Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen
Among the leading traditional jazz trumpet players on the eastern side of the Atlantic arguably the most successful is Kenny Ball. Kenny achieved worldwide fame for his recordings in the 1960’s. Including “Midnight in Moscow” which reached No. 2 in the UK and the US charts and hit worldwide sales of more than one million copies, the debut hit “Samantha” and the smash “When I’m 64”, made Kenny a household name. With no fewer than 20 albums on sale, a Billboard Gold Microphone Award, more top 30’s in the US than Louis Armstrong, and honorary citizenship to the city of New Orleans, Kenny Ball is no less than a - true legend.
Kenny was born in 1930 in Ilford, Essex. He began his career as a sideman in bands before forming his own in 1958. Moving away from the overworked traditional repertoire, the band sought out tuneful songs from all sources, gave them the ‘Kenny Ball’ treatment, gained hit after hit, and took the band to worldwide renown during the heyday of the traditional jazz boom of the 1960’s.
Probably the greatest test of an artist’s success is his durability. Along with his Jazzmen, Kenny is now in his 50th year and, as a band, they continue to put on a musical, swinging show, performed with energy and enthusiasm. A tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2000, and a string of continuous gigs throughout Britain and Germany were typical among the average 150 dates per year the band fulfilled, up until 2002. At the start of the year recording began on the new album; in April Kenny was taken ill and battled with his illness to recover, complete the album, and return to performing in July.
Today, the love of music inspires Kenny to continue to record. With part of that original band, John Bennett (Trombone), and other members of his current band, “Jazzical Class” is on the verge of release. In the Essex countryside setting of his 17th century home, where he lives with his wife Michelle, Kenny is a very content man, who still continues to produce some timeless, yet refreshing pieces of great jazz! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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