[Dixielandjazz] Acker in Poland

Marek Boym marekboym at gmail.com
Mon Sep 17 03:40:45 PDT 2007


Hello Bill,
Was Carter in Poland with Acker?
I met Acker in, I believe, 1992, at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival.  The
meeting was arranged through his bass player, who, having heard from a
mutual friend that I was at the Wroclaw concert, said that Acker had
very find memories of that tour, and would probably kike to meet me.
Cheers

On 17/09/2007, Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Bill,
> You might as well be right.
> As to discographical evidence, the first recording listed by Derard
> Bielderman is the June 25, 1954 one with Colyer.
> But that may only mean that Acker did not record right away.  And even
> some of his early records were not all that good - the development
> came later!  I have an LP  with tracks recorded August 1, August  28
> and December 10, 1957, and they leave a lot to be desired!
> Cheers
>
> On 17/09/2007, Bill Haesler <bhaesler at bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> > Marek Boym wrote:
> > > Your sources may be right, but I don't think so.
> > > I spoke to Acker Bilk about that tour, and he corroborated an earlier
> > > date.  But he was not all that young, so he might have been wrong.
> >
> > Dear Marek,
> > The official Acker Bilk web site, which I also checked (and dismissed)
> > the other day, says [in part]:
> >   "Demobbed, Acker formed his first Band in Bristol, but then he and
> > Jean moved to London so he could become the clarinettist with the Ken
> > Colyer Band, but he hated London and returned to Bristol to form the
> > Bristol Paramount Jazz Band. In 1951 [so the home page says] this Band
> > came to London and Acker and Jean survived in a factory attic in
> > Plaistow until the Band got their first big break - six weeks constant
> > playing in a beer bar in Dusseldorf."
> > Which implies much earlier dates than Acker's usual biographical
> > accounts and the discographal evidence.
> > With respect, I would rather trust researchers like John Chilton,
> > DJMLer Brian Wood and the early LP album notes than a musician's
> > impromptu memory.
> > Having written 100s of musical biogs, I know what their memories are
> > like, including my own.
> > 8>)
> > Listmate and broadcaster Brian Harvey was involved with Doug Dobell
> > (who has put the Polish trip in 1957, before Dusseldorf) in producing
> > Acker's first records in the mid 50s. What say Brian?
> > Kind regards,
> > Bill.
> >
> >
>



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