Larger than life - Memories of the Guv'nor (Part2) by Norrie Cox

Published in the Ken Colyer Trust Newsletter Autumn 2001

The music that can be heard on this page is The Lady is a Tramp by The Ken Colyer Jazzmen, recorded in Chadwell Heath, London on 20 May, 1966. Ken Colyer, trumpet; Geoff Cole, trombone; Sammy Rimington, clarinet; Richard Simmons, piano; Johnny Bastable, banjo; Bill Cole, bass; Bryan Hetherington, drums. Taken from K C Records LP GNO 101, reissued and now available on Lake CD LACD101 Out of Nowhere.

Now to record some of the more memorable hearings of the Colyer band. One moment stands out above all the others and was at a concert in London when I first heard them do "Chimes Blues" with the wonderful three horn clarion effect. I seem to remember that this was the band with Barber and Sunshine and can't be sure but I have this visual picture of three tiny figures on an enormous brightly-lit stage producing the most beautiful resonant notes. I can't recall anything else of this particular concert but another is similarly vivid: being the first time he played a public concert after the break-up with Chris Barber. We knew nothing about who would be in his new band and had made the pilgrimage to London. Again it was in a concert hall, (does anyone remember where this took place?), and the band caused quite a sensation being dressed in blue full-length dungarees. The newcomers were Acker Bilk, completely unknown at that time, Ed O'Donnell on trombone and I believe Diz Disley and Stan Grieg. The music was good and the ensembles particularly satisfying but I remember the heated arguments on the way home as to whether Ken had done the right thing in breaking with Barber.

To my mind he did, as he could never have continued his mission to produce authentic sounding New Orleans music if he had become caught up in the public pleasing maelstrom of the trad boom. It is to our collective shame as a nation that he never made it big financially. Another very special occasion was a riverboat shuffle on the Thames. I can't fix the date or the other band members but it sticks in my mind as a glorious day and memorable as the only occasion that I ever took a picture of him. I asked him to pose for a picture, which I have to this day, standing on a stairway apparently blowing his trumpet. I remember him saying derisively "Why the F--- do want me to do that?" and that brings to mind the wonderful musical way he had of saying the F word. I'm so glad I was not intimidated as it is the only photograph I have of him.

Another super moment was the first playing of the two EPs and the single 45 from his first Decca session with Ian Wheeler and Mac Duncan. To this day I can't listen without wondering aloud how wonderful they are. The tunes most memorable to me are "The Sheik of Araby" and "Dallas Blues" and are, to me, the pinnacle of his playing that I go back to again and again, although I have the bulk of the recordings he made including many private tapes. I was never real crazy about his skiffle group, but if Ken did it, then we felt that it must be OK. The first time I saw his Omega Brass Band was at the opening of the footbridge over the Thames to Eel Pie Island where they, The Alberts, Cy Laurie and the San Jacinto led the public over for, I believe, a free session that quickly turned into a near riot. I remember that Cy had his clarinet bumped and cut his lip. A drop of blood splashed onto our drummer's snare, which he subsequently displayed as a badge of honour by never cleaning it off, at least, not while I knew him.

Another concert that made a lasting impression was of the Omega Brass Band in concert at, I believe, the Stoll Theatre. The band played in a loose standing formation and I recall that the concert was somewhat brief. There was something magic about the way Ken consistently broke through normal conventions and did so without any of the self-aggrandisement of the trad leaders of the day. This mention of the Omega Brass Band leads into another event worthy of recall. Keith Smith and Barry Martin organised a brass band initially using members of the San Jacinto and Fronzimmie bands that soon after became the New Teao Brass Band. Although I did not play on all of their many outings, during the summers of'58 and '59, our first public outing was for the Borough of Kingston College Rag Day and climaxed with a cutting contest with Ken's Omega. I remember thinking how pleased Ken looked and that he must have felt real vindication in that what he had pioneered was finally bearing fruit. To this day I'm sorry that I didn't ask his opinion or congratulate him on what he was doing and needless to say we were blown away despite our larger personnel and greater volume!

Another great concert was at the Royal Festival Hall on February 16, 1957. It was a combined concert with Big Bill Broonzy and another blues singer "Sellars." I remember being real surprised at how wonderfully Ken accompanied the blues singer(s), I think as a solo horn, as I had not seen him in this role before and, in fact, never again either, although the few sides he made with Little Brother Montgomery are equally good. My diary comments regarding the Jazzmen were "Ken's band still playing well. Wheeler good for a change but Bowden a little cymbal happy" It's just amazing how critical we were in those days!

Apri114, 1957 was a real red-letter day. George Lewis appeared at the Stoll Theatre in London with Ken's Band. In my diary I rave about George and don't even mention the band's playing but it is etched in my memory as a momentous occasion. I was incredibly moved by his playing and his unassuming speech at the conclusion. The band opened and then George took Wheeler's place and I was amazed at how naturally he fitted in. His tone was incredible and to hear Burgundy Street live was incredibly moving. One amusing aspect that we learned about later was how concerned George was by the complete silence during his first number and it wasn't until the end of the piece, when the whole place erupted in applause like I had never heard before, that he realised he was not bombing. He was accustomed to the American way of applauding each solo and he said that he really thought that nobody liked his playing! ! ! On my part I was moved to tears, as were several of our party that included some of the hardest nosed characters you'd meet anywhere. I will never forget glancing sideways to make sure no one was witnessing my tears only to find that others were having the same problem!

On January 11, 1959 George came back with his band and appeared at the Odeon Theatre on Tottenham Court Road in London. Everyone who was anybody was there, and this time I noted that Ken's band played exceptionally well. Again, I was very moved by George's "Three Voices" which I think was a medley of Corrine Corrina, Old Rugged Cross and Nobody Knows. We also took in his last two concerts on February Ist at the New Victoria Theatre. Both were just wonderful.

The last time I saw Ken and his band was in Sheffield. I was attending a post graduate course at the university and had made the acquaintance of Bob Hukin and Trevor Barnes, both clarinet players, and we all went to hear Ken somewhere locally. Ken was surprised to see me and for the last time I sat in. I recall that Sammy Rimington was on clarinet, but the only other things that stick in my mind are the amount of beer consumed, the boisterous behaviour of Bob, Trevor and a host of hangers on and of Ken asking, "What the F ---(again very musically) was I doing with that bunch of noisy bastards?" I emigrated soon after and have continued to collect Ken's recordings. I am not fortunate enough to have a copy of his book (does anyone have one to sell?), although I did read it and in many respects suffered along with him in his self imagined failure to get acceptance for New Orleans music. He accomplished more than could reasonably be expected, and I am pleased to be a member of the Trust set up to perpetuate his name. I would be more than happy to correspond with anyone who can throw some light on the gaps in my memory.

(Editor's note. Norrie now lives in Wisconsin where he leads his New Orleans Stompers; his address is 13454 Watertown Plank Rd., Elm Grove, WI 53122, USA. Tel 262 786 1138. I have mentioned to him the possibility that Ken did not live in Feltham, possibly Cranford or Hounslow, but Norrie remembers it being near to Hounslow Heath and we agree that it doesn't really matter.)

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