Dave Shepherd

David Joseph Shepherd (7 February 1929 – 15 December 2016)

Shepherd began on piano before switching to clarinet at the age of 16 in 1945. He studied under a clarinettist from the Hamburg State Opera Orchestra while stationed in Hamburg after World War II. Upon his return to England he played with Reg Rigden (1950), Joe Daniels and his 'Hotshots' (1951–53), and Freddy Randall (1954–55). He played with Billie Holiday

In the 1960s and 1970s, he played with Randall again and with Teddy Wilson, as well as at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973 and in South Africa in 1975. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shepherd was heard more on radio, with his quartet used on BBC Radio 2's Jimmy Young programme, as well as Round Midnight, Breakfast Special and Music While You Work.

He performed with Peter Boizot's Pizza Express All Stars Band at the Pizza Express Jazz Club from 1980 to 1999.

Personal life Shepherd was married twice. His first marriage was to jazz vocalist Jo Searle, with whom he had a daughter Rochelle; the union ended in divorce. In 1966, aged 37, he married his second wife, Mary Evans. Both Evans and Rochelle survived him.