Derek Humble was born in Wheatley Hill, County Durham. He went on to play lead alto for Ronnie Scott and, later, the Clarke-Boland Big Band. His fellow saxes included Scott, Johnny Griffin, Sahib Shibad and Tony Coe. Basie tenorman, Billy Mitchell, rated him alongside Phil Woods and Marshall Royal as one of the world's greatest lead altos. This cutting from a 1947 Melody Maker lists him as a 16 year old winning the best alto award in the paper's annual band contest.
Lance.
PS: The bass playing award went to John Humble. Was this Derek's brother or his father?


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