Ken Colyer

Kenneth Colyer (18 April 1928 – 9 March 1988) was an English jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes.

Early life He was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but grew up in Soho, 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, Louisiana. In 1963, the Colyer band starred under their own name in the film West 11.

In 1972, after a bout with stomach cancer, Colyer took his doctors' advice to stop leading a band.

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.

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" / "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, 1953) Ken Colyer's Jazzmen (Tempo, 1953) They All Played Ragtime (Decca, 1958) And Back to New Orleans (Decca)

Albums Decca Skiffle Sessions, Lake 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 (Decca, 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