Re-Post: Quincy Conserve - Epitaph 1967-71

The Quincy Conserve was formed in Wellington in late 1967 by Malcolm Hayman. Malcolm was an extremely talented musician who had already been on the music scene for twelve years by that stage. Hayman was only 15 years old when he arrived in Wellington in 1955 as a member of the Maori Hi Fives showband. The following year the singer-guitarist formed the Trademarks, long-time residents at the Mexicali, a popular nightspot owned by American expatriate Harry Booth. The Trademarks were very popular, and after four years of constant playing, queues formed to see them every time they played. Over the years, 30-odd musicians passed through the ranks of the Trademarks, before Malcolm disbanded the group in 1961. The Trademarks owed more than a little to the Maori showband tradition, where Hayman had learnt his licks, but the group gave Wellingtonians their first taste of rock'n'roll. One member of the Trademarks was Rodney "Dody" Potter, who was later a member of the Keil Isles and Dallas Four.
Following the demise of the Trademarks, Malcolm spent 18 months at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, followed by two years on the Australian-Pacific cabaret circuit with a variety of bands. Malcolm was a severe diabetic and in 1965, during a residency in New Caledonia, he came down with tuberculosis, spending the next 14 months in a Noumea hospital. He returned to Wellington in the middle of 1966 and formed a new band called the Soundells.
The Soundells had a residency at the Downtown Club in Wellington and at the end of 1967 they were enticed to go to Auckland to play there. They accepted the offer, but Malcolm decided not to go. Now without a resident band at the Downtown Club, owner Roy Young had enough faith in Malcolm to give him a budget to recruit, equip and rehearse a new band for his club. Malcolm immediately tried the rhythm section of Sounds Unlimited, who had just dissolved, but at rehearsals found that they were not appropriate. He then started scouring the countryside, looking for the best musicians, with a promise of a regular gig and a steady wage.
Malcolm recruited bass player Dave Orams from the Underdogs, keyboardist Rufus Rehu from the Quin Tikis, another previous member of Sounds Unlimited, saxophonist Johnny McCormick, and an inexperienced saxophonist, Dennis Mason. On drums was Bryan Beauchamp, from Bari and the Breakaways, but he was quickly replaced by another former Quin Tikis, Earl Anderson.
Rehearsals over, the Quincy Conserve debuted at the Downtown Club in February 1968. They were one of the most talented and professional groups to appear on the New Zealand music scene in the late sixties. They were Wellington's first 'supergroup'. Ria Kerekere returned from the Soundells to provide some vocals for a little while, and not long after they got going, Earl Anderson came down with hepatitis and was replaced by Raice McLeod.
Malcolm Hayman 1969.
Word spread fast about this group and Roy Young soon recouped his investment. Patrons got their money's worth from the entertainment and the club even featured floorshows from the top soloists in the country. It was a top-class venue , which kept out riff-raff by strictly adhering to stringent dress regulations and an over 18 age restriction. Producer Howard Gable visited the venue and was impressed enough to sign the group to EMI, not only as artists but also as a studio band, to record backing's for the large roster of talent recording for the company, including Allison Durbin.
Releasing on the HMV label, their first single "I'm So Proud"/"I've Been Loving You Baby" came out in June 1968. This was followed in 1969 with "Hallelujah"/"Here's To The Next Time" and "Lovin' Look"/"Soul Thing". These records got very good revues, but that wasn't reflected in the sales. Unless you were from Wellington, no-one really knew anything about the group. This was rectified slightly when in December 1968, the group backed Allison Durbin on a national tour. This was the first time they had played outside their Downtown Club residency.
Kevin Furay, who had previously played with Top Shelf, joined the group on both guitar and trumpet in 1970. Two months after Kevin joined, Raice McLeod left and he was replaced by Bruno Lawrence. Raice actually took the seat Bruno had occupied in Sydney with Electric Heap.
Bruno had an immediate impact on the group. He wrote a song that was included on the group's first album, and the song became their biggest hit. The album released in 1970 was "Listen To The Band" and the single was "Ride The Rain"/"I Feel Good". The single was also released in Australia. Bruno's "Ride The Rain" became a finalist in the 1970 Loxene Golden Disc Awards. The second single from the album was "Everybody Has Their Way"/"Purple Frustration".
A second album "Epitaph" was released in 1971. It contained a number of excellent songs and from it came three singles, "Aire Of Good Feeling"/"Don't Arrange Me", "Alright In The City"/"Somebody Stole My Thunder" and "Going Back To The Garden"/"My Michelle Chan".
The Quincy Conserve was always Malcolm Hayman's band and he was a perfectionist and a strong disciplinarian. His rigid control of the group always went down well with venue owners, but didn't always sit too well with band members. It caused the unit to be unhappy at times and the band members resentment eventually tore the group apart. Bruno was always a hard person to manage and he treated Malcolm with casual disdain. Even though Bruno was good value to the group, his irreverence caused him to be fired by Malcolm. In February 1971, a new drummer Richard Burgess was acquired. Bruno was undeterred and moved on to form Blerta.
Not long after Richard joined, Kevin Furay left to form Tanglefoot, and he was replaced by a new trumpet player Barry Brown-Sharpe.
Pressure within the group exploded towards the end of 1971 when Malcolm fired Dave Orams during a rehearsal session. Dennis Mason took exception to this and an argument took place, basically with everybody being sick of being in a band where they had absolutely no say. Dennis said if Dave goes, so do I, and Barry Brown-Sharpe and Johnny McCormick both agreed. The result of the argument was the group was four members less. Hayman decided that there was no point continuing with the group, so he officially disbanded it. Putting their grievances aside, they did get together to do a farewell performance at the Downtown Club on October 30, 1971. Dennis Mason went on to become a member of Arkastra.
Malcolm then joined Furay at Tanglefoot, but before the end of 1971, Roy Young was concerned at the drop of patronage at the Downtown Club, and started putting pressure on Malcolm to form a new band.
Malcolm swallowed his pride and put together a new Quincy Conserve, promising that it would be a more democratic outfit. From the first version remained Malcolm and Rufus Rehu. Malcolm convinced Johnny McCormick and Dave Orams to return and they added Mike Conway on drums and two temporary members, Australian Peter Cross on trumpet and Harry Leki on guitar.
1972 L to R: Mike Conway, Dave Orams, Kevin Furay, Johnny McCormick,Barry Brown-Sharpe, Malcolm Hayman and Rufus Rehu.
At the beginning of 1972 they were back at the Downtown Club, just as popular as before and as if they had never left. After just a month, Peter Cross and Harry Leki had gone and back from the original version were Barry Brown-Sharpe and Kevin Furay. Dave Orams also went and was replaced by Frits Stigter on bass guitar. Now with the band members having more say, they musical direction moved towards a more jazz-rock style.
Two new singles were released in 1972, "Somebody Somewhere Help Me"/"Tango Boo Gonk" and "Roundhouse"/"You Can Take Your Love".
In November 1972, EMI promoted a concert at the James Hay Theatre in Christchurch. Quincy Conserve performed there along with Blerta, Lutha and Desna Sisarich. The event was recorded and released early in 1973 as an album called "Live". They contributed three tracks to the album.
By the end of 1972, Quincy Conserve were no longer resident at the Downtown Club. In 1973 the breweries had begun to recognise the value of live music in their taverns. Lion Breweries opened a rock venue in the Spectrum Room at the Lion Tavern. Their second venue was at the Cornhill Tavern and Quincy Conserve were installed as residents. They also held a residency at the Speakeasy Bar in Manners Street.
In 1973 their third album was released. It was called "Tasteful" and came with a 7" EP called "Extra Tasteful". Two singles were released from the album, "Keep On Pushing"/"Lady Listen" and "Slut"/"Keep On Playing That Rock'n'Roll".
A deal with Lion Breweries was signed in 1974, and the group spent most of the next year constantly touring the country. They spent on average a week in each town and during that time musicians came and went. By 1975 the group found that their most appreciative audiences were found at jazz festivals. By this stage the line-up consisted of Hayman, Paul Clayton on lead guitar, Peter Blake on keyboards, Rodger Fox on trombone, Geoff Culverwell on trumpet, Murray Loveridge on bass and Billy Brown on drums. Geoff Culverwell had previously been with the Wedge. This combination recorded the group's last album called "The Quincy Conserve" in 1975 for the Ode label and also released two singles, "Song For The Man"/"Epistolary" and "Rockin' Chair"/"Super Strut".
In September 1975, Jack Cooper, manager of Wellington's newly opened 1860 Tavern, invited Rodger Fox to form a jazz band for Saturday afternoon entertainment. He created the 1860 Band, and it comprised Fox, Blake, Brown and Culverwell from Quincy Conserve, plus bassist Dave Pearson. By the end of 1975, the 1860 Band had greater pulling power than Quincy Conserve themselves, so it became a full-time venture in the new year, officially putting an end to Quincy Conserve for good. Hayman and Loveridge went on to form a pub band called Captain Custard.
Rodger Fox went on to form the Rodger Fox Big Band in the late seventies. They recorded a number of albums and included quite a few respected musicians within their ranks over the years. They included Geoff Culverwell from Quincy Conserve and David Feehan from Lost Souls and Tapestry.
Malcolm continued playing for a number of years, but finally his diabetes caught up with him and he died as a result of complications on the 5th November 1988.
Quincy Conserve were never a true pop group, they were more of a musicians band, with Malcolm Hayman possessing one of the most distinctive voices in Kiwi Rock.
In 2001 EMI released a CD called "The Very Best Of Quincy Conserve", which contained most of their singles and some good album tracks. 

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The Forum Quorum comprises a group of Greek and Italian boys who dispense what manager Hal Davis calls a 'Mediterranean sound'. Lead instruments are electric bouzouki, placed by Sturg Pardalis, and shepherd's flute, played by Roger Galleo.

Pardalis doubles on electric guitar and Galleo on organ. Co-partner of Pardalis is Sal Palazzolo. Others include Mike Battalia on bass and Brian Albano on drums. The lead singers are Pardalis, Palazzolo and Galleo, who write most of the material for the group.

The age range is 17 to 19. Musical mentor of the combo is Gus Pardalis, director of the music department of a Queens, NV Junior High School and a composer. Ad man Davis has provided promotional and marketing advice, and has already implemented a many sided campaign. This includes a Decca Records contract, a movie. Mission To Mars, with Darrin McGavin and Nick Adams, and publication of a book in two months by Grosset & Dunlap titled How To Form A Rock Group.

Additionally, they have recorded the Girl Scout theme song, Follow The Piper, planned as a special project through that organization. Backing this up are engagements on the Mike Douglas Show, the Cheetah, teen clubs, commercials for Sattler's department store in Buffalo, a national TV commercial and nightly sessions at the group's home base in Astoria, NJ. Davis keeps the group under strict discipline. "I want them to realize the meter is running," he says.

He seeks to inculcate them with what is happening on the contemporary scene, and its relation to the past and future. "I want them to be articulate spokesmen of the world of rock," he says, "just as I expect their booh to be a guide to the rock business for young groups"

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Hugh Masekela - Grrr 1966

Hugh Masekela has an extensive jazz background and credentials, but has enjoyed major success as one of the earliest leaders in the world fusion mode. Masekela's vibrant trumpet and flügelhorn solos have been featured in pop, R&B, disco, Afro-pop, and jazz contexts.

He's had American and international hits, worked with bands around the world, and played with African, African-American, European, and various American musicians during a stellar career. His style, especially on flügelhorn, is a charismatic blend of striking upper-register lines, half-valve effects, and repetitive figures and phrases, with some note bending, slurs, and tonal colors. Though he's often simplified his playing to fit into restrictive pop formulas, Masekela is capable of outstanding ballad and bebop work.

He began singing and playing piano as a child, influenced by seeing the film Young Man with a Horn at 13. Masekela started playing trumpet at 14. He played in the Huddleston Jazz Band, which was led by anti-apartheid crusader and group head Trevor Huddleston. Huddleston was eventually deported, andMasekela co-founded the Merry Makers of Springs along with Jonas Gwangwa. He later joined Alfred Herbert's Jazz Revue, and played in studio bands backing popular singers. Masekela was in the orchestra for the musical King Kong, whose cast included Miriam Makeba. He was also in the Jazz Epistles with Abdullah Ibrahim, Makaya Ntshoko, Gwanga, and Kippie Moeketsi. Masekela andMakeba, his wife at that time, left South Africa one year before Ibrahim and Sathima Bea Benjamin in 1961. Such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, John Dankworth, and Harry Belafonte assisted him.Masekela studied at the Royal Academy of Music, then the Manhattan School of Music. During the early '60s, his career began to explode. He recorded for MGM, Mercury, and Verve, developing his hybrid African/pop/jazz style. Masekela moved to California and started his own record label, Chisa. He cut several albums expanding this formula and began to score pop success. The song "Grazing in the Grass" topped the charts in 1968 and eventually sold four million copies worldwide. That yearMasekela sold out arenas nationwide during his tour, among them Carnegie Hall. He recorded in the early '70s with Monk Montgomery & the Crusaders. Masekela moved in a more ethnic direction during the '70s. He traveled to London to play with Nigerian Afro-beat greatFela Kuti & Africa 70; then came a session with Dudu Pukwana, Eddie Gomez, and Ntshoko, among others, that resulted in his finest jazz/African album, Home Is Where The Music Is. Masekela toured Guinea with the Ghanian Afro-pop band Hedzoleh Soundz, then recorded a series of albums with them both in California and Africa with guest stints from the Crusaders, Patti Austin, and others.Masekela alternated between America and Africa, cutting a successful pop/dance album with Herb Alpert in the late '70s. During the '80s, Masekela returned to South Africa. He visited Zimbabwe and Botswana, and recorded two albums with the Kalahari Band that once more merged jazz-rock, funk, and pop. Masekela was part of Paul Simon's Graceland tour in the mid-'80s, while he continued recording and produced sessions by Makeba. Starting in the mid-'90s, Masekela began releasing a stream of albums and collections that showed his versatility and growth in South African jazz. He continued to be active into the first decade of the 21st century, issuing Live at the Market Theatre in 2007, Phola in 2009, and a pair of albums in 2012, Friends (with Larry Willis) and Jabulani, inspired by South African wedding traditions Masekela remembered from his childhood. Though the jazz content of his work has varied over the years, Hugh Masekela has far more material on the plus side than the negative. 

Masekela as a young trumpeter from the mid-'60s. Rare, but clearly his best format and playing. AMG.

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Company Caine - Dr. Chop 1975

Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1970, this psychedelic/blues group centred around lyricist and vocalist Gulliver Smith (b. Kevin Smith) who had previously worked with such outfits as Dr Kandy’s Third Eye and Time And The Forest Flower. Along with Smith, Company Caine (often referred to as Co Caine), the band comprised; Russell Smith (b. Russell Kinross-Smith; guitar), John McInerney (drums), Arthur Eisenberg (bass) and Dave Kane (guitar). In hindsight, the band had several excellent songs, some ordinary, but with obscure lyrics - most evident in their debut single ‘Trixie Stonewells Wayward Home For Young Women’ (1971) - but whether the group fully deserves its later cult status is debatable. The band was originally championed by a national magazine, Go Set, and its columnist ‘Dr Pepper’. Company Caine emerged from the late 60s’ psychedelic era of concerts and drug-taking (organized both in Melbourne and Sydney by US band Nutwood Rug).

The band suffered from frequent changes and additions to the line-up which, although not seeming to adversely affect their high-energy white blues live performances, ultimately took their toll with the result of the band dissolving in 1973. Gulliver went on to form the Bad Companions and Gulliver Smith And The Dead End Kids, while Russell worked with Mighty Kong. The two Smiths re-formed in 1975 under the name of Metropolis before briefly returning to the Company Caine monicker. The re-formed band was a much steadier, solid affair but did not attract the attention of the earlier incarnation and soon gave way to Gulliver’s next project, Little Gulliver. AMG.

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The Sir Douglas Band - Texas Tornado 1973

Doug Sahm recorded much of his second Atlantic album, Texas Tornado, around the release of his first, Doug Sahm and Band, and even used outtakes from those sessions to fill out this 11-track record, so it would seem that the two records would be nearly identical. But, as they say, appearances can be deceiving, and the two albums have fairly distinct characters, at least within the frame of Sahm's music, where all his music is instantly identifiable. The biggest difference between the two records is that a good eight of the 11 songs are Doug Sahm originals -- an inversion of And Band, which relied on covers -- and most of those are produced by Sahm himself, not Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, who helmed its predecessor, and he gives the record a feel that's considerably more streamlined than the cheerfully rambling And Band, while giving it a little grit by more or less concentrating on rock & roll. That the exceptions arrive early and are as disarming as the "Summer Wind"-styled, Sinatra-esque crooner "Someday" and lite bossa nova groover "Blue Horizon" -- two detours that make more sense in the broader context of the complete Atlantic recordings showcased on Rhino Handmade's double-disc set The Genuine Texas Groover but are bewildering here -- gives the record an off-kilter feel that may cause some listeners to underrate what is not just a typically excellent Sahm set, but one of his strongest selections of songs. Apart from the barnstorming opener, "San Francisco FM Blues," perhaps the best attempt at shoehorning Sahm's untamed Texan feel to AOR, these all come on the dynamite second side that houses the anthemic title track, as perfect an encapsulation of his Tex-Mex fusion as they come, the rampaging roadhouse rocker "Juan Mendoza," one of his best salutes to Latin culture in the 2-step "Chicano," an excellent Sir Douglas-styled groover in "Hard Way," and the gloriously breezy "Nitty Gritty," one of his very best songs (not to mention one of his best performances, highlighted by his call to right-hand man Augie Meyers before his organ solo). Unlike Doug Sahm and Band, Texas Tornado is billed to the Sir Doug Band, which is not quite the Sir Douglas Quintet, but with all of his usual gang in place -- not just Meyers but bassist Jack Barber, drummer George Rains, and saxophonist Rocky Morales, among others -- it essentially is no different than a Sir Douglas Quintetalbum, but really that's splitting hairs since the album is simply first-rate Doug Sahm. It may be recorded toward the end of his peak period -- after this, he turned out two other arguable classics before settling into a comfortably enjoyable groove that he rode out for the rest of his life -- but it still captures him at an undeniable peak and it's undeniably irresistible. AMG.

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Henry Cowell - Piano Music 1965

At last, a re-issue of the 1963 recording of Cowell playing several of his piano works in his casual style, so that the listener regards the unusual sounds and techniques as completely natural within the context of each piece's imagery. A recording of the complete piano works is definitely needed, but this CD, with Cowell's spoken commentary at the end, is a precious thing to have at the moment. AMG.

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A Band Called O - Oasis 1975

A Band Called O were a band from Jersey, Channel Islands. Originally known as "The Parlour Band", playing progressive rock, they renamed to "A Band Called O" for two albums on CBS/Epic and later to "The O Band" for a further albums
with UA. Despite issuing five albums, on three major labels, and being championed by John Peel, for whom they recorded four Peel Sessions, they had no chart success; but were a popular live act, who toured Britain and Europe.

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Electric Flag - Groovin' Is Easy 1969

Although this rather dubious collection hints that original Electric Flag members Mike Bloomfield,Harvey Brooks, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites, and Buddy Miles are involved in all of these nine tracks, it seems doubtful, as is the claim that these are live archival cuts. "I Should Have Left Her" (which is really a version of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor") is definitely live, but most of these tracks appear to have been drawn from the band's rather lifeless mid-'70s reunion. Versions of this set have appeared under various titles over the years, including An American Music Band, Groovin' Is Easy,Small Town Blues, I Found Out, and even under the title Great Hits (Electric Flag never even came close to having a hit). Starved Flag fans might find it worth a few bucks, but truthfully, Electric Flag were a one-album act, 1968's A Long Time Comin'. The band fell apart as soon as it left the station, and although it managed a couple more albums in various combinations, it was the Flag in name only. AMG.

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Country Joe & The Fish - Here We Are Again 1969

By the time of Country Joe & the Fish's fourth album, the group seemed to consist of only Joe McDonald and Barry Melton, who had started the band in the beginning. Here We Are Again continued CJ&F's move toward pop (especially on "Here I Go Again") and bluesy rock, and away from their folk and jug band beginnings. But there were no songs to match some of the idiosyncratic winners on earlier albums, and the anonymous studio backing lacked the spontaneity of the original Fish. Though there would be one more new album in 1970 (C J Fish), Country Joe & the Fish no longer existed as anything other than a name; a fact that would be underlined in December 1969 by the simultaneous releases of Greatest Hits and McDonald's solo album, Thinking of Woody Guthrie. AMG.

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Ben E. King - Sings For Soulful Lovers 1962

After parting ways with the Drifters in 1960, Ben E. King wasted no time establishing himself as a solo star with chart-toppers like "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand by Me," in which he made the most of his strong and expressive vocal style. Having scored on the R&B and pop charts, King's third album for Atco, Ben E. King Sings for Soulful Lovers, plays like a bid to cross over to more mature listeners after scoring big with the teens, much in the manner of Sam Cooke; the album is dominated by songs already made famous by other artists, featuring a blend of soulful chestnuts and classic standards, and the production and arrangements are polished and classy while still retaining the influence of the "rhythm & blues with strings" style that had become his hallmark. While "He Will Break Your Heart," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," and "It's All in the Game" seem tailor-made for King, some of the other cuts are a bit of a creative stretch, especially "Moon River" and "On the Street Where You Live," both of which sound rather clumsy in this context despite the struggle to make them swing. But Kingnever gives less than his level best on these sessions, no matter what the material happens to be, and he effortlessly walks a line between supper-club polish and passionate sweet soul. If Ben E. Kingdidn't become a regular in Las Vegas or at the Copacabana like Sam Cooke or Lou Rawls, it's certainly not because he lacked the style or the chops, and if the song selection sometimes lets him down on Sings for Soulful Lovers, his voice and his phrasing are spot-on on all 12 tracks. AMG.

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Ray Stinnett - A Fire Somewhere 1971

In the early '60s, Ray Stinnett was a kid from Memphis who dug R&B and wanted to have a hit record just like Elvis. By mid-decade, Stinnett had scored that monster hit single as a member of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, playing guitar on "Wooly Bully," and by the dawn of the 1970s, Stinnett and his wife were living on a commune in California and searching for spiritual enlightenment. Stinnett's life path reflects the shifting cultural Zeitgeist of the 1960s with commendable accuracy, but thankfully he never stopped playing guitar like a Memphis boy who dug the blues, as evidenced by A Fire Somewhere, an album Stinnett recorded in 1971 that finally earned a long-overdue release in 2012.Stinnett was a protégé of Booker T. Jones, and when Jones signed a deal with A&M Records, he persuaded them to sign Stinnett as well, and if what Stinnett was writing was a long way from classic Memphis R&B, Stinnett's sharp, emphatic guitar work and easygoing sense of timing suggest he learned more than a little from the cats at Stax Records, though his vocals weren't always on a par with his picking. As a songwriter, Stinnett conjures up a fine, swampy fusion of soul, country, blues, and rock, with occasional side trips into psychedelia and gospel, and though it's true Stinnett's spiritual and philosophical conceits sometimes sound a bit clumsy after 40 years of gathering dust, Stinnettnever sounds less than entirely sincere, and when he deals with the nuts and bolts of love and relationships, he strikes a bull's-eye. And Stinnett was blessed with a rhythm section as idiosyncratically gifted as he was in bassist Mike Plunk and drummer Jerry Patterson. Differences with A&M over marketing and management caused Stinnett to walk away from his record deal, and A Fire Somewhere got left by the wayside, buried in the label's vaults; Light in the Attic's release of the album doesn't quite resurrect a lost classic, but this is an entertaining, often fascinating set of well-crafted swamp rock that showcases a talent that deserved a hearing it didn't get in 1971. The album was remastered from the original session tapes, and Jessica Hundley's liner notes (with plenty of quotes from Stinnett) tell as much as you could care to know about Stinnett and his long lost album. AMG.

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