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Ike Isaacs -
Jazz Guitarist 1919-96
 Ike Isaacs
Ike was born in Rangoon, Burma in 1919 -
their forebears being of Baghdadi Jewish
origins. They emigrated to London as young adults, where his son Mark
was born. The family then emigrated again to Australia when Mark was
four.
Ike was a chemistry graduate he
chose to pursue a career in music & started his own Jazz group while in
India - the family left Burma
for India and Isaacs was employed by the Maharajah of Patiala. In 1944 Ike turned pro with the
Leslie Douglas Bomber Command
Band. He later joined Cyril Stapleton's BBC Show Band as their guitarist
& worked on a series of orchestral albums. He played for 12 years with
the Ted Heath Band & featured in Braden's Weeks & the Max Bygrave's Show
& has made several Albums, notably - Ike Isaacs Lutes & Flutes - The
Music of Michel Le Grand. Ike joined the
Diz Disley Trio on their world
tour with Stephane in 1974.
Worked as a chemist. In the UK
in the late 40s he freelanced, playing radio shows and leading his own
small groups. Among the musicians with whom he played and sometimes
recorded during the 40s and 50s were
Ted
Heath,
Ralph Sharon. A busy session musician, very active in studio
work and playing in all manner of musical styles, Isaacs' first love was
for jazz and through the 60s, 70s and 80s he played with leading jazz
musicians, A notable player on both acoustic and electric guitars,
 Rangoon 1940 - LR Paul Ferraz sb, Reuben
Solomon cl, Dean Wong vcl, Cedric West gtr,
Ike Isaacs gtr
In 1942, two young, self taught jazz guitarists
, arrived in Calcutta from Burma, the eastern most outpost of what was British
India. Fleeing on foot, barely ahead of the Japanese, were part of Reuben
Solomon’s Jive Boy’s..one of the hottest bands in Rangoon. Ike Isaacs went
from Calcutta to Mussoorie and played in a hotel there until he left for England
on a scholarship around the same time as Cedric. Ike was also self taught.
Described as a master technician, Ike Isaacs was the dominant guitarist in
English jazz until the mid-1970s. Ike is featured in the list of the great jazz
guitarists. He played with all the greats, including a 2 year world tour with
Stephane Grapelli.
You may reference the original work at
 
Isaacs was an autodidact (self taught), and started playing
professionally while he was a chemistry student at University. In 1946 he moved
to England where he freelanced for many years; he played in the BBC Show Band,
as well as with George Chisholm (1956) and Barney Kessel (1968).
He was also
the resident guitarist with Chappie D’Amato’s orchestra at
Hatchett’s in London in 1949 In the
mid-1950s,
In the 1960s and 1970s he played with Stephane
Grappelli extensively, including with Diz Disley's Hot Club of London. Isaacs
played with Digby Fairweather, Len Skeat (Bass) and Denny Wright in the group
Velvet in the 1970s as well. Isaacs moved to Australia in the 1980s, where
he taught at the Sydney Guitar School.
The co-operative quartet 'Velvet' (formerly Stephane Grappelli's Trio)
1959
Ike Isaacs talks guitars with two fellow Guitarists
Bert Weedon & Jack
Llewellyn
during a break in his recording session
Photograph by Mark Hamilton
Ike Isaacs Jamming - Duo
 
1954 New Musical
Express Poll Winners
 Firstly,
musical expression and performance must not be likened to athletics or such
competitions, with one assessing if this person plays faster than the other,
or more technically and so on or so forth, comparing each feature of one’s
playing with that of another. In such cases, one is blinded by a player’s
prowess in a particular technical facet and overlooks the essence of ability,
the finished product, in which one or more of the constituents may not even rise
to very great heights. When one enjoys a beautiful painting, one does not say
that the red of X is better than Y’s, or that their greens are not as good as
Z’s. It is the impact of the picture that counts, and the hall-mark of a
true artist is his ability to portray a work in its entirety to the satisfaction
of the viewer or listener, and with such an impact as to move him emotionally or
aesthetically.
In fact, I was having a conversation with guitarist Alan Hodgkiss who will be
remembered by many, I am sure, as an excellent guitarist who played with
Stephane Grappelly in the mid-forties and also knew Reinhardt personally. Alan
was not only a teacher of guitar, but also an authority on modern art, and he
stresses the importance of form, whether musically or in art and asserts that
any great performance is so complete in its form that any addition would
certainly be superfluous; and taking anything out would give a sense of
imbalance. He also spoke of the necessity of self expression in the arts;
the completeness of an artistic person’s development has to embrace many of its
aspects and therefore the inter-relation of the art forms should be experienced
and understood by the musician if he wants to mature. Alan holds art classes in
which he encourages well known musicians to express themselves through painting,
and it is becoming apparent that this other stimulant is having advantageous
results on their musical performance, too!
Returning to the players we had in London last month, I have reviewed the
concert elsewhere, but observing their approach to playing, I feel the following
sentiments: That to them, playing is an extension of a natural
function, like scratching one’s head, or clapping one’s hands. To advance
in one’s own playing, this is an important side to be cultivated-an absolute
familiarity with the instrument and no fear, nor negative emotions towards
playing. A sense of enjoyment is so very important because it definitely
communicates itself to the listener and it does not tire the player, but
replenishes his energy.
This fact can be seen in players at a jazz club and those that have to be
bread-and-butter (clock watching) musicians. In fact, I am sure one or more of
us has experienced the exuberance felt in the former situation, whereas a sense
of boredom and lack of enthusiasm arises in the second
circumstance. The only way to benefit is to try and develop this alive
attitude to your own playing, whatever you have to do. As I have told some of
my guitar-playing friends whenever I have heard a grumble: “Be thankful that you
have the good fortune to be earning your living using a pick rather than a
pick-axe!”
From
Ike Isaacs Guitar Forum published in the Crescendo magazine.
Ike
Isaacs - Body and Soul Duo
 
Ike made a number of light music recordings,
using the London Guitars,
with Cedric West and 'Gordon Toland' on
- Sounds of Guitar,
I Love Paris
Themes from the Small Screen - Muzak, Elevator music style recordings that
reflect the competence of the guitarists but hardly show them in the Jazz
Improvisation skills that they retained. They may have had a wider
audience appeal but no Jazz Aficionado would have such recordings in the house.
Ike Isaacs
on Video 1993
Ike Isaacs
with Dave Smith 1994
Ike Isaacs
Book, 24 pages
Ike Isaacs, who died in
1996, was one of the great chordal masters of the guitar, with a sophisticated
harmonic sense that would transform a jazz standard into a shimmering
masterpiece. As a follow-up to his best-selling book Guitar Moods� (out of print
but can still be found), Ike wrote this collection of distinctive solo guitar
pieces to encompass a variety of musical styles, compositional ideas and guitar
techniques to expand the guitarist's awareness of the harmonic possibilities of
the instrument. Includes Starlight, which Ike performs on
his
CD Intimate Interpretations. Ike was a strong mentor to accomplished British
jazz guitarist, -
Martin Taylor.
Ike Isaacs
and I used to play every Thursday at the Pizza On The Park—that was my first
experience of duo work. It’s a fantastic thing to do, because there’s no room
for mistakes you’re so exposed. Working with Ike Isaacs was a great experience
for me I consider him to be one of the greatest guitar players ever. My
association with Ike in those few years really transformed me; I really grew as
a musician, through working with him. I learned so much from Ike, just sitting
playing together he knows things that nobody else knows on the guitar. He’s
unbelievable. He can get the message across very well - he’s a very good teacher.
Yes, he taught me a lot about the guitar - a lot about life too. We’ve become
very, very good friends, and we were always having philosophical debates, you
know. I miss him a lot. I’d like to do the duo thing again with Ike. Maybe he’ll
read this and come back and see us!
Ike Isaacs Documentary
Listen to his story and his masterful playing. For
the last fifteen years of his life Ike lived and taught in Sydney and became a
much loved member of the Sydney jazz community. Quite a story for a self
taught young men who passed through Calcutta and benefited from the jazz culture
of the time ..and proved to the world that jazz musicians from the subcontinent
could be worldclass!.
Melody Maker Jazz
Polls - Guitar
1957 Guitar
1. Ken Sykora (1923 votes)
2. Dave Goldberg (1234)
5. Ivor Mairants (410)
6. Ike Isaacs (324)
10. Cedric West (40)
11. Roy Plummer (31)
1958 Guitar
1. Ken Sykora (49.4%)
4. Dave Goldberg (6.7)
5. Ike Isaacs (6.4)
6 Ivor Mairants (4.2)
10. Roy Plummer (0.7)
1959 Guitar
1. Dave Goldberg (28.0%)
3. Ken Sykora (22.5)
4. Ike Isaacs (6.8)
8. Ivor Mairants(2.2)
The Ike Isaacs International Guitar Competition
Impromptu jam session pose on the Summerfield stand at the British Music Fair,
London c. 1976. Left to right:
Louis Gallo with CSL D Gypsy {sales tag still attached), Ray Gallo (playing an
oval sound hole CSL Gypsy),
Ike Isaacs and Maurice Summerfield on cutaway Electric Ibanez models.
Ike's nephew Australian-based pianist-composer Mark Isaacs
(b. 1958) has pursued a unique and demanding career path that has seen him gain
international acclaim in both jazz and classical music. Such diversity was
nurtured in the crucible of a highly musical family. Mark's father was on
friendly terms with many of the biggest names in jazz. Duke Ellington came for
dinner one time and there were visits from George Benson, Joe Pass, Wes
Montgomery, Barney Kessel
and many others. As Mark grew older he would have informal jams with some of the
famous musicians who would visit the Isaacs household. Mark's father was
an accomplished jazz guitarist and songwriter who had one of his songs recorded
and released by Petula Clark and his mother had been trained as a classical
pianist as well as often singing jazz standards.
Greetings. I found your site while doing research
into my older guitarist brother guitarist Stanley Watson, who was a friend
of Ike's. I remember as a kid Ike and his then girlfriend in my dads sitting
room in Palmers Green North London having wide ranging discussions on life.
Stan died as a result of a traffic accident in 1978 in Portland, Maine
having moved to the States in the sixties. - Regards, R Watson.
"Little
Black Dog" Ken Sykora plays rhythm and Ike Isaacs
on lead guitar with the Guitar Club band is the theme tune for the short British Film The
Bedfordshire Clanger from Five Feet Films, showing at Cannes Film
Festival this year (2007). Very kind regards - Alison Sykora -
Bedfordshire Clanger Theme 'Little Black Dog' with Ike
Isaacs on Lead and Ken Sykora on Rhythm Guitar.
IKE ISAACS by Maurice Summerfield
Ike Isaacs (1919 –1996) was born in Rangoon, Burma.
He started playing the guitar professionally while he was a chemistry
student at university. In 1946 he moved to England, where he freelanced for
many years; and played in the Leslie Douglas Orchestra, the
BBC Show Band led by Cyril Stapleton and with the
Ted Heath Orchestra for 12 years. He was also the resident
guitarist with Chappie D’Amato’s Orchestra at Hatchett’s in
London in 1949 In the mid-1950s, at the age of 16, I was an
aspiring jazz guitarist, and listened every week to BBC Radio ’s
Guitar Club programme. Introduced by Ken
Sykora, the programme featured many leading UK guitarists of the day,
including Ivor Mairants and Ike Isaacs, in
various small groups.
I applied for audience tickets to the BBC for an upcoming broadcast and was
delighted when these arrived. I travelled to London and attended a
marvellous session. At the end I introduced myself to Ike, told him of my
passion for the jazz guitar, and I was delighted to find he was very
friendly and hospitable. He was very keen to help me in any way that he
could – and within a few weeks I was a guest at his Wembley
home for a fabulous curry dinner – prepared by his lovely wife Moira.
We kept in touch and when I extended my family’s business to the
distribution of musical instruments and accessories, in 1964.
I began to see Ike quite frequently. Our friendship grew. I asked his advice
on certain products and used him in demonstrations and to attend
exhibitions. In the 1960s we distributed the Ike Isaacs
string line made by British Music Strings Ltd. In the early
1970’s we published an Ike Isaacs guitar solo book as a promotion for Ibanez
guitars and in the late 1970s we investigated the possibility of producing
an Ibanez Ike Isaacs jazz guitar model. The attached photograph shows Ike
and I in London shortly after I passed on a first sample of his
Ibanez guitar. In the late 1970’s as a founder of the
Guitar Appreciation Society of N.E. England I was pleased to have
the opportunity to present in concert Ike with a very young
Martin Taylor at the Peoples’
Theatre in Heaton. Martin of course initially studied with Ike and still
quotes Ike as a major influence. I first met Barney Kessel
in person at an evening with Ike. Barney lived in London for a year in the
late 1960s early 1970s and lived in apartment rented from
Ike. Barney told me many times that Ike’s knowledge of the guitar
fingerboard was unsurpassed. Ike later recorded and played in concert with
George Chisholm ( 1956) and Barney Kessel ( 1968).
He was a busy studio guitarist and played on dozens of film scores. In
1975 he joined Stephane
Grappelli and the Diz Disley Trio. In the
late 1970’s and early 1980s Ike came to Newcastle several times and was a
guest in my house. By that time he loved to call me his ‘brother’. He gave
an in store demo for Ibanez at Jeavons of Percy Street in the late
1970’s Ike moved to Australia in the 1980s, where
he taught at the Sydney Guitar School. We kept in regular
contact until his death there, of cancer, in 1996.
.
Maurice S.
|
PAUL
VERNON CHESTER
circa 1976 - Phil Bates - Bass, Diz Disley,
Stephane, Ike Isaacs
