Ike Isaacs (December 1, 1919 – January 11, 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. He was best known for his work with violinist Stéphane Grappelli.
Ike Isaacs was born into a musical family in Rangoon, Burma. A selftaught musician, he started on piano at an early age and was influenced by his brother Maurice, who played classical violin. He discovered a natural affinity with chordsequences when he decided to play the guitar which his uncle had in the house. He and his three brothers heard swing musicians such as Benny Goodman when they listened to American jazz broadcasts on shortwave radio.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and intended to become a petroleum technologist. When the Second World War broke out and the Japanese occupied Burma, he was evacuated to India with the Japanese occupation of Burma where he he chose to pursue a career in music joining Reuben Solomon’s Jive Boy’s who were one of the hottest bands in Rangoon. Isaacs went from Calcutta to Mussoorie where he played in a hotel.
During the war Ike jammed with musicians from the British Army. Through a friend in bomber command he was offered a job in Britain, where he arrived in 1946. Whilst in the UK he worked as a chemist and played with the Leslie Douglas Orchestra. In the late 40s he was a busy session musician, very active in studio work and playing in all manner of musical styles although his first love was for jazz. He freelanced, playing radio shows and leading his own small groups and was a notable player on both acoustic and electric guitars. In 1949 he was also the resident Guitarist with Chappie D’Amato’s Orchestra at Hatchett’s in London.
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| Ike with Jack Llewellyn & Burt Weedon |
In the 1950s he led his own quartet for the BBC’s weekly Guitar Club, where he was able to work with many distinguished musicians, amongst them the young John McLaughlin. For the 30 years after World War II Ike Isaacs was one of the leading studio musicians in England. He worked with the Ted Heath band for 12 years, and was a founder member of the BBC Showband, led by Cyril Stapleton. He featured in Braden’s Weeks & the Max Bygrave’s Show. He also worked with George Chisholm, John Barry, Frank Sinatra and Barney Kessel to name but a few.
Here’s “Autumn Leaves” from above LP
Ike made several albums, the first leading a little-known sextet for the Morgan label in 1966. Others were a number of light music recordings. Isaacs was promoting Burns Supersound Guitars and Amps back then and he collaborated with Gordon Toland and Cedric on his popular album “The Sounds of Guitar.” Another favourite was “Ike Isaacs Lutes & Flutes – The Music of Michel Le Grand” (which sold over 200,000 copies) and an album Fourteen Great TV Themes, which was played by a choir of six and 12-string guitars. 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.
Ike Isaacs is probably best-known for his work with the violinist Stephane Grappelli. In 1975 he had a call from Diz Disley, who is credited with reintroducing Grappelli to the British music scene, and this led to Ike joining Grappelli for two-and-a-half years, from 1976-79. The group played in Europe and the USA, but it was on a tour of Australia, where Ike caught up with an old friend, the classical guitarist Peter Calvo, who ran what was then the Sydney School of Guitar. Calvo offered him the job of setting up the school’s jazz department, and Ike and his wife Moira arrived in Sydney in 1981.
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| Ike with Stephan & Co. |
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s Ike Isaacs was a much-loved member of the Sydney jazz community, and an inspiration to Sydney guitarists, both emerging and established. He performed occasionally, including several tours with the British guitarist Martin Taylor, and continued to teach at the Sydney School of Guitar (which became the Australian Institute oof Music in 1987) until 1992. That same year he issued the CD Intimate Interpretations, produced by his nephew, the well-known Sydney classical/jazz musician and composer Mark Isaacs.
After a courageous battle with cancer he died on January 11, 1996 in Sydney, Australia
(Edited from Static1, Gypsy Jazz UK & Wikipedia)