Archibald Stuart Nisbet "Archie" Semple (1 March 1928 – 26 January 1974) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

clarinetist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

, active principally within the

trad jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a revival ...

idiom.

Biography

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. Semple played locally in Edinburgh at the start of his career, often with his trumpeter brother John. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, and led several of his own bands before joining

Mick Mulligan Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan (24 January 1928 – 20 December 2006) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene. Biography He was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England. Mulligan began playing t ...

in 1952.Archie Semple Biography
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

'' Retrieved 26 May 2020. He then worked with

Freddy Randall Frederick James 'Freddy' Randall (6 May 1921 – 18 May 1999) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Clapton, East London. Biography Born in Clapton, East London at the age of just 18 Randall led the St. Louis Four in 1939, ...

during the 1953–54 season and then with Roy Crimmins and

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

from 1955 to 1963, becoming one of Welsh's most important sidemen. He recorded as a leader in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well, but retired due to health problems caused by heavy drinking in the middle of the decade. His influences included

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

and

Pee Wee Russell Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet. With a highly individualistic and s ...

. He has been regarded as a 'very distinctive player with a rich and quirky musical imagination'. Many regarded Semple as a strong presence on the British traditional jazz scene at the time. He made very few recordings under his own name, although a session was recorded which comes mainly from the archives of the

77 Records 77 Records was a British record company and label established in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of 'Dobell's Jazz Record Shop' at 77 Charing Cross Road, London. The label specialised in folk, blues, and jazz. Several British jazz musici ...

label, a British record company and label set up in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of 'Dobell's Jazz Record Shop' at 77 Charing Cross Road, London. Five LPs were released under his name, the first in 1960 being ''Jazz for young lovers'' recorded on Columbia, then in 1962 the LP ''The Archie Semple Quarter'' (77/LP/10) of which only 100 copies were pressed on 10" vinyl. A further two LPs also recorded in 1962 on Columbia were ''Easy Living'' and ''The Twilight Cometh'' with the last ''The Clarinet of Archie Semple'' recorded in 1964 with Fred Hunt on piano and Dick Hawdon on trumpet (77 LEU 12/6). Due to a low number pressed, they did not enjoy wide circulation which helped Semple's 'cult status'. In 1964, whilst on the stage of the Richmond Jazz Festival, Semple suffered a catastrophic nervous breakdown. Semple retired from playing aged 36 in 1965 and died in penury, from chronic alcoholism, nine years later in London aged 45 in January 1974.Profile and History Archie Semple
''Sandybrownjazz.co.uk'' Retrieved 26 May 2020.

References

Other sources

*Clarrie Henry, "Archie Semple". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Semple, Archie 1928 births 1974 deaths Scottish jazz clarinetists Musicians from Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish musicians