Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton
The Early Years
Renaissance Man
“Humphrey Lyttelton excelled at everything that he chose to do. He was a trumpeter, bandleader, calligrapher, cartoonist, writer, journalist and broadcaster. Well, not quite everything. He admitted to being no good at ice-skating, but attributed his lack of success to the failure of anyone to make size 13½ skating boots to suit his feet.
His career began when he gained fame for his declamatory trumpet style and he ended up contributing more to the British jazz scene than anyone else, bestriding it for more than half a century. His unique humour permeated a long radio career which was capped by his chairmanship of the Radio 4 panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, where he became exalted for the finest dead-pan in radio since Jack Benny.” Steve Voce, Independent Obituary Oct 23, 2011
Humph and Sidney Bechet Bournemouth 1949
Graham Bell and Humph on Bell’s first visit in 1949
Humph’s Experiments
The Grant Lyttelton Paseo Band
“Grant-Lyttelton Paseo Band and came about by chance. “A Mardi Gras celebration was held in an hotel of Russell Square in the February of 1952. Humph playing New Orleans-type jazz and a group of London based West Indian musicians playing the music of the Caribbean. Towards the end they had a merger – a wild jam session in which anyone who could shake a maraca or strike bottle and spoon together joined in. The result was sensational.
“Grant-Lyttelton Paseo Band and came about by chance. “A Mardi Gras celebration was held in an hotel of Russell Square in the February of 1952. Humph playing New Orleans-type jazz and a group of London based West Indian musicians playing the music of the Caribbean. Towards the end they had a merger – a wild jam session in which anyone who could shake a maraca or strike bottle and spoon together joined in. The result was sensational.
“Grant-Lyttelton Paseo Band and came about by chance. “A Mardi Gras celebration was held in an hotel of Russell Square in the February of 1952. Humph playing New Orleans-type jazz and a group of London based West Indian musicians playing the music of the Caribbean. Towards the end they had a merger – a wild jam session in which anyone who could shake a maraca or strike bottle and spoon together joined in. The result was sensational.
The Musicians
Humph arranged a recording session, the Grant–Lyttelton Band came into being. The line up was Humph, Wally Fawkes (clarinet) , Freddie Grant (Clt) (British Guiana), Mike McKenzie (piano) (British Guiana), Fitzroy Coleman (guitar) (Trinidad), Neville Boucarut (bass), (Barbados), George Brown (Conga) (Trinidad), Leslie Weeks (Bongo) (India), George Walker (maracas, cowbell). The band undertook a series of gigs over 6 months until the money ran out
Humph worked, toured and recorded with a number of American musicians in the 1950’s
Here is Humph with Eddie Condon in 1956
Humph with Louis Armstrong in 1956
Louis at the 100 Club listening to Humph and the band 1956
Bad Penny Blues
Humph With Jimmy Rushing 1957
Kath Meets Humph
Kath with the Humph Band 1957
Humph and Marie Knight 1958
Humph Tours the USA 1959
The Tour featured the Humph Band, Ronnie Ross Jazz Makers, Anita O’Day, Lennie Tristano Quintet, the Thelonious Monk Quartet and the Georg Sharing Big Band with Cannon Ball and Nat Adderley as guest soloists.
Humph at the Newport Jazz Festival 1959
The USA tour itinery
Humph With Charlie Rouse in The USA
Humph With Thelonious Monk
Humph with Buck Clayton
Humph and Buck fooling around
Wrestlers Tricks
I openly accused Buck of playing wrestlers tricks – that is to say, feigning weakness and incapacity until hisopponent is relaxed and then leaping in with a paralysing half Nelson. He laughed a lot at this suggestion but didn’t actually deny it. A few nights later he whispered, as I called our duet, ‘Take it easy on me tonight Humph – I left my jock strap back in the hotel.’ Jock strap or no I played flat out.”
Letter from Buck
I’m Sorry I haven’t A Clue
The story of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is an extraordinary one – we did the pilot show in1972, everyone agreed that it was too self indulgent and dreadful to get off the ground. Months later a B.B.C. ‘high up’ heard the pilot, fell about and insisted it should go on. This is its third series”. Humph in Last Chorus An
Autobiographical Medley,
The cast: Humphrey Lyttelton, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Jeremy Hardy and Colin Sell at the piano
Susa da Costa dancing with Duke Ellington 1964
Humph, Susan and Duke Ellington
Humph works with Radio Head
In 2002, Humph performed (in front of 42,000) and recorded with Radiohead, engaging an entire new audience with his music and providing a rare platform for fellow jazz musicians to play on a world stage. The final track from Amnesiac "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.
Let’s Get Out