1978 – Night Flight
Bruce Cassidy – trumpet, flugelhorn & EVI
Murray Anderson – guitar
Hylton Reiff – bass guitar & percussion
I met guitarist Murray Anderson through Mike Lichtman, as the two were neighbours in Cape Town. In 1978, Murray and trumpeter Bruce Cassidy were looking for a bass player for a regular Sunday afternoon jazz gig at the Newlands Hotel, and I was invited to join them.
This was another new musical direction for me. After the progressive and technically demanding music I had been playing with Orbit, Night Flight gave me the opportunity to explore jazz more seriously and to play alongside two highly accomplished musicians.
Bruce was an exceptional trumpet and flugelhorn player who had previously played with Blood, Sweat & Tears. He was also an early adopter of electronic wind instruments and played an EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), a synthesizer controlled using trumpet-style valves. At the time, it was unlike anything I had encountered before.
Playing jazz with Bruce and Murray was both challenging and inspiring. The music demanded a different approach to bass playing — listening closely, reacting to the other musicians and becoming comfortable with improvisation rather than simply playing predetermined arrangements.
Recordings from Night Flight
Fortunately, I managed to capture a number of recordings from this period. They include jazz standards and extended performances that preserve the relaxed, improvisational character of those Sunday afternoon sessions at the Newlands Hotel.
Among them are Rock Island, Cape Town at Night, Are You Going With Me, Suzy, Spindrift, Spanish Wine, Scrapple from the Apple, Minions, In a Sentimental Mood, Footprints, Carnoustie and April Joy.
Looking back, Night Flight broadened my musical horizons yet again. Playing with musicians of this calibre exposed me to a more sophisticated approach to harmony, improvisation and musical interaction, and added another important dimension to my development as a bass player.
