Gordon "Jazz" Summers (15 March 1944 – 14 August 2015) was a British

music manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-day ...

. He managed acts such as

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

the Verve The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member in ...

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

and

Klaxons Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles " Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut ...

. With

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

, he co-managed

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

and is credited with having enabled them to break into the United States market in 1985 and to go on to become the first western pop group to tour China.

Early years

Summers was sent to Gordon Boys (a military school in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

) at the age of 12 and enlisted in the army at the age of 15.Obituary
telegraph.co.uk; accessed 17 August 2015. He served as a radiographer in Hong Kong and Malaysia. In 1986, he and Tim Parry founded

Big Life Big Life was a record label established in 1987 by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry. It featured hundreds of releases from artists such as The Orb, Stare, Yazz, Junior Reid, Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Mat ...

, a music management company. The two men also operated Big Life Records. Among his other music-related interests was his role as chairman of the Music Managers Forum.

Personal life

Summers was married four times; his third wife was the pop singer

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is an English pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single "The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population. Career Yazz was born i ...

, whom he also managed. He refuted allegations about his conduct, saying "I’ve never burned a venue to the ground. I've never even hit an A&R man. I locked one in a cupboard once, as punishment for some racism and sexism." His autobiography, ''Big Life'', was published in September 2013.

Posthumous tributes

Summers died on 14 August 2015 after suffering from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

for two years. He was survived by his wife Dianna, and three daughters. After his death, tributes were made on Twitter by Tim Burgess, The Futureheads,

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

and

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

References

External links

Profile
biglifemanagement.co.uk; accessed 17 August 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Jazz 1944 births 2015 deaths Deaths from lung cancer British music industry executives British music managers Place of birth missing Place of death missing