Ken Colyer

Career

Ken Colyer, born in Great Yarmouth but raised in London's Soho, was a British jazz trumpeter and cornetist who dedicated himself to the New Orleans style. His bands also became known for including skiffle numbers. His interest in jazz began when his older brother Bill left his record collection behind while serving in World War II. At 17, Colyer joined the Merchant Navy, traveling widely and hearing legendary musicians in New Orleans.

Back in the UK, he played in several groups, joining the Crane River Jazz Band in 1949. That band performed at the Royal Festival Hall in 1951 for Princess Elizabeth. Some of its members later formed the Christie Brothers' Stompers. Colyer returned to the Merchant Navy, jumped ship in Alabama, and made his way to New Orleans, where he performed with George Lewis's band.

He was offered a lead trumpet spot on a tour but was arrested, detained, and deported. He then took the trumpet lead in the Chris Barber Band, forming the first Ken Colyer's Jazzmen with Barber, Monty Sunshine, Ron Bowden, Lonnie Donegan, and Jim Bray. They first recorded in 1953 on the Storyville label. Colyer and the others split in 1954, with both sides later claiming to have fired the other.

A short-lived mid-1950s lineup included clarinetist Acker Bilk and trombonist Ed O'Donnell. The classic Colyer band followed, featuring Mac Duncan, Ian Wheeler, Johnny Bastable, Ron Ward, and Colin Bowden, later joined by Ray Foxley. This group lasted into the early 1960s, when the front line changed to include clarinetists Sammy Rimington and Tony Pyke, trombonists Graham Stewart and Geoff Cole, bassist Bill Cole, and drummer Malc Murphy. In January 1959, Colyer played at what NME called the biggest trad jazz event in Britain, held at Alexandra Palace alongside George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Alex Welsh, Monty Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Bruce Turner, and Mick Mulligan.

The Colyer band starred in the 1963 film West 11. After stomach cancer in 1972, Colyer followed his doctors' advice and stopped leading a band. The group continued under banjoist Johnny Bastable as the Chosen Six, with trumpeter John Shillito. Colyer pursued a solo career into the 1980s, occasionally playing with Chris Blount's New Orleans Jazz Band; live recordings from that period were later released on CD.

Legacy

He spent his final years in the south of France. Lake Records began by reissuing his Decca albums, and its catalogue now holds most of his best work. He died on 9 March 1988 at age 59. A biography, Goin' Home, won an award from the House of Commons Jazz Society in 2011.

The Ken Colyer Trust, formed a year after his death, supported jazz musicians and young audiences for 25 years, and its work continues. A memorial plaque at the site of the Studio 51 club was unveiled in 1995 by Humphrey Lyttelton, Julian Davies, and Ken Clarke.

Legacy

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 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. It was unveiled on 18 April 1995 by Humphrey Lyttelton, Julian Davies and Ken Clarke.