Have just heard that Jon Hiseman has passed.
Very sad news – a fine drummer and a decent bloke on the occasion I attended a talk he gave.
RIP Jon Hiseman
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Sad news indeed… I saw Jon Hiseman a few times alongside his partner Barbara Thompson – the great sax player. Heady nights at ‘Band on the Wall’.
I pray she continues to cope with her Parkinson’s following this great loss.
Yes a brain tumour. Real powerhouse of a drummer.
Ahem, Junior. Here he is in full Mitch Mitchell/Elvin Jones/Keith Moon avalanche mode, first track. The guitar and vocals are James Litherland. Fantastic record.
PS re someone ranting in the comments, it’s true, there is a glitch at 24.40, negligible though.
Another PS: lovely bit of drums with phasing just before 28.00, for massives who like that kind of stuff.
It`s that time in our lives when us `baby boomers` are becoming vulnerable and so are the people we admire who are prominent in the Arts. Nevertheless it is always a sad time when anyone passes be it friend, family or like the great Jon Hiseman one of our Cultural heroes. RIP Joe and take care Barbara.
A Colosseum no less, albeit I rather than II and then before Chris feckin’ Farlowe. Good drummer, for sure, less sure bout his ears. Harsh? You listen, you judge.
Definitely a wrong move getting Chris Farlowe involved.
Horrid bumptious little git.
IMO.
Hiseman and his amazing missus Barbara Thompson played on some wonderful late ’60s – mid ’70s jazz albums with Neil Ardley and The New Jazz Orchestra. Colosseum Mk. 1 were an offshoot of the New Jazz Orchestra really, Hiseman, Tony Reeves, Dave Greenslade and Dick Heckstall-Smith all having come from that band. In the New Jazz Orchestra was probably where Jon and Barbara originally came together. All of them plus Dave Clempson are on “Camden ’70”.
Recommended: “Le Déjeuner Sur L’Herbe” (1969), “Camden ’70” (unreleased until 2008), “A Symphony Of Amaranths” (1971), “Mike Taylor Remembered” (1973, unreleased until 2007).
Good shout, Mike – I was listening to Camden 70 and Le Dejeuner only last week…
Thanks, @mike_h , a gap in my proverbial. I love the early 2 or 3 Colosseum stuff and quite like Kaleidoscope of Mirrors so, put ’em together and, hey presto? I shall go see.
Any love for Dave Greenslade’s band Greenslade.? I quite liked their stuff without being a devotee.
Having said that, bands that use the surname of the principle band member have EGO written all over them
Never got over my disappointment that they weren’t named in honour of the announcer from The Goon Show.
I thought Greenslade was Noddy Holder and the boys with ECO written all over them…
On the strength of Valentyne Suite, bought a couple of their records. Haven’t stood the test of time to be honest, a bit weedy.
So sorry to hear about Hiseman, caught a Colosseum gig here in Germany about 2 years ago. Nice to see Clempson again and Barbara was heroic. Going downhill, supposed to be her farewell tour, but damn, she put in a shift (as football parlance would have it). Farlowe didn’t really play much of a role, old and wheezy, voice hardly intact.
Love Barbara Thompson actually, great woman, that first Paraphernalia record from 1978, when she was just a slip of a girl, is still terrific, off to listen to it now. Caught her Berlin gig at the time in a little club. Smitten! I do wish her all the best at this difficult time.
That new agey record of hers at the pyramids was nice.
Never listened to Coliseum (might do now), but Hiseman is on this wonderful record – Jack Bruce’s “Songs For A Tailor”
I’d forgotten about that one.
Excellent shout.
Jon’s also on a couple of other interesting records from the pre-Colosseum period (as well as the Neil Ardley ones) – Howard Riley’s ‘Discussions’ and a set of tracks from 1967 eventually released on Graham Bond’s ‘Solid Bond’ in 1971. Ditto Jack Bruce’s ‘Things We Like’ (rec 68, rel 71).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJxkkwQylms
Very sad news about Jon’s passing. He was a great hero in my 6th form days and quite rightly so.
I think this still sounds pretty stupendous. And in the context of the stodgy, conservative times it was released, it is a real game changer.
I remember just revelling in how straight Dick Heckstall-Smith always contrived to look on the covers of their records, yet somehow managing to be the coolest man in the world.