The gargantuan drug habit of drummer Phil Seamen, who died in 1972 aged just 46, often overshadowed the Burton-on-Trent-born man’s glorious playing. But with a new compilation The Late Great Phil Seamen set for release on the Dutch Sharp Wood label next month all this is set to change because some of the best moments of his career are gathered together on a single CD for the first time.

Some of the key moments of the album include his gutsy work with tenorist Dick Morrissey on Jimmy Witherspoon song ‘Times Getting Tougher’; ‘Free’ with Stan Tracey unusually playing vibes, as well as Joe Harriott’s ‘Abstract’ with Seamen joining the great Jamaican saxophonist, trumpeter Shake Keane, bassist Coleridge Goode and pianist Pat Smythe on the track taken from the classic Jazzland album, Free Form.

Inspired by hearing Gene Krupa play on records with the Benny Goodman band, Seamen went on to work with every big name in British modern jazz from the late-1940s onwards, including Jack Parnell, Ronnie Scott in the mid-50s, Vic Ash, Victor Feldman, Don Rendell, Dizzy Reece, the Jazz Couriers, Tubby Hayes and altoist Joe Harriott from 1960-62. Later in the 60s Seamen became the resident drummer at Ronnie Scott’s club, playing with many US stars including Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard and Roland Kirk.

Fast, strong and supple with the ability to pull the listener into the heart of his energising bebop lines, the CD compiled by producer Michael Baird, is a reminder of a great musician in his prime about whom Sonny Rollins when recalling his days at Ronnie Scott’s in the 60s told Jazzwise recently: “We had a lot of fun with Phil, and all the guys”. Cream drummer Ginger Baker, who Seamen taught, in the sleeve notes to the album says: “There were few drummers in the world who could come close to Phil Seamen.”

Released next month the album will surely confirm Baker’s opinion of Seamen’s playing and alert a new generation to a talent which burned bright for the short period of his life but whose recorded legacy lingers long. Read November’s Jazzwise for Jack Massarik’s detailed account of the highs and lows of Seamen’s career.

– Stephen Graham