Kenneth Colyer (18 April 1928 – 8 March 1988) was an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter and

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

ist, devoted to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

interludes.

Biography

He was born in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England, but grew up in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, London, and served as a member of his church choir. When his elder brother Bill (1922–2009) went off to serve in World War II he left his jazz records behind, which influenced Ken Colyer. He joined the Merchant Navy at 17, travelled around the world and heard famous jazz musicians in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In the UK, Colyer played with various bands and joined, in 1949, the Crane River Jazz Band (CRJB), with Ben Marshall, Sonny Morris, Pat Hawes, John R. T. Davies, Julian Davies, Ron Bowden and

Monty Sunshine Monty Sunshine (9 April 1928 – 30 November 2010) was an English jazz clarinettist, who is known for his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959. During his career, Sunshine worked w ...

. The band played at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

on 14 July 1951 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth. Parts of that group merged with other musicians including Keith Christie and Ian Christie to form the Christie Brothers' Stompers. Colyer rejoined the Merchant Navy, jumped ship in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, and travelled to New Orleans, where he played with his idols in George Lewis' band. He was offered the job of lead trumpeter on a tour, but was caught by the authorities, detained and deported. Colyer was invited to take the trumpet lead for the Chris Barber Band and so formed the first line-up of Ken Colyer's Jazzmen:

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, Ron Bowden (born Ronald Arthur Bowden, 22 February 1928, Fulham, London),

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

and Jim Bray (born James Michael Bray, 24 April 1927, Richmond, Surrey). They made their first recordings on Storyville in 1953. Colyer and the others parted company in 1954, each claiming in later years to have fired the other. The next, brief, band in the mid-1950s featured Bernard "Acker" Bilk on clarinet and Ed O'Donnell on trombone. Then followed Colyer's band with what is seen today as its classic line-up: Mac Duncan (trombone), Ian Wheeler (clarinet), Johnny Bastable (banjo), Ron Ward (bass) and Colin Bowden (drums), later joined by

Ray Foxley Raymond Geoffrey Foxley (28 December 1928 – 6 July 2002) was a British jazz pianist. Foxley was born in Birmingham, England. He led his own bands from 1946, including the Gutbucket Six, the Gully Low Stompers and the Levee Ramblers. After settl ...

(piano). This band played together until the early 1960s when the new front-line featured, at various times,

Sammy Rimington Samuel Rimington (born 29 April 1942, in Paddock Wood, Kent, England), is an English jazz reed player. He has been an active Dixieland, New Orleans jazz revivalist since the late 1950s. Rimington played with Barry Martyn in 1959. He became a pr ...

and Tony Pyke (clarinet), Graham Stewart and Geoff Cole (trombone), Bill Cole (bass) and Malc Murphy (drums). In January 1959, the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

. The event included

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973, he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

Diz Disley William Charles "Diz" Disley (27 May 1931 – 22 March 2010) was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and banjoist. He is best known for his acoustic jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, for his contributions to the UK trad ...

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistco ...

Kenny Ball Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music''. (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 29; ) – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and ...

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

Bob Wallis Robert Wallis (3 June 1934 – 10 January 1991) was a British jazz musician, who had a handful of chart success in the early 1960s, during the UK traditional jazz boom. Biography Wallis was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire. At an e ...

Bruce Turner Malcom Bruce Turner (5 July 1922 – 28 November 1993) was an English jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Biography Born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England, and educated at Dulwich College, he learned to play the clarine ...

Mick Mulligan Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan (24 January 1928 – 20 December 2006) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene. Biography He was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England. Mulligan began playing ...

and Colyer. In 1963 the Colyer band starred under their own name in the film,

West 11 ''West 11'' (also known as ''West II'' and ''West Eleven'') is a 1963 British crime film directed by Michael Winner and starring Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on ''The Furnished Room ...

. In 1972, after a bout with

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

, Colyer took his doctors' advice to stop leading a band. The band continued to work under the leadership of banjoist Johnny Bastable, as his "Chosen Six", recruiting John Shillito (trumpet). Colyer continued with a solo career into the 1980s. Around that time he was occasionally associated with Chris Blount's New Orleans Jazz Band, and some of his live recordings with that band were later released on a CD (KCTCD5). He moved to the south of France in his last years. Lake Records was started by re-issuing Colyer albums (from the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

catalogue) and the current catalogue contains most of his best recordings. A biography, ''Goin' Home'' (published 2010), was compiled by Mike Pointon and Ray Smith. It won an accolade from the House of Commons Jazz Society in May 2011. A year after Colyer's death a group of family members, friends and musicians met at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

to set up the Ken Colyer Trust with the original aim of publishing his autobiography ''When Dreams are in the Dust''. For 25 years it supported the work of established jazz musicians and encouraged young musicians and audiences. That work is now being continued by other interested parties. The trust sponsored a memorial plaque at the site of the jazz club Studio 51, at 11–12 Great Newport Street, near

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...

. It was unveiled on 18 April 1995 by

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

, Julian Davies and Ken Clarke.

Discography

Singles

Ken Colyer's Jazzmen *Decca F10241 "Goin' Home" / "Isle of Capri" (1954) *Decca F10332 "La Harpe Street Blues" / "Too Busy" (1954) *Decca F10504 "Early Hours" / "Cataract Rag" (1955) *Decca F10519 "If I Ever Cease to Love You" / "The Entertainer" (1955) *Decca F10565 "It Looks Like a Big Time Tonight" / "Red Wing" (1955) *Decca FJ10755 "All the Girls Go Crazy About the Way I Walk" / "Dippermouth Blues" (1956) *Tempo A117 "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" / "Sheik of Araby" (1956) *Tempo A120 "If I Ever Cease to Love" / "Isle of Capri" (1956) *Tempo A126 "

My Bucket's Got a Hole in It "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" is a song widely attributed to Clarence Williams, who obtained a copyright in 1933, although the melody was recorded under various names years earlier. The song became popular performed by Hank Williams for MGM a ...

" / "Wabash Blues" (1956) *Tempo A136 "Maryland, My Maryland" / "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise" (1956) *Columbia DB4676 "The Happy Wanderer" / "Maryland, My Maryland" (1961) *Columbia DB4783 "Postman's Lament" / "Too Busy" (1962)

EPs

* ''Ken Colyer in New Orleans'', (

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

, 1953) * ''Ken Colyer's Jazzmen'' (

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

, 1953) * ''They All Played Ragtime'' (

, 1958) * ''And Back to New Orleans'' (Decca)

Albums

* ''Decca Skiffle Sessions'',

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

* ''The Lost 1954 Royal Festival Hall Tapes'', (Upbeat Jazz, 2004) * ''More Lost 1954 Royal Festival Hall Tapes'', (Upbeat Jazz, 2008) * ''Live at York Arts Centre'' (Upbeat, 1972) * ''The Crane River Jazz Band'' * ''Club Session with Colyer'' (

, 1956) * ''Studio 51 Club Sessions with Colyer'' (Upbeat, 1972) * ''Out of Nowhere'' (KC, 1965) * ''Back to the Delta'' (Decca, 1954) * ''New Orleans to London'' (Lake, 1953) * ''Marching to New Orleans'' (Decca, 1957) * ''Marching Back to New Orleans'' (Lake, 1955/57) * ''This is Jazz'' (Columbia, 1959) * ''Sensation – The Decca Years'' (Lake, 1955–59) * ''The Classic Years'' 1957) Upbeat

References

External links

My 20-year love affair with the joy of skiffle. The Observer 1 June 2008
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colyer, Ken 1928 births 1988 deaths British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II British bandleaders Skiffle musicians People educated at William Ellis School People from Soho Musicians from Great Yarmouth Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from stomach cancer in the United Kingdom Musicians from the City of Westminster People deported from the United States Place of death missing 20th-century English musicians English cornetists English jazz trumpeters English male trumpeters 20th-century British trumpeters Chris Barber 20th-century British trombonists English male jazz musicians Black Lion Records artists Decca Records artists Columbia Records artists 20th-century English male musicians