I remember well the first time I heard his wonderful, tasteful, drumming...
March 1, 1955 at Newcastle City Hall. Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald acc. by Sammy Stokes (bass) and Tony Kinsey (drums). It was a cold Tuesday night in Newcastle and the concert was far from being a sell-out. I had a seat at the right of the stage slightly behind the performers. Paradoxically, not only were those seats on the stage the cheapest, apart from being somewhat unkind to one's posterior, they were also the best in the house.
Needless to say, Oscar and Ella were marvellous but so were Stokes and Kinsey who didn't let the headliners down. Of course the British jazz mags damned them with faint praise as they did, at the time, to all British musicians when coupled with visiting Yanks.
Another concert at the same venue that springs to mind was an all-British affair that culminated in a drum battle between Tony Kinsey, Tony Crombie and Victor Feldman. I can't recall who won - I guess it would have been too tough to call.
When National Service decreed that I don the blue uniform of the R.A.F my nights were brightened when a fellow conscript who was also a drummer, one Dave Garner, turned up with a long-player by the Tony Kinsey Quintet - Jazz at the Flamingo. Until Dave got demobbed or posted we played that record almost nonstop taking in the solos by Joe Harriott, Bob Efford and Bill le Sage and, of course, Kinsey and bassist Pete Blannin who laid down the foundations.
After my stint in 'the colours' I moved down to London seeking fame and fortune. I didn't get either apart from the good fortune of being able to hear top London jazzmen at the Flamingo Club where Tony Kinsey was frequently the stickman behind most of the top names. Apart from his drumming I admired his sartorial elegance. He personified the modern jazzman - crewcut, Slim Jim tie, tailored suit, in other words, cool!
When I eventually retreated back up the old A1 Tony Kinsey slipped off my radar for a few years. However, he returned with a vengeance on June 5, 1984 when he lead his star-studded big band on a BBC Jazz Club broadcast which I had the foresight to record and it's a cracker*. Both the drumming, his compositions, arrangements and the cassette tape have stood the test of time.
Listening to the music as I type I can feel the emotion coming on. May he Rest In Peace. Sadly missed. Lance
*Pete King, Phil Todd, Duncan Lamont, Don Rendell, Ronnie Ross (saxes); Derek Healey, Les Condon, Hank Shaw, Guy Barker (trumpets); Chris Pyne, Bill Geldard, Chris Smith (trombones); John Horler (piano); Jeff Clyne (bass); Tony Kinsey (drums, compositions, arrangements)
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