Remembering “A true gentleman of jazz” – Jimmy Hastings: 12/5/1938 – 18/3/2024

“A true gentleman of jazz”, said fellow-saxophonist Simon Spillett, speaking of Jimmy Hastings, who died in March aged 85. “A beautifully lyrical player – his smile lit up a room”, added trumpeter Graham Russell, their tributes summing up Jimmy’s skills as an instrumentalist as well as his courteous affability.

An Aberdonian by birth and proficient on tenor at 16, young Hastings played local gigs before moving south in 1959. There followed a bewildering array of performing assignments, his arsenal of instruments now encompassing clarinet and bass-clarinet, all the saxophones and flutes, his versatility honed on seven world cruises aboard the Southern Cross liner. Back in London, he took dance band jobs and then was with Ken Macintosh’s Orchestra for two years playing first tenor before moving on to the BBC Radio Orchestra.

Jimmy was a regular in any of drummer Tony Kinsey’s ensembles, big or small, and maintained a lengthy association with John Dankworth, playing baritone in his Generation Big Band. Always an accomplished jazz improviser, he often fronted a quartet with pianist John Horler (their duo recording is superb) and deputised frequently in West End shows. Latterly he had been a fixture with singer Tony Jacobs’ Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra playing concerts nationally.

Surprisingly perhaps to jazz-minded observers, Jimmy was also active on the rock scene, recording with Soft Machine and National Health, and was the ‘fifth member’ of Caravan, founded by his brother Pye Hastings, appearing on their albums and sometimes on stage too.

Having once auditioned for the Humphrey Lyttelton band but been turned down, Jimmy eventually joined Humph for good in 1993, staying in situ until the great man died in 2008, this including the band’s tumultuous appearance at Glastonbury at the invitation of Radiohead with whom they had made a single. The Penguin Guide thought him ‘a keen addition to what was a very commanding frontline’. Jimmy played alto in the ensemble, clarinet alongside Humph and Kathy Stobart, and more enticingly flute in solo. A less expected skill was his ‘look-no-hands’ ability to employ circular breathing at length on his alto features. Humph called him ‘a prime asset’ and he was.

Jimmy was also Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the London College of Music and saxophone lead at the Royal Marines School of Music, often deputising in the big bands of the day and keeping his session connections alive – he had played behind Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan and very many more. A wonderful all-rounder, yes, but an inspiring jazz soloist and above all a joy to know. RIP Gentleman Jim.