Geoff travels to London’s West End to catch up with the legendary jazz guitarist Jim Mullen. 

The conversation offers a masterclass in authentic musical development as Jim recounts his journey from Glasgow's jazz clubs to becoming one of Britain's most distinctive guitarists. Approaching his 80th birthday, he reflects on the transformative experiences that shaped his musical identity – witnessing jazz titans like John Coltrane, Ray Brown, and the Oscar Peterson Trio in his hometown during the 1960s.

What sets Jim Mullen apart is his entirely self-developed approach. Never formally taught, he developed his unique playing style through necessity and intuition. Being left-handed but playing a right-handed guitar led to his signature thumb technique, creating a warm, vocal tone that has become his hallmark. "When you play with your thumb, you can only play downstroke," he explains, revealing how this limitation forced creative solutions that ultimately defined his sound.

Jim’s philosophy on improvisation proves particularly illuminating. Unlike many jazz musicians, he never transcribed solos, believing it would trap him in others' vocabularies. Instead, he focused on capturing the essence of players he admired while developing his own melodic approach. "Improvising a solo is really trying to invent an alternative melody," he shares, emphasising continuity of ideas over technical display. By way of example, he improvises to the 1950s Marvin Fisher/Jack Segal standard ‘When Sunny Gets Blue’ accompanied by the Quartet jazz playalong app of course.

The conversation explores his pivotal role in developing British jazz-funk with saxophonist Dick Morrissey, creating a groundbreaking sound that attracted diverse audiences and influenced a generation of musicians. Now in his musical maturity, Jim has embraced jazz standards over complex original compositions, finding profound expression in simplicity: "A good tune does half the work for you."

Whether you're a jazz aficionado, guitarist, or simply appreciate stories of authentic artistic development, this episode offers rare insights from a musician who carved his own path through jazz history. Subscribe to hear more of them. 

Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.