Archie Semple

Who was Archie Semple?

Archibald Stuart Nisbet "Archie" Semple was a Scottish jazz clarinetist active principally within the trad jazz idiom.

Semple played locally in Edinburgh at the start of his career, often with his trumpeter brother John. Semple led several of his own bands before joining Mick Mulligan in 1952. He then worked with Freddy Randall in 1953-54, Roy Crimmins and Alex Welsh from 1955 to 1963, becoming one of Welsh's most important sidemen. He recorded as a leader in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well, but retired due to health problems in the middle of the decade. His influences included Edmond Hall and Pee Wee Russell.