explains when selecting repertoire and arrangements, "For the album, the tunes came first. As we were looking at tunes, I thought, 'Let's have a listen to the' Supertramp canon', as they call it. I thought it was diplomatic to choose one by Roger Hodgson, 'If Everyone Was Listening' and one from Rick Davies, and picked what would become the title track, 'Ever Open Door', and these two seemed to fit the bill out of the four that I'd originally chosen. I also picked up the clarinet again for this album, I'd only played the instrument occasionally, as it seemed to suit the tunes. And that's what we used to do with Supertramp too when I featured the clarinet. It's just there because it seemed to fit. So, it wasn't intentional that the first notes that I play on the album are on the clarinet, it's purely down to the tune. It was a good opening number for the album, and there is a clarinet solo on the original Supertramp version of course that we reproduce as it was... it has sort of become its own melody. It's very succinct. I always feel that solos should not go on for too long, and that's what we did with Supertramp too, not playing solos for ten minutes in a number. There were groups that did improvise for long periods back in the day like King Crimson and Yes. They did all sorts of fancy time signatures and long solos with Steve Howe and Robert Fripp; but it seemed that with Supertramp it needed to be a more succinct. That's how I felt about it anyway, and that's what we tried to do on with Ever Open Door."
"In fact there is a lot about death and disaster on this album. There is also the Paolo Fresu tune, 'Del Soldato In Trincea', which is about the deaths of Italian soldiers in the First World War and was written for a film. Then there is Mark Hart's piece, 'Lullaby For Channing', that is in actual fact a tune he wrote after his baby daughter sadly died. It was about twenty years ago or more, and we were on tour with Supertramp. In the lyrics it is all about how he's going to see her again sometime. It's such a lovely piece, and I played that on the Crème Anglaise album too."
In typical Helliwell fashion, Ever Open Door, is a delightful mix of the old and the new, with an irreverence to musical genre that brings together traditional songs and pop music in an entirely original and fresh setting. As John explains when selecting repertoire and arrangements, "For the album, the tunes came first. As we were looking at tunes, I thought, 'Let's have a listen to the' Supertramp canon', as they call it. I thought it was diplomatic to choose one by Roger Hodgson, 'If Everyone Was Listening' and one from Rick Davies, and picked what would become the title track, 'Ever Open Door', and these two seemed to fit the bill out of the four that I'd originally chosen. I also picked up the clarinet again for this album, I'd only played the instrument occasionally, as it seemed to suit the tunes. And that's what we used to do with Supertramp too when I featured the clarinet. It's just there because it seemed to fit. So, it wasn't intentional that the first notes that I play on the album are on the clarinet, it's purely down to the tune. It was a good opening number for the album, and there is a clarinet solo on the original Supertramp version of course that we reproduce as it was... it has sort of become its own melody. It's very succinct. I always feel that solos should not go on for too long, and that's what we did with Supertramp too, not playing solos for ten minutes in a number. There were groups that did improvise for long periods back in the day like King Crimson and Yes. They did all sorts of fancy time signatures and long solos with Steve Howe and Robert Fripp; but it seemed that with Supertramp it needed to be a more succinct. That's how I felt about it anyway, and that's what we tried to do on with Ever Open Door."
What is immediately apparent on the new album, and throughout John's discography to date is this recurring theme of an open mind to new things, and of always listening. So I ask John how he became interested in music and about his formative influences. After a moment's reflection, he replies, "My earliest influence was Handel's 'Messiah' that I first heard when I was three or four. I was quite taken by it. My mum and dad used to sing it around the house. Then it was traditional jazz of the mid to late fifties, and most notably a version of Sidney Bechet's 'Petite Fleur' played by clarinettist, Monty Sunshine, with the Chris Barber Jazz Band. They released a single of 'Petite Fleur' and it was this that prompted me to get a clarinet. It was when I got my first clarinet and was starting to listen to more music that I started getting a liking for modern jazz. The first modern jazz musicians that influenced me were Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. This would be the late fifties, and I particularly liked the Somethin' Else album by Cannonball. I then got an alto sax first, followed by tenor, and then experienced an epiphany. I was a jazz nut, living and working in Birmingham as a computer programmer, and one night I went to hear the Tubby Hayes Quintet with Jimmy Deucher and was really digging it. Well, they took a break and I wandered out. It was a big club over two floors and there was this music coming from downstairs. I went down to investigate and it was the Graham Bond Organisation with Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Dick Heckstall-Smith. This really turned me around, I thought 'Wow! What is this?'. I'd never heard anything like it before, and in fact it was so good that I must have stayed down there for so long that I missed Tubby's second set. So that got me into R'n'B, and I subsequently joined an R'n'B group in Birmingham, or more accurately I joined a couple. There was rock group called The Dicemen, and then a group called Jugs O'Henry. In fact it was with this group that I turned professional in 1965, a kind of early soul/R'n'B group. So I was playing all different types of music, but still very much influenced by jazz. When this group broke up I joined a band called the Alan Bown Set and was them for six years. We played soul music, and then through the sixties got into flower power and progressive rock... played all sorts. It was a sort of mish mash of influences that took me eventually to Supertramp I guess. I joined the band in 1973 just in time to record the Crime Of The Century album."Continuing John adds, " I still have a big liking for jazz, although I seem to have a thing about guitarists, John Scofield, John Abercrombie and Pat Metheny. I also love vocalists, and my favourite male vocalist of all time is Donny Hathaway. I love his work! I went to hear him perform once and it was disappointing. It's a shame when that happens. He was down, and I'd really built this up and there was such an air of expectation.
with Supertramp
"As well as singers, I also love big bands. I used to go and hear quite a lot of jazz at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. I heard Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton; and I also heard Oscar Peterson. There was another epiphanous moment I should tell you about! When I was about fourteen or fifteen, only just out of short pants, I went to see the Count Basie Orchestra. I was right at the front, down in the stalls, and all the saxophone players were in front of the big band. They all sort of sauntered on stage and sat down, and then Count comes on the rhythm section kick in (John sings along imitating Basie's All-American Rhythm section). Basie comes in on piano and they start the number, and the whole band is in there, and I think 'Yeah, man. It can't get better than this'; but it did! All the saxophone players stood up and left their seats and moved to the front of the stage playing together, and I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, this is what I want to do with my life'. Another momentous occasion was when we first went to Toronto with Supertramp. Our first concert was at Massey Hall, and I'm stepping onto hallowed ground. The other guys in the band didn't have a clue of the significance, although I think Rick (Davies) did, but the others had no idea. I just stood there thinking, 'Charlie Parker stood here, man!' It was pretty overwhelming." I bet you didn't play alto that night? I enquired. John replies laughing, "I had to, I had to have a squeak."
Quite rightly, Helliwell looks back with fondness of his association with Supertramp, with whom he toured the world, recorded some classic albums and added an indispensable voice to what was as instantly identifiable group sound. In typically modest fashion, the saxophonist is never one to hog the limelight, and recalls of his time with the band saying , "With Supertramp it was good because when we got going, we sort of were not really interested in being individually well-known, it was more a group identity and to be known for our music. It's like Pink Floyd, because there are millions of people who don't know the individual members of the group but they know their music. I'm very proud of my time with Supertramp."
Quite rightly, Helliwell looks back with fondness of his association with Supertramp, with whom he toured the world, recorded some classic albums and added an indispensable voice to what was as instantly identifiable group sound. In typically modest fashion, the saxophonist is never one to hog the limelight, and recalls of his time with the band saying , "With Supertramp it was good because when we got going, we sort of were not really interested in being individually well-known, it was more a group identity and to be known for our music. It's like Pink Floyd, because there are millions of people who don't know the individual members of the group but they know their music. I'm very proud of my time with Supertramp."
with Super Big Tramp Band
This association with Supertramp would continue for a number of years, but John was not content to sit back and rest on his laurels, but instead decided to explore new avenues and even go back to college. As he explains, "There was a lull in playing with Supertramp in the early nineties, so I decided that that I would like to go music college. I was forty-eight and applied to the Royal Northern College of Music and I got in! I didn't get my degree though. I did three years if a four-year course, and then I started working with Roger Hodgson again and then there was a new Supertramp project in 1996/97 so I never completed my degree. But I did make some good contacts, most notably guitarist, Mike Walker, and Andy Scott who had just graduated with fellow saxophonist, Rob Buckland. At this time I was still doing many different types of music, and during my time at the college the tutors said to me, 'Well you're turning fifty, you can have a concert.' So, I thought, great and we put together a concert to mark the occasion. It had three sections, the first was a jazz sextet with three tenors and rhythm section, followed by a soul band, and then the big band. That's my general love in music. Doing some soul stuff and some jazz, and it all gets mixed up in my head. So, I was able to carry on my association with Supertramp and had my college degree and other projects on the side. There was the Crème Anglaise group, and the Super Big Tramp Band." A smile crosses the saxophonist's face at the mention of the big band, as he elaborates, "That is a great project and good fun! About seven years ago, the jazz saxophonist and educator Mike Hall came up with this idea. Mike plays tenor, and for many years led the big band at the Royal Norhtern College of Music, and he came to me with this project saying, 'Let's do a concert of Supertramp numbers for big band, I thought it was a great idea and he asked some of his mates to arrange different numbers. We did a concert with the student big band and it went down really well. Then Rob Buckland, who is head of the saxophone department at the College had been badgering us for years to do this with a professional big band and so finally it came to fruition last year. We added a couple more numbers to the existing charts and did some gigs. We played a few concerts in Germany, and we also played the Truck Theatre in Hull and the Manchester Jazz Festival. It has been such a successful project that decided to record it. In fact we were planning to do it this year, but have had to put it on hold due to Covid 19 but hope to make this happen as soon as is feasible. And now there is this new project with the Singh String Quartet. I've been in a fortunate position to be able to do some of these things."
In an illustrious and diverse career, John Helliwell takes nothing for granted. It is this inquisitive musical mind, and willingness to put himself out there in different musical situations that continues to produce new and exciting music, of which Ever Open Dooris just the latest chapter. I concluded our conversation by asking John about his instruments and how he views playing the saxophone. "My main horns are tenor and alto saxophones. Both saxophones are Selmer MkVIs, and on tenor I play an Otto Link metal 8 mouthpiece (about 1967) with a Ligaphone ligature and Ligaphone, Selmer or Vandoren classic reeds, strength #2 or #2.5. On alto I use an old (1950s I think) Selmer ebonite Soloist E or F, again with Ligaphone ligature and Ligaphone or Vandoren #2.5 reeds. I also have a Martin “The Martin” alto and tenor - each has a very big sound.
"As a saxophone player I'm not particularly technical. I try not to play too many notes. You know, keep it simple and melodic", says Johnn. "I've got a great thing going with saxophonist, Bill Evans, as we play together in a group run by a Hungarian musician called Leslie Mandoki. He has this group, the Leslie Mandoki Soul Mates that features people from pop, rock and jazz, and the horn section has been myself and Bill with Till Brönner and Randy Brecker. Bill is famous for playing a lot of notes so whenever we meet up I say to him 'I've got quite a few notes spare. I'll sell them to you if you like?' Or Bill will ask 'Have you got any spare notes, John?', to which I'll usually reply 'Yeah man, I can sell you a couple of thousand semi-demi quavers, you can probably use them up in one solo!'."
Keeping it simple, if somewhat of an understatement, seems to be the way to bring out the best in one's abilities and the chosen compositions, and continues to serve John well. Take a listen to Ever Open Door, open your ears, mind and heart and let the music unfold.
"As a saxophone player I'm not particularly technical. I try not to play too many notes. You know, keep it simple and melodic", says Johnn. "I've got a great thing going with saxophonist, Bill Evans, as we play together in a group run by a Hungarian musician called Leslie Mandoki. He has this group, the Leslie Mandoki Soul Mates that features people from pop, rock and jazz, and the horn section has been myself and Bill with Till Brönner and Randy Brecker. Bill is famous for playing a lot of notes so whenever we meet up I say to him 'I've got quite a few notes spare. I'll sell them to you if you like?' Or Bill will ask 'Have you got any spare notes, John?', to which I'll usually reply 'Yeah man, I can sell you a couple of thousand semi-demi quavers, you can probably use them up in one solo!'."
Keeping it simple, if somewhat of an understatement, seems to be the way to bring out the best in one's abilities and the chosen compositions, and continues to serve John well. Take a listen to Ever Open Door, open your ears, mind and heart and let the music unfold.
|
|
For more information visit John's website at johnhelliwell.com
