Do you have a photograph that triggers a jazz memory for you? Perhaps it would trigger memories for other people too? We'd like to hear from you and the photo doesn't need to be a work of art as long as you can make out the detail. You could either email a JPEG copy of the photo to us or if you would prefer, post it to us and we could copy it, and send the original back to you. (Click here for our contact details).
December 2011 / January 2012
This is not strictly a 'photographic memory', but just as good. Jim Lowe sends it to us saying: 'As an old 'traddie' I enjoyed the article on Johnny Bastable and would like to send the enclosed cartoon to June Bastable. I'm sure that she would remember the cartoonist Diz Disley. Keep swingin'. June was delighted to receive the cartoon. She says that she and Johnny had a copy somewhere, but did not know what had happened to it, she thinks it was 'from around 1959 when Ian and Mac were still in the band'. Jim also said that he would be happy for us to share it on What's New - so here it is. (Click here for our profile of banjo and guitar player Johnny Bastable if you missed it last month).
Diz Disley was a great cartoonist of course, as were a number of other jazz people, Wally Fawkes (Trog) and Al Fairweather to name but two. We are not aware whether there has ever been a printed collection of Dis Dizley's cartoons and would be pleased hear about it if you know. We are not sure either whether his cartoons are located in one place. We are sure that a published collection would be of interest to many people.
November 2011
photograph © Jamie Evans
Jamie Evans discovered these photographs in an old envelope in his desk and says:
'It was a great privilege to be asked to play piano in the band of drummer Lennie Hastings in 1973. Lennie had left the Alex Welsh band through ill health and decided to have a go with his own group.'
'The two pictures show the band in action at Hampton Court Jazz Club. The ensemble picture shows (from left): Martin Taylor (yes, the Martin Taylor aged 15) (guitar), Malcolm Everson (clarinet), Lennie himself, doing his Oo-yah routine, Chris Haskins (bass guitar), Nick Stevenson (trumpet) and Ron Brown (trombone). I am hidden behind Nick and Ron but can be seen in the other picture, resplendent with mutton chop whiskers.'
photograph © Jamie Evans
'The band got a great reception to start, but petered out after a few months as Lennie found it all a bit too much for him to organise. Sadly he died in 1978 at the early age of 53 and he was one of the finest percussionists I ever played with'.
October 2011
Photo courtesy of Austin Hill
Mike Brocking sends this picture taken at the Bun Shop pub in Surbiton. Austin Hill ran the Bun Shop before he set up jazz at the Fighting Cocks with John Fowler. Mick Brocking was part of the scene and at the time was employed at Doug Dobells record shop in London, and got to know a lot of the musicians of that era. Correspondent Ron Drakeford adds that: 'Mike also started to learn the guitar being a Django Rhienhart fan, and by a mere coincidence purchased the 3rd prototype of the Palace Peacock 14 fret Macaferri replica (with original Selmar parts). Prototype 1 went to Pedlar White and prototype 2 was mine. I think we paid around £30 each for them at the time!'
However, our information about the Bun Shop is limited, so perhaps you can help? We understand that the Bun Shop in Berrylands Road, Surbiton eventually changed its name to 'The Brave New World', but people still remember the Oven Club in the Bun Shop's back room (click here for a memory blog). It appears that a number of comedians played early gigs in their careers there too, including Lee Mack, Tim Vine and Jo Brand, and one person has written on another site saying that it was at the Bun Shop that they first saw George Melly.
So, is it you dancing in this photo? And who are the musicians ?
Mick Brocking has spoken to his friends Yvonne Fowler and Austin Hill and we thank them for the following memories:
'Yvonne says that she and her friend Sylvia went to the opening night of jazz at the Bun Shop, which was started by Ian Lichtenfeld (son of Lichtenfeld's Gents Outfitters in Eden Street, Kingston) and his cousin (?) Bernie Jackson. Sylvia lived in a cottage behind Lichtenfelds and Ian's father was her landlord. Yvonne was nervous because she was under-age and they had to go through a bar to get to the back room where the band was playing. This would have been circa 1950-51. Chairs were set out in rows (unlike in the picture). She remembers talking to Denny Coffey, the bass player and thinks that the band was the Christie Brothers Stompers.'
'Austin told me that he, Mick Atkins and Freddie Taylor had been friends since childhood. When called up, Austin and Fred served in the Army overseas but Mike was in the RAF at Hendon and was able to visit all the London Jazz Clubs. On de-mob (Austin in September 1952) Mick introduced them to the fellows running the Bun Shop who wanted out. So in early 1953 the three of them took over, Mick booking the bands. Austin recalls that entrance was half a crown (2s 6p) and that the Mick Mulligan (Magnolia?) band with George Melly charged £8.00 for their appearance. Several different bands played there. (Bill Brunskill is definitely in the picture (dated 1953-54) - Austin remembered some of the faces but not the names). But losses mounted up and in early 1954 they had to stop the sessions.. The three of them then started Jazz at the Fighting Cocks in Kingston (1954 onwards).
Freddie Taylor died some 15 years ago and Mick Atkins on Christmas Eve last year (2010). Austin Hill has lived in Wales for many years.'
'Also, re the notes - I think that we were out of touch at the time so what Ron Drakeford did not know was that my buying prototype 3 of the Palace Peacock 14 fret Maccaferri replica guitar (with original Selmer parts) was actually no coincidence!. Pedlar White, another good friend, was teaching me Django style guitar. Several times about 1970 he took me to see Alf Palace, a wonderful guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who lived up Kingston Hill. In 1948 Alf had won the Grimshaw Award, which was the top award for guitarists. At some stage he had suffered a very bad industrial accident which left him virtually unable to play, but, though in great pain, he would play one (brilliant!) guitar number for us whenever we saw him. He also painstakingly built the replica Maccaferris of which I think he only built four, keeping one for himself. I still cherish my Maccaferri - I also have Alf's vibes.
Incidentally I worked at Dobell's (every jazz fan is born within the sound of Dobell’s) in the early 1960s (great times!).'
September 2011
Ron Drakeford sends us this photograph of Pedlar White and John Bastable playing at Kingston Working Men's Club in the 1960s. Ron will be writing more about Pedlar in his story of jazz in Kingston-on-Thames (see article below) and we shall be writing more about John(ny) Bastable in a future website update. John played banjo with the Ken Colyer band from the summer of 1954 and took over the band when Ken retired from ill health in 1971, renaming it Johnny Bastable's Chosen Six.
We should like to hear from anyone who remembers Johnny and can give us information for the article we are preparing.
August 2011
Banjo player Don Coe who writes below about Bill Brunskill's band has sent us this picture of Brian Taylor's Jazz Band playing a session at the Cy Laurie Club one evening in about 1960. The line up is: Cyril Keefer, clarinet, Brian Taylor, trumpet, Jim Sheppard, trombone, Harry Sowden, bass, Ken Pring drums and Don Coe, banjo.
July 2011
Pianist Jamie Evans has dug into his mouldering archive for this picture of the Alan Cooper Trio in action at the Plough, Clapham Junction, south London, in 1993.
Jamie says: 'Sitting in with the band on that night was Lol Coxhill on straight soprano sax while Coops is on clarinet, Jamie on piano and peeking through the middle in his characteristic straw hat was Ian Howarth (drums). Lol turned up at the Plough quite a few times and his avant garde playing made an unexpectedly pleasing combination with Coops' more traditional approach.'
The Trio played at the Plough for one and sometimes two nights a week for four years (1990-94) but the pub was recently demolished to make way for the inevitable block of flats.
Does anyone else remember The Plough?
Mel Henry remembers does ...:
'I often used to sit in there as it was always an enormous pleasure to play with Alan. The place seemed to attract wierd musos of quite varied styles. I remember particularly the jazz cello playing of an American guy, Stanley Adler, who later went on to run a successful kletzmer group. Jamie Evans runs the Alan Cooper website at alancooper.wetpaint.com. '
June 2011
Dave Bowen sends us this picture of a session at Merlin's Cave. He is not sure of the picture's origin, but says: 'It gives a very good impression of the atmosphere of the Merlin's Cave sessions in the 70s. With Wally Fawkes, John Chilton and Bruce Turner (at the microphone). I believe it has Geoff Kemp on bass and it looks like Eddie Taylor on drums. The pianist is clearly obscured!'
Click here for our page on Merlin's Cave.
May 2011
Jamie Evans sends us this picture of jazz at The Kensington pub in London and says: 'This picture is a little the worse for wear having been pinned to bulletin boards in our house over the years.'
'The Kensington pub in west London was a great centre for jazz and pub rock in the 60s and 70s and the picture (taken in 1969) shows the Ted Wood band which played there on Friday nights. In the foreground, pint at hand, is pianist Jamie Evans and the line-up behind is Terry Thomson (tenor sax), Geoff "Fatty" Brown (trumpet), Malcolm Everson (baritone sax) and Ted himself (vocals). The late Martin Drew did some of the percussion work with the band but sadly, the pictured musicians apart from myself (as of April 2011) have all passed away now. Sandy Brown used to play at the pub as a soloist with a rhythm section and Kilburn and the HighRoads, Ian Dury's outfit, was also one of the pub rock outfits that did the Kensington in its hey-day.'
April 2011
Gerry Salisbury
Richard Nelson sends us this picture taken at Gerry Salisbury's 80th birthday gig at Lakeside Jazz Club in 2009. Richard says:
'Jimmy Hastings is on saxophone, Simon Nelson on cornet beside him, Gerry playing cornet, Phil Brooke on guitar and on drums Mr Bob Doré, a great buddy of Gerry's. On bass was our Latvian wonder, Mr Ivars Galenieks.'
'The story behind the gig is that Gerry and Jimmy had last played together many years earlier when Gerry fell ill on stage. Jimmy, who had been through it himself, recognised the onset of a heart attack and called the ambulance. On his birthday, Gerry quipped that he hoped for better luck this time! The usually sartorially elegant Mr Hastings had left all his gig clothes at home and went on stage in his stripy tee shirt. The young cornetist is my son Simon, Gerry's pupil and biggest fan. Simon has his own band "DixieMix" and Gerry is very proud that Simon has been asked to join a new band called "The Stars of British Jazz" which includes John Benson, Colin Wood and John Crocker amongst others.'
March 2011
Jamie Evans sends us two old newspaper cuttings from 1961.
The first is of the Temperance Seven. Hand-written notes on the cuttings say: 'Benny Cohen (cornet) was depping for Cephas (Howard, trumpet). This was an ITV television show in the Spring/Summer of 1961.
Evidently Paul (McDowell) had not yet walked on to deliver the vocal refrain.'
The second shows Alan Cooper of the Temperance Seven (left) chatting with fellow clarinetist Sandy Brown at the E.M.I. Christmas party in 1961.
The hand-written notes tell us: 'Coop was voted the U.K.'s No 1 clarinetist - Acker Bilk won it in 1962'.
Click here for Jamie's site Alan Cooper Remembered.
February 2011
Here's a great, informal photograph taken by Mike O'Sullivan. Mike says:
'I took this picture of Marshall Royal and Clark Terry at the Nice Jazz Festival in the 1980s, when it was still a proper jazz festival. This was taken next to the Dance Stage at Cimiez.'
Click here for a video of the Count Basie Orchestra in Milan in 1960 featuring Marshall Royal on alto sax playing Young and Beautiful.
January 2011
John Capes sends us this picture taken on a Sunday circa 1965 at Cook's Ferry Inn. John s
ays: 'I did not note the date. The band led by Freddy Randall on trumpet was a pick up group with Lenny Felix piano, George Chisholm trombone, Ian Wheeler (I think) clarinet and Tony Allen drums. They played for a couple of hours that Sunday lunchtime. It looks like night but that is because all curtains were closed and the band was lit with red lighting making it like a darkroom.'
Tony Cash clarifies the question of the clarinet player: 'The Cook's Ferry Inn photo is intriguing: the bearded clarinetist is almost certainly my old, much lamented, friend, Alan Cooper. I didn't know that he'd played with Randall. In 1956, Alan was studying at the Royal College of Art, so any London gig was feasible.'
Gerry Salisbury has also sent us this photograph taken at his club in Norfolk some years ago. Gerry says: 'The people in the picture with me are pianist John Bunch who has played with everybody, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman and so many others, and my very good friend drummer Bob Dore.'
'I remember my first meeting with John Bunch, I was playing at a village hall in Norfolk with a rock and roll band on bass guitar with Bob Dore on drums and Johnny Wilts
hire on guitar, Johnny used to have a group called Johnny Wiltshire and The Trebletones in the 60s and I joined him in about '62. We were with Cliff and the Shadows touring and accompanying artists like The Vernons Girls, and Frank Ifield and Sunday concerts with Adam Faith. Bob Dore has been a rock drummer, big band, and is a 'take-no-prisoners' jazz drummer who swings like nobody's bussiness. I was playing with this rock and roll band and in the interval somebody came up to me and said: 'Have you heard of a guy called John Bunch?' I said: 'Yes, he's a great piano player', and he said: He's just over here'. I got very excited and said: 'Where?', so the fellow introduced me and he was the most charming man you could meet. His wife is editor of Vogue and her father who lived just round the corner had died and left her a big cottage, so I asked him if he would play at my Jazz club and he said, yes he would do it for £100, and the club was packed to the gills. He said he was doing Ronnie's a few nights later.'
John Bunch was born in Indiana in 1921 and died in March last year (click here to sample John's playing from his album John Bunch Solo; click here for more information about him, and click here for an interview with John).
December 2010
Vikki Horder sends us this signed programme from an Eddie Condon concert. Vikki says: 'I can remember seeing Eddie Condon at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester. In those days there were a few rows of seating on the stage and we always used to try and get them.'
'Humphrey Lyttelton was supporting band that evening, we usually met them for a dri
nk afterwards and he introduced me to Eddie. He was funny and made me laugh, he reminded me of James Cagney!! Bruce Turner took a photo of us (three other friends) with all the Eddie Condon band, but I never saw the finished article.'
Vikki Horder's photographic memory reminded Alastair Clark in Scotland of the time Eddie went there during the same tour:
'During that tour, the Condon band played the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. The only man missing from the line-up on stage was Mr E. Condon. It turned out later that Eddie had been inveigled to the bar at the Edinburgh Press Club that night by none other than our local esteemed drummer and journalist, George Crockett, who took the opportunity to introduce Eddie to some of the fine malt whiskies he might have missed. The band played on while Eddie went through an array of Scotches. Actually, he did finally show up and sat in for a few numbers. For just a short while after that, George was not our favourite person, and went into hiding.'
November 2010
In November we shared this picture sent to us by Sandy Pringle. The photograph was taken at the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom in the 1950s.
Sandy says: 'It poses a problem as I cannot remember the names of the musicians! Perhaps someone will recognise them? '
Gerry Salisbury tells us that the trombone player is Geoff Sowdon and the trumpet player, Alan Wickham. Although the clarinet player looks familiar, Gerry can't quite place him.
Alan Wickham says that the clarinet player is Dave Shepherd and the photo was taken in 1951 and was printed in the Melody Maker magazine. It was the Joe Daniels band with Jeff (?), Norman Long on piano and Joe Daniels. This was the front line doing the last chorus.
October 2010
This month's Photographic Memory is not a photograph but a copy of a flyer from Steve Fletcher for the Cy Laurie Jazz Club in 1956. Steve says: 'I have lots of memories of the Cy Laurie club. I spent so many evenings there that eventually the manager gave me a job on the door.'
You can see that in 1956 jazz was on the menu every day of the week from 7.15 pm to 10.45 pm and if you were a member you could get in for 3/- (was that 30p?). We shall be featuring the Cy Laurie club in a future article and so would be pleased to hear from anyone else who remembers it.
(Click here for our page on the Cy Laurie Jazz Club)
September 2010
A couple of years ago, we featured two items about jazz and folk (click here). Discussing how some jazz musicians also performed in folk groups, Alex Balmforth sent us this picture of Alan Lomax and the Ramblers with Bruce Turner and Jim Bray.
Back Row: Alan Lomax, Bruce Turner, Jim Bray, Brian Daly.
Front Row: Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Shirley Collins.
Chris Duff has come across the photograph and writes:
'Regarding the photograph of Alan Lomax and The Ramblers sent to you by my friend, Alex Balmforth, I forwarded the page with the photograph to a good friend of mine in the folk world who knows Shirley Collins well and to my knowledge, has presented her in folk clubs since the 1960s. He tells me he has seen the photo before and can confirm the line-up as Alex states. He is going to forward the page to Shirley to see if she has any comments to make'.
'Sandy Brown was one of my favourite clarinettists. I saw and heard him many times in the '60s and early '70s with Al Fairweather and also as a guest musician. I was involved with the Sussex Jazz Society during much of this time as editor of the monthly newsletter and taking the money at the door at the Fox and Hounds, Haywards Heath, the SJS "headquarters". Sandy came down from London many times to play with Mike Collier and the resident Fourteen Foot Band. Without exception, he played to a full house. Those were the days!'
August 2010
Our thanks to Bunny Austin for this picture of drummer Harry Miller and Joe Harriott standing at the entrance to Cooks Ferry Inn from the car park. The date is somewhere around 1966. Does anyone have information about this Harry Miller? According to John Chilton's records there was another Harry Miller who played bass and cello and who worked with Mike Westbrook, Stan Tracey and many others.
Legendary saxophonist Joe Harriott came to Britain in 1951 from Jamaica, and fortunately for us, decided to stay. Click here for more information about Joe. Click here to sample Joe's album Killer Joe.
July 2010
Not strictly a photogr
aph, but this month Roger Trobridge send us a poster advertising a gig for the Sandy Brown band at Sheffield University. The poster was designed by Harry Kroto. Roger says: 'Harry has a Nobel prize for chemistry but he was always a graphic artist. This poster dates from our time at Sheffield University in the early 1960s.' Harry has the poster hanging in his living room and recalls that he never actually went to the gig: 'I guess someone who was into jazz at Sheffield knew I did posters for Arrows, the University Magazine, and must have asked me to do it. It must have been around 1962-63'.
The poster is typical of a time when the year never seems to have been included in the date. It reflects how popular jazz was on the University campuses, how entry fees were advertised in shillings and pence, and it also shows how the saxophone had become the instrument that signified 'jazz', (Sandy Brown of course was a clarinet player). I am sure that our semiologist readers will have an answer for this?
June 2010
Bunny Austin also sent in this photographic memory and says:
'This picture was taken in the late 1950s when pianist Ron Weedon was married. Matt Monro was a guest and sang with our quartet which included George Cox, a very fine pianist. One of the guests had a reel-to-reel tape recorder and taped Matt singing with the band - someone has a collector's item!'
L-R: Matt Monro, Mr & Mrs Weedon, Bunny Austin
May 2010
Trumpeter Bunny Austi
n sends us this photographic memory from circa 1964. Taken at the Rugby Club near the Cooks Ferry Inn Jazz Club, Edmonton, North London, the names of the players are all shown on the picture. Bunny says: 'This was actually the drummer Harry Miller's band, Harry was formerly with Freddy Randall, but in this photograph Colin Bowden is on drums. The alto player, Jack Jacobs, was in fact an Air Commodore.' (Click on the picture for a larger image). Photo © Bunny Austin
April 2010
Sandy Pringle has sent us another picture, this time of Joe Daniels' Hot Shots. Sandy says: 'I was very interested to see that the photo of Sid 
Phillips brought back some memories for some people.
Gerry Salisbury mentioned the Joe Daniels Hot Shots so I thought he might like to see this photo of Joe Daniels at the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom.'
Drummer Joe Daniels was born in South Africa in 1908. His musical career began in the early 1920s and by the 1930s he was recording and broadcasting with his band the Hot Shots. After the Second World War he continued to play in various groups and made more recordings, sometimes under the name of Joe Daniels Jazz Group which included musicians such as Dave Shepherd, Don Lusher, Tony Coe and Vic Ash (click here for record reviews) and Washboard Joe and the Scrubbers. Joe died in 2003. (Click here for more about Joe).
Photo © Sandy Pringle
March 2010
Sandy Pringle has sent us this photograph of Freddy Randall marching his band's front line round the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom in the 1950s playing 'The Saints'. Freddy was born in Clapton, East London in 1921. He taught himself to play trumpet and never learned to read music but he became a significant player in the traditional jazz scene.
He retired in 1958, but returned to playing in 1963, and again in 1972 working with clarinettist Dave Shepherd. Freddy died in 1999. (Click here for more about Freddy).
Photo © Sandy Pringle
February 2010
Sandy Pringle sent us this picture of Sid Phillips playing at Aberdeen's Beach Ballroom in the 1950s. I
sador Simon 'Sid' Phillips was born in London in 1907. He played and arranged for Bert Ambrose's Orchestra, formed his own quartet in 1946 and led a band from 1949 that included at various times George Shearing, Colin Bailey, Tommy Whittle and Kenny Ball. Sid died in 1973. We linked to a video (Click here) of Sid Phillips and his band playing 'I Found A New Baby' in 1955 and said: 'Kenny Ball is the trumpet player on the video but who are the others?'
Dave Keir writes: 'I did a short spell with the Sid Phillips band during Kenny Ball's time and if I remember correctly, the trombonist before me was Norman Cave and the two sax players were Cyril Glover (alto sax) and George Bayton (tenor). Alma Cogan was the female vocalist and her husband of the time was on drums, but I do not remember the names of the rhythm section players.'
Gerry Salisbury concurs: 'The trombone player in the video clip with Kenny is Norman Cave. He played with Freddy Randall and there was an argument with the result that every member of the band left en masse and Norman formed a band with myself playing Freddy's part. I did two weeks at the Theatre Royal, Dublin with that band. The other picture at the Beach Ballroom has another old mate of mine on trumpet, Alan Whickham, and I would love to know if he is still with us, we had a mutual admiration for each other . He was a very loud player and liked a little drink and when he was on form he was unbeatable - and before I forget it, he played with Joe Daniels Hotshots.'
Norman Simpson adds: 'On the identity of the musos on Sid Phillips's "I've Found A New Baby" .. if the recording date is indeed 1955, the front line is: Kenny Ball, Norman Cave (trombone) - after his first spell with Sid, Kenny joined Norman Cave's band, but Kenny rejoined Sid in November '54 taking Cave with him, and both were with Sid throught 1955 - Cy Glover (alto sax), Frank Freeman (tenor sax) - both reed players were with Sid for most of 1955. The rhythm section are, like all good rhythm sections, invisible.'
So, there we have it - except for a difference of opinion as to whether it was George Bayton or Frank Freeman on tenor sax.
Photo © Sandy Pringle
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