Dave MacRae | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Scott MacRae |
| Born | (1940-04-02)2 April 1940 (age 84) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz-rock |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Website | joyyates-davemacrae |
David Scott MacRae (born 2 April 1940,Auckland, New Zealand)[1] is a New Zealandkeyboardist, noted for his contributions injazz andjazz rock, and his collaborations with musicians from theCanterbury scene.
MacRae studied at theNew South Wales Conservatorium of Music and then worked inAustralia in the 1960s as an arranger forFestival Records. He moved to the United States in 1969, playing withexperimental groups inLos Angeles before joiningBuddy Rich's ensemble in 1970. He relocated toLondon in 1971, working that year with jazz musiciansClark Terry,Chet Baker,Jon Hendricks andGil Evans.
From 1972 to 1980 he was the musical director forThe Goodies, arranging and producing the music for seasons 3 to 8 of thetelevision series of the same name, and arranging and performing on theirfive studio albums.[1] MacRae's wife Joy Yates was a backing vocalist on several of the songs, with both appearing on camera inThe Goodies – Almost Live. He worked closely withBill Oddie on the music and together they wrote their most successful song, "The Funky Gibbon", which peaked at number 4 on theUK Singles Chart in 1975.[2]
In 1971, he was briefly with a group calledCaparius before he joinedMatching Mole, where he remained until 1972.[1] In March 1973, he recorded for theLabyrinth album withIan Carr's groupNucleus.[1] Concurrently he played inElton Dean's band, Just Us. He played inWMWM andGiles Farnaby's Dream Band in 1973 and did session work forBack Door in 1974, but left Nucleus around this time to concentrate on his own project calledPacific Eardrum, which he led with his wifeJoy Yates until 1979.[1] He continued working with Canterbury musicians such asRobert Wyatt,Mike Gibbs, andRichard Sinclair through the 1970s.
In the 1980s, MacRae worked briefly with False Alarm, a band led byAllan Holdsworth, which eventually becameI.O.U. with the addition of vocalistPaul Williams;[3] and then played in a reconstituted version ofSoft Machine in 1984.[1] During the 15 years he spent in the U.K., MacRae also worked withRonnie Scott,Clifford Jordan,Annie Ross,Cliff Richard, andScott Walker, and as musical director toThe Goodies television show[4] from series six/1976.
He returned to Australia later in 1984, and played in theSydney area withBernie McGann and Ronnie Scott.
He is the father of singerJade MacRae.[5]
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