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15 - 24 November 2024

#wearejazz

Tributes to John Cumming

The Serious family is saddened by the loss of one of its founders John Cumming – a much-loved colleague and friend.

John loved jazz, theatre and especially his family. He met the love of his life, his wife Ginnie, when they were studying at Edinburgh University, and they had a daughter, Kate.

From the late 1960s, he worked primarily in theatre as a director, lighting designer and occasional writer. As well as designing lights for Lindsay Kemp and the Welfare State, he co-founded the Pool Theatre in Edinburgh. Although he is celebrated for his work in music, it was that sense of theatre that drove him to create inspiring festivals and produce extraordinary musical collaborations.

John joined South Hill Park Arts Centre in 1973 to run the theatre and music programmes, and started the Bracknell Jazz Festival, building it into an international platform for contemporary jazz and improvised music. Turning freelance in 1977, he worked as a production and tour manager for Contemporary Music Network in the UK, and internationally for George Russell (creating the Anglo-American Living Time Orchestra), Carla Bley and Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra. He programmed the Camden Jazz Week and continued to work as lighting designer for the Albany Empire, IOU Theatre Company and Mike Westbrook.

In the mid-80s, he founded Serious Productions with John Ellson, working with Orphy Robinson, Andy Sheppard and John Surman. David Jones joined them to form Serious Speakout in 1992 and they launched what has become one of the world's great music festivals, the EFG London Jazz Festival. In 1996, Claire Whitaker joined, and they formed Serious as it is known today.

John loved pushing at the boundaries of jazz, reclaiming and underlining the radical inspiration of the music and exploring links with hip-hop and dance culture. He was close to so many major American artists, including Cecil Taylor, Max Roach, Jack DeJohnette and Robert Glasper, but he was particularly passionate about the creative forces inside European jazz. He touched many lives in the UK jazz scene and it gave him great satisfaction that he lived to see a new generation of jazz musicians delighting huge audiences.

John was at his best when he worked closely with colleagues and partners, sharing ideas, drinks, enthusiasms and elliptical Scottish jokes ("What is a Partick Thistle?" asked one bemused tour manager), and helping Serious to develop younger producers who have gone on to work across the world. He received Awards for Services to Jazz at both the BBC Jazz Awards and the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, and in 2014 he was made an OBE for Services to Jazz.

John stepped back from Serious last year, but he stayed connected right to the end. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was working on the European tour of his last international production, Harlem Hellfighters, which featured a new generation of young musicians from Tomorrow's Warriors working with Jason Moran. Combining film, literature, theatre and a dazzling range of black music, it was a complex and thrilling piece - a final statement by an inspiring producer who was loved by everyone who knew him.

Everyone at Serious sends all our love to Ginnie, Kate and his family.

In John's own words...

2017: Gilles Peterson interviews John on Worldwide FM's Brownswood Basements about where his love of jazz originated, anecdotes from his career, and his selected tracks. Listen from 1:04:00

2017: 'Jazz is a living, breathing entity' John celebrates EFG London Jazz Festival's 25th anniversary in this MusicWeek interview

2017: Listen to John on Robert Elms' Listen Londoner here2013: John chats to Jazz FM about the growth of EFG London Jazz Festival into one of the largest pan-city music events, plus some track selections in this standalone audio interview2012: John reveals highlights from his own record collection in this interview with Record Collector

A newly released chat with jazz pianist Ethan Iverson can be read here

Tributes have been flooding in to celebrate John.
Below are some of the articles and posts

'His own tireless curiosity and sharp perception made him responsive to the earliest tremors in the music’s tectonic plates: he was, as all great arts festival directors must be, not just a connoisseur of the past but a friend to the new' [The Guardian]

'The word ‘hang’ could have been made for him- that’s how he achieved so much- by hanging out with musicians, agents, managers, promoters- as friends' 
[Ros Rigby, London Jazz News]

Many touching words from colleagues, partners, musicians, and friends, gathered by former Serious colleague and Arts & Parts Director Martel Ollerenshaw, can be found here

'His warmth, wit, and generous admiration for creative artists from unknowns to global celebrities means that many who had the pleasure of knowing him will hear the news as a personal loss, as if he were family'  [John Fordham, Jazzwise]

Ian Shaw hosts on Ronnie Scott's Radio including a John Cumming tribute with a quote from Guy Barker and a clip from John talking about Betty Carter [Listen from 23 minutes here]

Present and past Presidents of the Europe Jazz Network, all of whom were dear friends and colleagues of John, can be found here

View this post on Instagram

Dear John Cumming ... You were one of the most amazing characters in this large realm of “Jazz”. Larger than life. Always humble, hanging in a corner. A lot of times people didn’t know who you were, what you did and you would have a conversation about anything and everything. For so many artists, just like me, at a rare moment in time, you stepped into our lives and changed it for the better. You and the @seriouslivemusic team gave us a stage to express ourselves. You provoked encounters that would have never happened otherwise. The way you handled your friendships with the artists, managers, PR were for me, unparalleled. You would show up at gigs of folks just starting out and lend a ear a recommendation. You made time to listen to new projects. You also had the best stories. Goodness you could tell a story. You are so loved. Hundreds of artists thank you and your love for music, thousands of audience members thank you and the vision you had with #JohnEllson and the Serious team to create the @londonjazzfest You always reached out. And you always kept it real. I will miss the hangs with you. I am sure I will stumble upon some pictures... And I am sure that there are going to be a lot of great #JohnCumming stories told. They don’t make’em like you anymore. They really don’t. My deepest condolences to your family, close and far. Picture 1 from @gillespeterson @worldwide.fm Picture 2 from @jumokef #johncumming #thisonereallyhithard #thepeoplebehindthescene

A post shared by @chinamoses (@chinamoses) on

'John was a true titan of the jazz scene, not only as a founder of the London Jazz Festival and Serious but also a person who tirelessly promoted and shone the brightest spotlights on the live jazz.' (Emile Holba) [Read here with photos]

'John leaves great achievements; he played a major role, probably the major role, creating an international jazz scene in London and a touring network of British and international artists in the major UK venues'
(Tony Dudley Evans) [Read here]

Thank you for your kind words on our own posts below

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