Harold McNair
Encyclopedia
Harold McNair was a renowned saxophonist and flautist
.
under the tutelage of Victor Tulloch, whilst playing with Joe Harriott
(a lifelong friend who considered McNair his de facto younger brother), Wilton 'Bogey' Gaynair
, and Baba Motta's band. He spent the first decade of his musical career in The Bahamas
, where he used the name "Little G" for recordings and live performances. His early Bahamian recordings were mostly in Caribbean music
al styles rather than jazz
, in which he sang and played both alto and tenor saxophone. He also played a calypso singer in the 1958 film Island Women. In 1960, he went to Miami to record his first album, a mixture of jazz and calypso numbers entitled Bahama Bash. It was around this time that he began playing the flute, which would eventually become his signature instrument. Initially he had some lessons in New York, but he was largely self taught. He departed for Europe later in 1960.
and Harry Beckett
), McNair moved to Britain. However, before arriving in London, he toured Europe with Quincy Jones
and worked on film and TV scores in Paris
. Once in London, he quickly gained a reputation as a formidable player on flute, alto and tenor saxophone, leading to a regular gig at Ronnie Scott's nightclub.
His playing drew the admiration of bass
player Charles Mingus
, who was in London to shoot the 1961 motion picture All Night Long
. McNair was part of a quartet Mingus formed to rehearse with during his stay in Britain. However, the band never performed in front of a paying audience, due to a ban imposed by the Musicians' Union
on US musicians in British nightclubs. A recording of the band exists, playing the earliest recorded version of the now famous Mingus composition "Peggy's Blue Skylight", but it has never been released, despite featuring in the movie itself. The Musician's Union ban was lifted later in 1961, leading to a residency by US tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims
at Ronnie Scott's club. Ironically, McNair's own quartet were also on the bill, resulting in two of his performances appearing on the album made to commemorate the gigs, Zoot Live at Ronnie Scott's. Around the same time, he also recorded with the drummer Tony Crombie
and the percussionist Jack Costanzo
.
Up in the Air with Harold McNair, before settling back in London permanently. His first UK album as a leader, Affectionate Fink, was made for the fledgling Island Records
in 1965. The session saw him team up with Ornette Coleman
's then current rhythm section of David Izenzon
(bass) and Charles Moffett
(drums), for a set of standards played with hard swinging intensity. McNair equally featured his tenor sax and flute on this session, delivering virtuoso performances on both. His next (self titled) album, cut for RCA
in 1968, was another classic and featured probably his most famous composition, "The Hipster", which has become a perennial fixture on the playlists at jazz clubs and was included on Gilles Peterson
's recent Impressed Vol. 2 compilation of 1960s British jazz
.
His next album was 1970's Flute and Nut (RCA), which featured big band
and string arrangements by John Cameron
. This was quickly followed up in the same year by The Fence, which moved in the direction of jazz fusion
. Another self-titled album was issued posthumously by the B&C label in 1972, which mixed tracks from the 1968 RCA album with later, unreleased recordings. Notable recorded works as a jazz sideman included sessions with the jazz-rock/big band ensemble Ginger Baker's Air Force
and John Cameron's Off Centre. He also recorded with visiting Americans including vocalists Jon Hendricks
and Blossom Dearie
, drummer Philly Joe Jones
and saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.
:
Jazz recordings as sideman:
's film Kes
, with music written by regular McNair collaborator John Cameron. Another notable soundtrack contribution was his tenor saxophone on the original 1962 soundtrack theme from Dr. No
.
His best-known sideman role came via his regular participation (with Cameron) on Donovan
's mid-to-late 1960s recording sessions, and as a member of Donovan's touring band. McNair arranged the hit single "There Is a Mountain" (1967) and played the flute riff
. Donovan's live album Donovan in Concert features McNair's flute and tenor extensively and demonstrates some of his finest recorded work.
Throughout the late 1960s he also played on many other jazz inflected folk music
and progressive rock
albums, including John Martyn's The Tumbler and Davy Graham's Large as Life and Twice as Natural.
in March 1971, at the age of 39. Until The Fence was reissued on CD by Hux Records in 2007, none of the recordings made under his own name had been reissued on CD, limiting the awareness of his outstanding musicianship. Nevertheless, he has inspired great admiration among those who have been lucky enough to hear his music, his reputation being especially high among flautists. For transcriptions of his flute solos on "Indecision", "Lord of the Reedy River" and "The Cottage" (from the "Harold McNair" RCA 1968 LP) go to Jazz Flute Transcriptions where these can be downloaded for free.
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
.
Background
McNair started out at the Alpha Boys SchoolAlpha Boys School
Alpha Cottage School is a school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, run by Roman Catholic nuns...
under the tutelage of Victor Tulloch, whilst playing with Joe Harriott
Joe Harriott
Joseph Arthurlin 'Joe' Harriott was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone....
(a lifelong friend who considered McNair his de facto younger brother), Wilton 'Bogey' Gaynair
Wilton Gaynair
Wilton 'Bogey' Gaynair was a jazz musician, whose primary instrument was the tenor saxophone...
, and Baba Motta's band. He spent the first decade of his musical career in The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, where he used the name "Little G" for recordings and live performances. His early Bahamian recordings were mostly in Caribbean music
Caribbean music
The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
al styles rather than jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, in which he sang and played both alto and tenor saxophone. He also played a calypso singer in the 1958 film Island Women. In 1960, he went to Miami to record his first album, a mixture of jazz and calypso numbers entitled Bahama Bash. It was around this time that he began playing the flute, which would eventually become his signature instrument. Initially he had some lessons in New York, but he was largely self taught. He departed for Europe later in 1960.
McNair in Europe
Like many other West Indian jazz musicians of the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., Harriott, Dizzy ReeceDizzy Reece
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
and Harry Beckett
Harry Beckett
Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player.-Biography:A resident in the UK since 1954, Harry Beckett had an international reputation. In 1961, he played with Charles Mingus in the film All Night Long. In the 1960s he worked and recorded within the band of bass...
), McNair moved to Britain. However, before arriving in London, he toured Europe with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
and worked on film and TV scores in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Once in London, he quickly gained a reputation as a formidable player on flute, alto and tenor saxophone, leading to a regular gig at Ronnie Scott's nightclub.
His playing drew the admiration of bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
player Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, who was in London to shoot the 1961 motion picture All Night Long
All Night Long (1961 film)
All Night Long is a 1962 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, Paul Harris, Keith Michell, Richard Attenborough and Betsy Blair. The story, written by Nel King and Paul Jarrico, writing under the name Peter Achilles, is an updated version of...
. McNair was part of a quartet Mingus formed to rehearse with during his stay in Britain. However, the band never performed in front of a paying audience, due to a ban imposed by the Musicians' Union
Musicians' Union (UK)
-About the MU:The Musicians' Union is an organisation which represents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the UK music business.-Campaigns:The MU stages regular campaigns in relation to relevant musical and industrial issues...
on US musicians in British nightclubs. A recording of the band exists, playing the earliest recorded version of the now famous Mingus composition "Peggy's Blue Skylight", but it has never been released, despite featuring in the movie itself. The Musician's Union ban was lifted later in 1961, leading to a residency by US tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
at Ronnie Scott's club. Ironically, McNair's own quartet were also on the bill, resulting in two of his performances appearing on the album made to commemorate the gigs, Zoot Live at Ronnie Scott's. Around the same time, he also recorded with the drummer Tony Crombie
Tony Crombie
Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene...
and the percussionist Jack Costanzo
Jack Costanzo
Jack Costanzo is an American percussionist.-Biography:A composer, conductor and drummer, Costanzo is best known as a bongo player, and is nicknamed "Mr. Bongo"...
.
Jazz recordings
McNair briefly returned to The Bahamas, where he cut his first all jazz LPLP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
Up in the Air with Harold McNair, before settling back in London permanently. His first UK album as a leader, Affectionate Fink, was made for the fledgling Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in 1965. The session saw him team up with Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
's then current rhythm section of David Izenzon
David Izenzon
David Izenzon was an American jazz double bassist.Izenzon began playing double bass at age twenty-four. He played locally in his hometown of Pittsburgh before moving to New York City in 1961...
(bass) and Charles Moffett
Charles Moffett
Charles Moffett was a free jazz drummer.Moffett began his musical career as a trumpeter before switching to drums. He is probably best known for his part in Ornette Coleman's trio with David Izenzon in the 1960s. He also appeared on other important albums of that period, such as Archie Shepp's...
(drums), for a set of standards played with hard swinging intensity. McNair equally featured his tenor sax and flute on this session, delivering virtuoso performances on both. His next (self titled) album, cut for RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
in 1968, was another classic and featured probably his most famous composition, "The Hipster", which has become a perennial fixture on the playlists at jazz clubs and was included on Gilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai...
's recent Impressed Vol. 2 compilation of 1960s British jazz
British jazz
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in...
.
His next album was 1970's Flute and Nut (RCA), which featured big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
and string arrangements by John Cameron
John Cameron (musician)
John Cameron is a British composer, arranger, conductor and musician. He is well-known for his many film, TV and stage credits, and for his contributions to 'pop' recordings, notably those by Donovan, Cilla Black and the group Hot Chocolate...
. This was quickly followed up in the same year by The Fence, which moved in the direction of jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
. Another self-titled album was issued posthumously by the B&C label in 1972, which mixed tracks from the 1968 RCA album with later, unreleased recordings. Notable recorded works as a jazz sideman included sessions with the jazz-rock/big band ensemble Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion band comprising Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, Phil Seamen on drums, Alan White on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute, Graham...
and John Cameron's Off Centre. He also recorded with visiting Americans including vocalists Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
and Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
, drummer Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
and saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.
Discography
Albums as bandleaderBandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
:
- Bacchanal At Chez Paul Meers, Carib LP 2004 1958 - two tracks only As Bandleader [Peanuts Taylor & Orchestra LP]
- as Little G, Bahama Bash, Top Rank 1960
- Zoot Sims et al., Zoot Live at Ronnie Scott's, Fontana 1961 - two tracks only (with Terry Shannon, Jeff Clyne, Phil SeamenPhil SeamenPhillip William "Phil" Seamen was an English jazz drummer.With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz...
) - Up in the Air with Harold McNair, Bahamian Rhythms 1964
- Affectionate Fink, Island 1965 (with Alan BranscombeAlan BranscombeAlan Branscombe was an English jazz pianist, vibraphonist, and alto saxophonist.Branscombe's father and grandfather were also professional musicians. He played drums with Victor Feldman in a talent show as a child. He began on alto sax at age six, and played in the army with Jeff Clyne in 1954-56...
, David IzenzonDavid IzenzonDavid Izenzon was an American jazz double bassist.Izenzon began playing double bass at age twenty-four. He played locally in his hometown of Pittsburgh before moving to New York City in 1961...
, Charles Moffett) - Harold McNair, RCA 1968 (with Bill Le SageBill Le SageBill Le Sage, born William A. Le Sage, born London - died , London, was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. His credits include the score for the 1960 film The Tell-Tale Heart....
, Spike Heatley, Tony Carr) - Flute and Nut, RCA 1970 (with John Cameron)
- The Fence, B&C 1970 (with Keith TippettKeith TippettKeith Tippett is a British jazz pianist and composer.Tippett, the son of a local police officer, went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance...
, Ric GrechRic GrechRichard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
, Terry CoxTerry CoxTerence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums....
, Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
, Tony CarrTony CarrAnthony Carr MBE is an English sports coach, the current Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A former graduate of the academy himself, whose footballing career was cut short...
, Colin Green, Alan Branscombe) - reissued on CD in 2007 by Hux Records - Harold McNair, B&C 1972
- Alpha Boys' School Music in Education, Trojan 2006 (CD!) - one track only (perhaps taken from Harold McNair?)
Jazz recordings as sideman:
- Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
Big Band, Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 1: Lausanne 1960, TCB 1960 - Tony CrombieTony CrombieAnthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene...
, Whole Lotta Tony, Ember 1961 - Jack CostanzoJack CostanzoJack Costanzo is an American percussionist.-Biography:A composer, conductor and drummer, Costanzo is best known as a bongo player, and is nicknamed "Mr. Bongo"...
, Equation in Rhythm, Fontana 1962 (credited as 'Little Jesus') - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Oh Gee: Live in Manchester, Jasmine 1967
- Philly Joe JonesPhilly Joe JonesJoseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
, Mo' Joe - aka Trailways Express, Black Lion 1968, with Peter KingPeter King (saxophonist)Peter John King is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, and clarinettist.- Early life :Peter King was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, on August 11, 1940. He took up the clarinet and saxophone as a teenager, entirely self taught...
, Kenny WheelerKenny WheelerKenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s.... - John Cameron, Off Centre, Deram 1969
- Blossom DearieBlossom DearieBlossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
, That's Just the Way I Want to Be, Fontana 1970 - Jon HendricksJon HendricksJon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
, Live, Fontana 1970 - Ginger BakerGinger BakerPeter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
's Air Force, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Polydor 1970, with Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Rick Grech, Denny LaineDenny LaineDenny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
, Chris WoodChris Wood (rock musician)Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
, Graham BondGraham BondGraham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
Other recordings
McNair's unique phrasing on the flute in particular led to great demand for his services among non-jazz musicians, especially during the late 1960s as the British jazz scene went through some tough times. His flute was heavily featured on the soundtrack for Ken LoachKen Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
's film Kes
Kes (film)
Kes is a 1969 British film from director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett. The film is based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by the Barnsley-born author Barry Hines in 1968...
, with music written by regular McNair collaborator John Cameron. Another notable soundtrack contribution was his tenor saxophone on the original 1962 soundtrack theme from Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
.
His best-known sideman role came via his regular participation (with Cameron) on Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
's mid-to-late 1960s recording sessions, and as a member of Donovan's touring band. McNair arranged the hit single "There Is a Mountain" (1967) and played the flute riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
. Donovan's live album Donovan in Concert features McNair's flute and tenor extensively and demonstrates some of his finest recorded work.
Throughout the late 1960s he also played on many other jazz inflected folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
albums, including John Martyn's The Tumbler and Davy Graham's Large as Life and Twice as Natural.
Session musician credits
- DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, FairytaleFairytale (album)Fairytale is the second album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was first released in the United Kingdom on October 22, 1965 through Pye Records . The U.S. version of Fairytale was released by Hickory Records in November 1965 with a slightly different set of songs...
Pye 1965 - Donovan, Sunshine SupermanSunshine Superman (album)Sunshine Superman is the third album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in September 1966. but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of the Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums was...
, Epic 1966 - Donovan, Mellow YellowMellow Yellow (album)Mellow Yellow is the fourth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in March 1967 Mellow Yellow is the fourth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in March 1967 Mellow Yellow is the fourth album from...
, Epic 1967 - Donovan, A Gift from a Flower to a GardenA Gift from a Flower to a GardenA Gift from a Flower to a Garden is the fifth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, and marks the first double album of his career and one of the first box sets in rock music...
, Pye 1967 - The Picadilly Line, The Huge World Of Emily Small, CBS 1967
- Lionel BartLionel BartLionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
, Isn't This Where We Came In?, Deram 1968 - Donovan, Donovan in Concert, Pye 1968
- Donovan, Hurdy Gurdy Man, Epic 1968
- SteamhammerSteamhammer (band)Steamhammer was a blues-rock band from Worthing, England. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton and Kieran White...
, SteamhammerSteamhammer (album)Steamhammer was the debut album issued in 1969 by the British blues-rock band Steamhammer. Steamhammer was chosen as legendary blues guitarist Freddy King's backing band whenever he toured England...
, CBS 1969 - Davy Graham, Large as Life and Twice as Natural, Decca 1968
- John CameronJohn Cameron (musician)John Cameron is a British composer, arranger, conductor and musician. He is well-known for his many film, TV and stage credits, and for his contributions to 'pop' recordings, notably those by Donovan, Cilla Black and the group Hot Chocolate...
, Kes: Original Sound Track, Trunk rec. 1968 rel. 2001 - John Martyn, The Tumbler, Island 1968
- Don PartridgeDon PartridgeDonald Eric Partridge was an English singer and songwriter, known as the "king of the buskers". He performed from the early 1960s as a busker and one-man band, and achieved unexpected commercial success in the UK in the late 1960s with the songs "Rosie" and "Blue Eyes".-Life and musical career:Don...
, Don Partridge, Columbia 1968 - Syd Dale - Flamboyant Themes - Vol. III, KPM 1968
- Syd Dale - Chorus And Orchestra, KPM 1969
- Brian Bennett - Illustrated London Noise, Columbia 1969
- Donovan, Barabajagal, 1969
- Al JonesAl JonesAlun Ashworth-Jones , known as Al Jones, was an influential English folk and blues songwriter, guitarist and singer, noted for his distinctive and original folk-rock guitar style and his often darkly humorous lyrics.-Early career:He first came to prominence in the Bristol folk scene in the...
, Alun Ashworth Jones, Parlophone 1969 - Magna CartaMagna Carta (band)Magna Carta is a folk rock group originally formed in London in April 1969; their first concert was on 10 May 1969, by Chris Simpson , Lyell Tranter , and Glen Stuart ....
, Magna Carta, Mercury 1969 - Marc Brierley, Hello, CBS June 1969
- CCS, CCS, Rak 1970
- Peter CollinsPeter Collins (record producer)Peter Collins is a record producer, born January 15, 1951, in London.In 1976 Collins was signed to Magnet Records and formed a group called Madison, along with Ziggy, Peter Spooner and Page 3 girl Cherri Gilham, to perform his pop song "Let It Ring"...
, Peter Collins First Album, Decca Nova 1970 - Rosetta HightowerRosetta HightowerRosetta Hightower is an American singer,and the former lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Orlons....
, Hightower, CBS 1970 - Johnny HarrisJohnny Harris (musician)Johnny Harris is a Scottish born composer, producer, arranger, conductor and musical director. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland; and a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music in London. He has lived in the US since 1972...
, Movements, Warner Brothers 1970 - CressidaCressida (progressive rock band)Cressida were a British progressive rock band, best known for their mellow, symphonic sound. Originally known as Charge, they were active from 1968 and 1970, and recorded two albums for Vertigo.-Career:...
, Asylum, Vertigo 1971 - Caetano VelosoCaetano VelosoCaetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
, Caetano Veloso, Philips 1971 - Alexis KornerAlexis KornerAlexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
, Bootleg Him, 1972 - CCS, CCS II, Rak 1972
- Seven Ages of Man, Seven Ages of Man, Rediffusion 1972
Death and legacy
McNair died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in March 1971, at the age of 39. Until The Fence was reissued on CD by Hux Records in 2007, none of the recordings made under his own name had been reissued on CD, limiting the awareness of his outstanding musicianship. Nevertheless, he has inspired great admiration among those who have been lucky enough to hear his music, his reputation being especially high among flautists. For transcriptions of his flute solos on "Indecision", "Lord of the Reedy River" and "The Cottage" (from the "Harold McNair" RCA 1968 LP) go to Jazz Flute Transcriptions where these can be downloaded for free.