Alex Welsh
Encyclopedia
Alex Welsh was a Scottish
jazz
musician
, who played the cornet
, trumpet
and sang.
, Scotland
, Welsh started playing in the teenage 'Leith Silver Band' and gigged with Archie Semple's 'Capital Jazz Band'. After moving to London in the early 1950s, Welsh formed his own band. The group, with clarinetist Archie Semple
, pianist Fred Hunt
, trombonist Roy Crimmins
and drummer Lenny Hastings, was a backbone of British traditional jazz in the 1950s, playing a version of '[Dixieland#Chicago style|Chicago style]]' jazz. In the 1960s, Welsh's band invited guest stars such as Earl Hines
, Red Allen
, Peanuts Hucko
, Pee Wee Russell
and Ruby Braff
to perform with them. In August 1961, the Alex Welsh Band's track "Tansy", peaked at #45 in the UK Singles Chart
. In January 1963, the British
music magazine, NME
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain
had taken place at Alexandra Palace
. The event included George Melly
, Diz Disley
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
, Kenny Ball
, Ken Colyer
, Monty Sunshine
, Bob Wallis
, Bruce Turner
, Mick Mulligan
and Welsh.
Welsh toured internationally and played at the 1967 Antibes
jazz festival, the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival
and 1978 Nice Jazz Festival
. Welsh was often considered as not just a trumpeter but also a good entertainer often adding a little humour and rapport with his big band sound. He performed regularly in the 1970s at the Bell Public House in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Alex Welsh died in June 1982, in Hillingdon
hospital in London
, England
, at the age of 52.
Albums such as Music of the Mauve Decade, Echos of Chicago and The Melrose Folio have seen recent CD
re-issues.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, who played the cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and sang.
Biography
Born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Welsh started playing in the teenage 'Leith Silver Band' and gigged with Archie Semple's 'Capital Jazz Band'. After moving to London in the early 1950s, Welsh formed his own band. The group, with clarinetist Archie Semple
Archie Semple
Archibald Stuart Nisbet "Archie" Semple was a Scottish jazz clarinetist active principally within the trad jazz idiom....
, pianist Fred Hunt
Fred Hunt
Herbert Frederick Hunt was an English jazz pianist.Hunt played early on in London with Mike Daniels and Cy Laurie , then joined Alex Welsh's band from 1954 to 1962 and again from 1964 to 1974...
, trombonist Roy Crimmins
Roy Crimmins
Roy Crimmins is an English jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.Of Irish and Scottish descent, Crimmins turned professional by joining the Mick Mulligan band in 1952. Originally self-taught, Roy was later mentored by the American bass trombonist with the Philarmonia Orchestra, Ray Premru, and...
and drummer Lenny Hastings, was a backbone of British traditional jazz in the 1950s, playing a version of '[Dixieland#Chicago style|Chicago style]]' jazz. In the 1960s, Welsh's band invited guest stars such as Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
, Red Allen
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen was a jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose style has been claimed to be the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstrong.-Life and career:...
, Peanuts Hucko
Peanuts Hucko
Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko was an American big band musician. His primary instrument was the clarinet.-Early life and education:...
, Pee Wee Russell
Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet....
and Ruby Braff
Ruby Braff
Reuben "Ruby" Braff was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Gary Moore TV show and described Ruby as "The Ivy League Louis Armstrong."Braff was born in Boston...
to perform with them. In August 1961, the Alex Welsh Band's track "Tansy", peaked at #45 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In January 1963, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had taken place at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. The event included George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
, Diz Disley
Diz Disley
Diz Disley was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and graphic designer. He is best known for his jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, and for his collaborations with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli....
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
Chris Barber
Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with...
, Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
, Ken Colyer
Ken Colyer
Kenneth Colyer was a British jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted totally to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes.-Biography:...
, Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine was an English jazz clarinetist, whose main claim to fame was his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959...
, Bob Wallis
Bob Wallis
Robert 'Bob' Wallis was a British jazz musician, who had a handful of chart success in the early 1960s, during the UK traditional jazz boom.-Biography:...
, Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner was an English saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.Born Malcolm Bruce Turner in Saltburn, he learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto sax while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
, Mick Mulligan
Mick Mulligan
Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene....
and Welsh.
Welsh toured internationally and played at the 1967 Antibes
Antibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
jazz festival, the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
and 1978 Nice Jazz Festival
Nice Jazz Festival
The Nice Jazz Festival, held annually since 1948 in Nice, on the French Riviera, is "the first jazz festival of international significance." At the inaugural festival, Louis Armstrong and his All Stars were the headliners...
. Welsh was often considered as not just a trumpeter but also a good entertainer often adding a little humour and rapport with his big band sound. He performed regularly in the 1970s at the Bell Public House in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Alex Welsh died in June 1982, in Hillingdon
Hillingdon
Hillingdon is a suburban area within the London Borough of Hillingdon, situated 14.2 miles west of Charing Cross.Much of Hillingdon is represented as the Hillingdon East ward within the local authority, Hillingdon Council...
hospital in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at the age of 52.
Albums such as Music of the Mauve Decade, Echos of Chicago and The Melrose Folio have seen recent CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
re-issues.
Selected discography
- Dixieland to Duke/The Melrose Folio (1957/60)
- Music of the Mauve Decade (1960)
- Classic Concert, (1971)
External links
- Ian CarrIan CarrIan Carr was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator.-Early years:Carr was born in Dumfries, Scotland, the elder brother of Mike Carr...
et al.: The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides, 2004. ISBN 1-84353-256-5 - Information to Answers: Biography
- Biography at Faqs.org