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| The drummers... |
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"There are extreme physical demands made on certain players. The drummer sits, unsupported on a backless stool, leaning slightly forward to command all the drums and cymbals of his equipment. He strikes something with each
stick continuously throughout each number, while beating the bass drum with one foot pedal, and working the high-hat cymbals with another. Some drummers, like Eric Delaney, who played with Geraldo before forming his own band, had two bass drum pedals, with which they could perform miracles of bass drum technique. | The unusual position, coupled with the continuous arm movement, copious perspiration, the atmospheric conditions in the dance halls veering from below freezing to solar heat, caused many drummers to have agonising back problems in later life." Ron Simmonds (trumpet player) Norman Burns, Phil Seamen, Bill Eyden, Tony Kinsey, and Allan Ganley have individual web pages...  |
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Derek (Dickie) Devere (Paul Rainbird or Paul Rainberg). The picture on the right was taken when he was with Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists (early 1950s)... Born in 1928 Dickie Devere played drums from the age of ten and had his own band at the age of sixteen and in 1949 played with Eddie Thompson and Stan Tracey. He had several spell with Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists in the early 1950s, a brief spell with Tito Burns in 1951, and with Johnny Rogers-Lennie Metcalfe Jazz Inc. in 1953. Even briefer spells followed with Lew Stone, Harry Roy, Tommy Pollard, Kathy Stobart, Ronnie Scott and Eddie Thompson before health problems caused him to quit playing. He was working as a clerk in the late 1950s and made a brief comeback with Alan Clare at the Downbeat club in the autumn of 1959 and Pete King (December, 1959). Brian Davis, the jazz writer said of him: He was admired greatly by Phil Seamen who had been known to stand quietly (something indeed) just agape at Devere firing the Afro-Cubist to incredible heights. His technique, the fastest I have ever witnessed, allowed him to execute a veritable fund of ideas with whiplash precision and could he swing! Tragically Dickie got caught uo in the malaise of so many and never really got going again after he left Kenny. He died in poor mental and physical condition in the early 1970s... see also the following discography: Kenny Graham. ...back Leon Roy born c1927 Leon Roy is best remembered for the big band he formed in 1949. Based on the style and arrangements of the Dizzy Gillespie big bebop band it was the only big band on the London bebop scene and played at a number of jazz venues in central London. The band had a short lived but memorable residency at The Paramount in London's Tottenham Court Road. The band policy of playing only bebop led to commercial disaster and they never recorded but they achieved legendary status on the bebop scene which is not surprising when you hear that the trumpet section at one time comprised Jimmy Deuchar, Hank Shaw, Dizzy Reece, and a long forgotten Pete Pitterson, and the sax section often included Vic Ash and a very young Tubby Hayes. Note from Wally Wrightman: "Leon Roy led a quintet at the The Bebop Shop at the Rose and Crown, Tottenham. The club ran for some three years from 1947 - 1950. The quintet included, besides Leon on drums, his brother Jimmy Wallis (bass), Lennie Metcalfe (piano), Buddy Kaye (accordian), and Arthur Golding (guitar)". ...back Lennie Breslaw  born in Whitechapel, London in 1930 drummer Lennie Breslaw worked in the late 1940s, mainly in pubs, with Denis Rose and Stan Tracey's Malfi Trio when Stan was playing accordian. Worked for some time with Tracey before his first name bands work with Harry Parry and Ralph Sharon in 1951. The Parry band at the time included Jimmy Skidmore. He was with Ken Moule 1954-55 and then, for a spell in 1955, with Tubby Hayes' exciting eight piece band, before a personal disagreement between them led to his departure. Then toured in Europe with Dizzy Reece, Stu Hamer and others. He spent nine months in India with Harry South and Dick Morrissey in 1961 and through the 1960s and 1970s worked with many different bands. Led his own trio for four years at Venus Room in Soho and then with the Vic Ash-Harry Klein Jazz Five. Freelanced in London from 1976 through the 1990s occasionally doubling on piano, working with Ian and Stu Hamer, Les Condon, Bobby Wellins and Annie Ross amongst others.see also the following discographies: Tubby Hayes, Ken Moule. ...back Frank Holder Still performing in 2007 at the age of 82 Frank Holder, born in Bridgetown, Guyana, was an integral part of the original Johnny Dankworth Seven when it was formed in 1950. He was featured on bongos and conga drum in the Latin American numbers, adding a 'flamboyance' to the group's presentation as well as being the band vocalist. When the Seven enlarged to a big band in the mid 1950s he stayed with them and later worked with Joe Harriott. He was well into bebop when his chance came with Dankworth and liked to improvise using his voice as an instrument. With the decline of interest in jazz he went into cabaret and has worked ever since. ...back |
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advertisements from the Melody Maker c1954/55
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Sunday, December 12, at 7.15 p.m. LONDON COLISEUM " Drummers Delight " THE KIRCHIN BAND (Basil & Ivor) _________________________________ THE TONY CROMBIE ORCHESTRA _________________________________ NORMAN BURNS & HIS BAND _________________________________ THE TONY KINSEY TRIO with JOE HARRIOTT _________________________________ Compere: MICHAEL BLACK | |
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advertisements from the Melody Maker c1954/55
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" CLUB BASIE " Tavistock Restaurant 18, Charing Cross Road, W.C.2 (next Leicester square Station) Well we made it! 1,387 members after only one week (Ronnie Scott did appear despite other club adverts!). If you missed it last week come this - but COME EARLY! Presenting this Saturday at the GREATEST LUXURY JAZZ CLUB IN THE WORLD Fabulous PHIL SEAMEN QUINTET starring Joe Harriott, Dave Goldberg, Major Holley, Johnny Weed Plus our sensational rocking outfit starring NAT GONELLA, Keith Christie, Harry Klein, Keith Bird, Dill Jones, Lennie Bush, Kenny Graham, Martin Aston. |
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Jackie Dougan Jackie Dougan was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1930. After work in Scotland with Duncan Lamont's band and others Dougan moved to London in 1956 working with Buddy Featherstonhaugh. In 1957 he worked with Tommy Whittle including a US tour and from 1957 to 1959 was with the BBC Show Band. He was with the Jazz Committee for a year from spring 1959 then with the Ronnie Ross-Bert Courtley Jazztet until 1961. During 1961 he played in the Ronnie Scott Quintet and also with Harry South before joining the Stan Tracey Trio from 1962. He worked with other Tracey groups through to 1966. Much freelance work followed until in June 1968 he emigrated to Australia. In Australia he worked with Lew Campbell, Don Burrows and others as well as undertaking a lot of freelance work. He died in a car accident in New South Wales, Australia in early 1973. ...back Ray Ellington Ray Ellington was born in London in 1916 and left school at fourteen taking up drums while working as a cabinet maker. In the 1930s he worked at various London night clubs and worked with the Gerry Moore Quartet before a spell of three years from 1937 to 1940 with Harry Roy. In 1940 he joined the RAF and served until 1945. After the war he formed a quartet that included Dick Katz (piano), Lauderic Caton (guitar), Coleridge Goode (bass) while he drummed and handled the vocals. From January, 1948 to November, 1949 the Ray Elligton Quartet recorded regularly for Parlophone including some jazz titles such as "The be-bop", "China bop" and "Dick's boogie". By mid 1949 Laurie Deniz had replaced Lauderic Caton and in January, 1950 they switched record labels to Decca and continued to record until 1952. Not all the records could be described as jazz, most of them have vocals by Ellington who was often accompanied by a vocal trio composed of the group. He died in London during February, 1985 ...back Eric Delaney (Email received from Eddie Sammons in July, 2006 re Eric Delaney) Many people overlook Eric's jazz background. Largely his own fault of course as he chose the showbiz path. It is worth remembering him back in the 1940s when he worked with George Shearing (pre war) and I have one private recording of that. Then post war he worked again with George and Stephane Grappelli. Not to be overlooked is his time with Geraldo and The Squads. He drove both bands with some great big band arrangements. At this time too he had his own bop group with Dougie Robinson and Jack Dawkes among others. He also shared drum honours with Phil Seamen on record, radio and film in the Kenny Baker Dozen. He also made a few all-star jazz records (and TV) with Humphrey Lyttelton and the then current modern jazzers. His big band was commercial as they all were. But there was quite a lot of jazz played including some BBC Jazz Club broadcasts (I have them). When he had his small band, jazz was never far away. Witness some of the broadcasts he did playing works by Ellington, Basie and Horace Silver. When abroad he played with Clark Terry and Sarah Vaughan. In his later years he could be seen at the Cork Jazz Festival 1992 in a magnificent jazz performance and of course there were the Giants of Britsh Jazz tours with Ball, Baker, Lightfoot, Bilk, Lusher etc. and the Wigan Jazz festival gigs and the Youth Big band plus Stan Grieg's London Big Band. He still plays with Kenny Ball but is mainly linked to the new RAF Squadronaires. I hope to get a biography of Eric into print soon also a discography/filmography so it could be self defeating to give out more info beforehand. I'm sure you'll understand. The Delaney discographies in Lord and Br++++k (The belgian guy) are inaccurate to say the least. ps Jim Skidmore is featured on Eric' Mercury disc THE MAN I LOVE Hall/Courtley on SWEET GEORGIA BROWN (The book The Magnificent Eric Delaney was published in November, 2007. and is available through all good booksellers, Amazon worldwide or direct from Upfront Publishing Ltd. Graphic House. 1 First Drove, Fengate, Peterborough PE1 5BJ.) More drummers... |