Dick Heckstall-Smith (26 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. (More from Wikipedia)
During the 1950’s, Ginger Baker was a member of several of what were known in England as “trad jazz” bands, i.e., Dixieland jazz. Charlie Watts recommended Baker as the drummer for Blues Incorporated after he left the band. Ginger Baker crossed paths with lead vocalist, saxophonist and organist Graham Bond and bassist Jack Bruce; together with another alumnus of the band, saxophone player Dick Heckstall-Smith, the four began jamming together before enthusiastic crowds while performing with a band called the Johnny Burch Octet. Bond initially formed the Graham Bond Quartet with Bruce, Baker and guitarist John McLaughlin (an important figure in jazz fusion who performed on Miles Davis’s first gold record, Bitches Brew); when Heckstall-Smith joined up, the group was renamed the Graham Bond Organisation. It was in this period that Ginger Baker developed his signature drum solo, “Toad”.
(May 2014)
