He was a saxophonist, vibraphonist and jazz pianist born in Wallasey, Cheshire to a family where both his father and grandfather were both professional musicians.
When he was a child he performed drums on a talent show with the jazz musician Victor Feldman and when he was 12 years old he started playing the alto saxophone.
From 1954 to 1956 he played in the army with the jazz bassist Jeff Clyne and after service performed on cruise ships and local bands. He moved to London and recorded and toured with the Vic Ash Sextet in 1958. The following year he worked in the recording studio with the drummer Tony Kinsey and in 1960 went on a tour of Japan with the bandleader Stanley Black.
In the 1960s he sometimes played vibraphone and piano with John Dankworth from 1960 over several years and in the middle of the ’60s he became a member of Harry South’s band and performed at Ronnie Scott’s club as well as being a sideman to Tubby Hayes in 1964 and to Stan Tracey from 1966 to 1968. In 1966 he performed saxophone as a session musician on “Got to Get You Into My Life” by The Beatles and the following year was a sideman to the saxophonist Paul Gonsalves.
The 1970s came around and he toured Europe with Stan Getz in and worked with the saxophonist Ben Webster in 1970. He played with the Lamb-Premru group around 1971 and was sideman to the clarinettist Albert Nicholas in 1973. In 1977 he was the leader with sidemen Tony Kinsey and Tony Coe on the album The Day I Met the Blues.
Recordings he performed on are many and a select few include his own Swingin’ on the Sound Stage by Alan Branscombe & Friends along with Shakespeare and All That Jazz by John Dankworth, Sound Venture by Georgie Fame, Humming Bird by Paul Gonsalves, Acropolis by Ian Hamer, Helter Skelter by Joe Harriott, Tubb’s Tours by Tubby Hayes, Big Band Themes Remembered Vol. II by Ted Heath, Ridin’ High: The British Sessions 1960-71 by Cleo Laine, Is That What You Want? by Jackie Lomax, Remember My Song by Labi Siffre, The Latin-American Caper by Stan Tracey, Webster’s Dictionary by Ben Webster, Windmill Tilter by Kenny Wheeler and The Height Below by John Williams along with many others. He was also a musician in the 1968 short film Jazz Calendar and the 1971 TV movie The Visitation.
He died in hospital in London, England in 1986 when he was 50 years old.
The Beatles Recordings
Got to Get You Into My Life (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Capitol, 4274, S45-X45624 (US 45 PS)
He plays the piano here…
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Branscombe
- http://henrybebop.co.uk/branscmb.htm
- https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Alan%20Branscombe
- https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/artist/alan-branscombe/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9594092/