A Belated Obituary - Ralph Hutchinson

Ralph Hutchinson was born in Newcastle and lived, I believe, in the Walker area of the city - either Scrogg Rd., or Welbeck Rd. I don't suppose there's a blue plaque indicating the house although there should be.

Ralph was a trombone player who played with the legendary Tommy Sampson band before going to America in 1948.

Although he began as a bebop player with the extremely modern Sampson band which included Joe Temperley, in The States Ralph achieved acclaim with Muggsy Spanier's 1952 Ragtime Band before going into the studios where he worked on the Jackie Gleason Show. Ralph was with Muggsy for 5 years alongside clarinetist Darnell Howard, drummer Barrett Deems, bassist Truck Parham and pianist Floyd Bean. In a long article in the Mississippi Rag the trombonist recalls fellow slideman Trummy Young coming into a gig and saying to Ralph - "Just called in to see what I can steal from you."

As well as working as a musician he also moonlighted as a golf pro! (or should that be daylighted?)

Today I discovered Ralph died in July 2008 aged 83.

RIP Ralph - one of Newcastle's finest trombone players.

Obituary.

Lance.