Leonard "Lennie" Hastings (born 25 January, 1925 in Carshalton

Carshalton

Carshalton is a suburban area of the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is located 10 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross, situated in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the centre of the village. The combined population of the five wards...

 - died 14 July, 1978 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...

) was an English

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...

 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...

 drummer.

Hastings played in military bands during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, then played with Freddy Randall

Freddy Randall

Frederick James 'Freddy' Randall was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Clapton, East London.Randall led the St. Louis Four in 1939, and played as a freelance sideman in the early 1940s. He served in the military during World War II, then played with Freddy Mirfield in a group...

 (1950-54) and Alex Welsh

Alex Welsh

Alex Welsh was a Scottish jazz musician, who played the cornet, trumpet and sang.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh, 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...

 (1954-57). Following these engagements Hastings played in local combos and led an ensemble in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, then played with Nat Gonella

Nat Gonella

Nathaniel Charles Gonella was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist and mellophonist born in London, perhaps most notable for his work with the big band he founded, The Georgians....

 briefly before rejoining Welsh. He was Welsh's drummer for well over a decade, during which time he also recorded with 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...

, Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....

, Eddie Davis

Eddie Davis (saxophonist)

Edward Davis , who performed and recorded as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:...

, Ben Webster

Ben Webster

Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...

, and Bill Coleman

Bill Coleman

William Johnson Coleman was a jazz trumpeter from the swing era.He had his musical debut in 1927. Coleman's first recordings were with the Luis Russell orchestra, but all solos on record went to the rising star Henry "Red" Allen. This led to Bill Coleman's departure from the band. By 1935 he...

.

In 1972 he left Welsh's group due to failing health and formed his own band. Personnel at the start was Nick Stevenson (tpt), Ron Brown (tmb), Malcolm Everson (clt/bari sax), Martin Taylor (guitar), Jamie Evans (pno) and Peter Skivington (bass) but the effort of running a band proved a little too much for him and, despite an encouraging reception from audiences, the band petered out after eight or nine months.

He would record later in the decade with Brian Lemon

Brian Lemon

Brian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...

, Stan Greig

Stan Greig

Stanley Mackay Greig is a Scottish pianist, drummer, and bandleader.Greig's father was a drummer and piano tuner. Greig played with Sandy Brown while still in high school in 1945, then played piano and drums with him from 1948 to 1954...

, Dave Shepherd

Dave Shepherd

David Joseph "Dave" Shepherd is an English jazz clarinetist born in London.Shepherd began on piano before switching to clarinet at age 16. He studied under a clarinetist from the Hamburg State Opera Orchestra while stationed in Hamburg after World War II...

, and 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...

. He played at the Pizza Express

Pizza Express

PizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....

, a London club, in his later years, and toured with Wild Bill Davison

Wild Bill Davison

Wild' Bill Davison was a fiery jazz cornet player who emerged in the 1920s, but did not achieve recognition until the 1940s...

 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...

. He led his own quartet shortly before his death.