Brian was born in
Newcastle UK and went to Rutherford College to study engineering. He was evacuated to Lanercost near Brampton,
Cumbria during World War ll. He went on to be an apprentice with Parsons
Engineering of Newcastle
Courtesy Chris
Perrin
He learned to play the
cornet and then the trombone with The Salvation Army. This led to him playing
in brass bands and he started his jazz career playing with local jazz bands
including the Clem Avery Jazzmen.
He later moved to Canada to work in the wine industry and then on to San Francisco where he established a successful calibration business. When he ‘retired’ he became a consultant and was still testing the structural integrity of the Golden Gate Bridge up to his 90th birthday.
He played trombone as one of Norma Teagarden’s
Boys and counted Kid Ory as a friend. He was active in The American Federation
of Musicians and in demand as a deputy. He was also a US Jazz Ambassador to
Russia and played in St Petersburg. He was also well known in The South Bay
area of San Francisco as President and a director of South Bay Traditional Jazz
Society, a band leader of Cats ’n Jammer Jazz Band and then The Creole Jazz
Kings. He played each year at Sacramento Jazz Jubilee including one year as the
featured artist. He was playing last year aged 91yrs at Monterey Jazz Festival.
Brian could play fiery
tailgate trombone but preferred the more ‘lazy SF style’ and was a great
vocalist too. He had a massive repertoire of Classic Jazz and American Song
Book numbers and could lead on any of them. His favourite trombone players were
Tommy Dorsey and Vic Dickenson.
He kept a second home in
the UK with a view to retiring over there but he never settled or found the
time to properly do that. On his regular trips to the UK he played with the
Carlisle based Lazy River Jazz Band for over 20 years and the Kendal based High
Society Jazz Band.
Brian is survived by his
wife Olga. He was the elder brother of the late Dougie, a well-known bass
player from Newcastle. He loved to ride trains, drive his Jaguars and fix
classic cars including his Morgan and Rolls Royce. He had a quick wit, a great
sense of humour and was worldly wise. He put his longevity down to riding a
bike in his youth so he could visit his girlfriend!
In many ways his passing
represents the end of an era. Brian passed away at home in Santa Clara. He would
have been 93 on October 11th this year.
Brian was a true friend
and great company for all of us who knew him and will be hugely missed .
(Lazy River Jazz Band)
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