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Derek Ansell is a British novelist and biographer.
A regular contributor to Jazz Journal and Newbury Weekly News, Ansell's first novel. The Whitechapel Murders, was published by Citron Press in 1999. In 2008, he published the first biography of saxophonist Hank Mobley. [1] [2]
His novel, A Safe Place To Stay, a novel set during WWII, was published in 2018.
Derek has five grandchildren.
The Bradgate Heiress published by Creativia Publishing in 2018 is a fictional account of the life of Lady Jane Grey in Tudor times.
John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of their death.
Edward Lee Morgan was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.
Henry "Hank" Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz, and his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions included "Double Exposure," "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis," among others.
Henry Grimes was an American jazz double bassist and violinist.
Douglas Watkins was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean.
John Arnold Griffin III was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
Robert Henry Timmons was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods, between which he was part of Cannonball Adderley's band. Several of Timmons' compositions written when part of these bands – including "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here" – enjoyed commercial success and brought him more attention. In the early and mid-1960s he led a series of piano trios that toured and recorded extensively.
Ronnie Scott OBE was a British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district, one of the world's most popular jazz clubs, in 1959.
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in the 1940s, often within dance bands. From the late 1940s, British "modern jazz", highly influenced by American Dixieland jazz and bebop, began to emerge and was led by figures such as Kenny Ball, Chris Barber, John Keating, John Dankworth, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott, while Ken Colyer, George Webb and Humphrey Lyttelton emphasised New Orleans, Trad jazz. From the 1960s British jazz began to develop more individual characteristics and absorb a variety of influences, including British blues, as well as European and World music influences. A number of British musicians have gained international reputations, although this form of music has remained a minority interest within the UK itself.
"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon that was written for the Twentieth Century Fox musical Iceland (1942) starring Sonja Henie and John Payne. The songs in the film featured Joan Merrill accompanied by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra. The song was published in 1942. The most popular version, a 1966 Chris Montez recording, went to #4 on the Easy Listening chart and #33 on the Hot 100.
James Graham Collier was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer.
Informal Jazz is an album by jazz musician Elmo Hope, released in September or October 1956 on Prestige Records. It was reissued in 1969 under the title Two Tenors, and under the billing of Hope's sidemen for the session, John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.
Another Workout is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on December 5, 1961, and first released on the Blue Note label in 1985. It follows Mobley's 1961 album Workout and features performances by the same group of musicians: Mobley, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Guitarist Grant Green does not appear.
Northway Books is a publishing company based in London, UK. Northway specialises in biographies of musicians, and British social and cultural history. Its focus has been particularly on documenting jazz history in Britain but it has also published books on leading US musicians.
Candace Allen is an American novelist, political activist, cultural critic and screenwriter, who is based in London. She was the first African-American woman to be a member of the Directors Guild of America. She is the niece of actress and drama coach Billie Allen, and the former wife of British conductor Sir Simon Rattle.
Workout is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1962. It features performances by Mobley, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, guitarist Grant Green, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings. In October 2014, it was released in Japan on SHM-CD, featuring a previously unissued take of "Three Coins in the Fountain".
No Room for Squares is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on March 7 & October 2, 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Mobley, trumpeters Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd, pianists Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock, bassists John Ore and Butch Warren, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Material recorded at the March 7 session was also included on The Turnaround! with the entire session collected for the first time on the 1989 CD edition of Straight No Filter. The 1989 CD issue of No Room for Squares collects the entire October 7 session save an alternate take of "Carolyn" that was first issued in 2019 as part of The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70.
The Turnaround! is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on March 7, 1963 and on February 4, 1965. It was released in 1965 by Blue Note Records. It features performances by Mobley with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Butch Warren and drummer Philly Joe Jones from the earlier session and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Barry Harris, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Billy Higgins from the latter.
Jazz Journal is a British jazz magazine established in 1946 by Sinclair Traill (1904–1981). It was first published in London under the title Pick Up, which Traill founded as a locus for serious jazz criticism in Britain. In May 1948, Traill, using his own money, relaunched it as Jazz Journal. Traill, for the rest of his life, served as its editor-in-chief. Jazz Journal is Britain's longest published jazz magazine.
The Feelin's Good is a compilation album of tracks recorded by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley in 1963 and 1964 and released on the Music Matters label. It features performances by Mobley, Donald Byrd, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren and Philly Joe Jones.