Binky McKenzie
 |
Binky McKenzie | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Keith Winston McKenzie |
| Also known as | Binky McKenzie |
| Born | 1947/1948 British Guiana |
| Genres | Jazz,blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Years active | 1960s |
Michael Keith Winston"Binky"McKenzieis a former musician. During the 1960s he played and recorded with several musicians such asAlexis Korner,John McLaughlin,Pete Brown,Denny Laine,Vincent CraneandDuffy Power.In 1972 he was convicted for the manslaughter of his parents and brother-in-law and detained atBroadmoor Hospital.
Early life
[edit]His parents were UK immigrants fromGuyana,formerlyBritish Guiana.Accompanied by his mother Edna, he arrived in the UK from British Guiana on 18 April 1950 as a two-year-old infant. His father, Winston McKenzie, was a jazz bass player. His sister, Candy McKenzie, went on to have a successful music career as a backing singer and recorded with a number of artistes includingBob Marley,Leonard Cohen,Whitney HoustonandDiana Ross.[1]
Career
[edit]In late 1966, McKenzie joinedHughie Flintas a memberAlexis Korner'sshort lived bandFree At Last,replacing Cliff Barton on bass guitar. On 31 January 1967, at Philips Studios, Marble Arch, London the trio recorded‘Rosie’.It was released as a single on theFontanarecord label in April 1967 (TF 817). Flint remembered McKenzie as "an amazing guy, very young and undisciplined".[2]
In the mid 1960s, McKenzie became friends withJohn McLaughlin.In January 1967, they played together on theDuffy Powercomposition "Just Stay Blue".[3]McLaughlin recommended McKenzie toMiles Davisdue to his bass playing abilities.[4]McLaughlin composed thejazzbluesnumber "Binky's Beam" as a tribute to McKenzie. It has an unusual 19/8 time signature and featured on McLaughlin's 1969 albumExtrapolation.McLaughlin states in the liner notes “this is dedicated to Binky McKenzie, one of the greatest bass players."
During this period McKenzie was dating Anne Fraser, sister ofAndy Fraserwho went on to become the bass player and songwriter with the groupFree.McKenzie would often visit the Fraser's home in Horndean Close, Roehampton, London. Fraser would leave his own bass guitar lying around the house in the hope that McKenzie would pick it up and play. Fraser always maintained that Binky McKenzie had a significant influence on his own bass playing. In November 2014, Andy Fraser said of McKenzie:
“He was an incredible bass player. And when I say incredible, I mean incredible. He was like the nextJimi Hendrixon bass. But he had some kind of chip on his shoulder and drugs seemed to make it worse. I would listen to him (at home) from the other room and learn all I could, absorb every little thing. He was literally a genius and he was playing with people likeAlexis Korner,taking over fromJack Bruce,and he was like, wow, this guy is something else. His younger brother played guitar and both of them introduced me to lots of other musicians in their area, North London” [5]
McKenzie also recorded sessions withPete Brownduring August 1967 and January 1968.[6]These recordings are held in the archives at theBritish Libraryand include an early version of the track "Politician" which subsequently appeared on theCreamalbum,Wheels of Fire.[7]
Brown later recalled: “I thought he was way ahead of his time. He had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, because at the time, black musicians had a hard time of it. The openings were so few, it didn’t matter how good you were. But he was such an innovator on the bass. Binky did drugs. Not much, just personal use. But his parents got very heavy about it and called the police in (during 1968) and Binky did time. When he came out of the ‘nick’ (prison), he was one very, very angry young man indeed.”[4]
In 1969 McLaughlin also referred to this initial period of incarceration in the liner notes to‘Extrapolation’,saying at the time he felt that Binky had been “unjustly jailed with his brother Bunny”.
Siege at Olive Road
[edit]On Thursday 29 July 1971 at the family home in Cricklewood, North West London, McKenzie went on a violent rampage. He killed his mother Edna, father Winston, and brother-in-law Richard Sims. All victims were stabbed multiple times.[8]His younger sister Candy was also stabbed and seriously injured but survived the attack.[9]
Sentence
[edit]At theOld Baileyin March 1972, McKenzie was found guilty on three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.[10]
References
[edit]- ^"Candy McKenzie".Trojanrecords.com.
- ^Harry Shapiro (7 August 1997). "Alexis Korner: The Biography". Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 145.ISBN978-0-7475316-3-0
- ^"Duffy Power – Just Stay Blue".YouTube.
- ^abPaul Stump (27 September 1999). "Go Ahead John: The Music of John McLaughlin". SAF Publishing Ltd. p. 29.ISBN978-0-9467192-4-2
- ^"ANDY FRASER OF FREE (INTERVIEW)".2 December 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 15 December 2014.Retrieved13 November2020.
- ^"John McLaughlin 1963-67 Recordings Released Subsequently".Bathedinlightning.com.
- ^"Explore the British Library Search - Binky McKenzie".Explore.bl.uk.
- ^Jan Bondeson (28 June 2015). "Murder Houses of Greater London". Matador Publishing Ltd. p. 115.ISBN978-1-7846233-3-3
- ^Derek Godrey (30 July 1971). "CS gas ends siege after triple killing". London Evening News. p. 7.
- ^Archives, The National."The Discovery Service".discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.