Sad to note the passing of one of the giants of British trad jazz, trumpeter Kenny Ball.
Along with Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, we forget these days
how big trad was in the late 1950s and early 60s, easily competing with the
emergent Liverpool sound.
“Midnight in Moscow” and “Samantha” were his biggest hits.
When he left school, he joined the ad agency, J Walter
Thompson, as a messenger, establishing a day job while he built his musical skills
and reputation playing in evenings. I took the same route a few years later,
but with a rather different outcome.
Because he was an “old boy”, he and his band used to be
invited to play each year at JWT’s Dinner and Dance (yes, really) at the Hilton
Hotel in Park Lane.
Happy music. Great for dancing.
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