b. Jeffrey Ovid Clyne, 29 January 1937, London, England. An admirer of Scott La Faro, Eddie Gomez, Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke, Clyne is a versatile performer on the electric and conventional basses and was much in demand throughout the 60s and 70s for his ability to contribute to a wide range of styles. He fitted in equally comfortably with the fusion of Turning Point or the free experimentalism of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME). He is primarily self-taught, although he did spend some time studying with orchestral players and, like the majority of British players of this vintage, gained valuable experience during his National Service in the mid-50s. After spells with Tony Crombie’s Rockets and Stan Tracey he joined the Jazz Couriers, co-led by tenor saxophonists Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes, in 1958. Clyne’s association with Hayes continued for the next 10 years or so, but he also worked with a whole string of influential bands during the following two decades. He was an original member of the SME, and a partner in its sister band, Trevor Watts’ Amalgam. In the mid-60s he worked with Tracey again, his warm sound contributing much to 1965’s acclaimed Jazz Suite Inspired By Under Milk Wood. After taking up the bass guitar Clyne became a founder member of Ian Carr’s Nucleus, from 1969-71. Turning Point was founded with Pepi Lemer in 1976. He has also worked with Gary Boyle’s Isotope, Alan Gowen’s Gilgamesh, John McLaughlin, Tony Oxley, Keith Tippett’s Centipede, Dudley Moore, Blossom Dearie, Norma Winstone, Lucky Thompson, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Phil Lee, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis, and the London Jazz Composers Orchestra.