Alastair Robertson, who championed jazz from both sides of the Atlantic through his Hep Records label, has died at the age of 83.
A former art teacher who turned his love of big band jazz into a flourishing business, Alastair founded Hep in 1974 after securing the rights to transcription recordings of some of his favourite bands.
He released albums by Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, Andy Kirk, Boyd Raeburn, Sam Donahue and Slim and Slam (singer-guitarist Slim Gaillard and bassist Slam Stewart) before adding a more contemporary side to the label.
Turning his hand to record production, Alastair encouraged British musicians including pianist Eddie Thompson, saxophonist Bobby Wellins and trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar and although he particularly enjoyed working with the musicians of his own era, he also released albums by younger players including saxophonists Tommy Smith and Bobby Watson and trumpeter Robert Mazurek, whom he heard during a residency at the Edinburgh Fringe. The pianist Jessica Williams was another musician whom Alastair felt deserved greater attention.
One of Alastair’s favourite achievements was the rediscovery of saxophonist Don Lanphere, whose playing Alastair knew from his time with Woody Herman. Lanphere had fallen into drug addiction but with Alastair’s support he returned with half a dozen top quality albums, beginning with the energetic, brilliantly accomplished From Out of Nowhere. Lanphere with Alastair's help, briefly formed a live partnership with British trumpeter Guy Barker.
Saxophonists Spike Robinson, Herb Geller and Joe Temperley were other favourites Alastair got behind and he was proud to have the Glaswegian guitarist Jim Mullen and singer, Tina May, who Alastair rated as "the best", on his label. A live album by Irish guitarist Louis Stewart, which was recorded at the Tron in Edinburgh when Alastair seized the opportunity to capture another musician he greatly admired, was another source of pride.
A particular memory of Alastair is the enormous gramophone horn that seemed to take up virtually a whole room in his top floor flat in London Street, Edinburgh and on which he used to listen to 78 rpm records, although he was also a stickler for good sound quality on the vinyl albums and later CDs that he supervised.