[Dixielandjazz] Albert Hall (was Beatles' Music)

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Dingo et al,

Albert Hall (for those not in the know, also the name of one London's most prestigious concert halls) was a real trumpeter, a pro on the London jazz and session scene. I don't know if he's still with us, but he was a friend of my old pal, trumpeter John McLevy. Albert's father had been a pro trumpeter before him and was the source of a much-quoted piece of advice to young Albert when the latter was starting out on his career in the music business. It went something like this

There are three bits of important advice and if you pay heed to them you should be OK, but ignore them at your peril: One, never be a mug at the bar. Two, don't hang around with chorus-girls as they'll spend your money quicker than you can earn it. Three, and the most important of them all, never trust a drum break!

It was also good to see my old pals Bill LeSage and Ronnie Ross getting a mention. Both were enormously talented musicians and lovely guys. Ronnie left us much too early, but in his day he was in great demand for jazz and session work all over the world. In addition to the names mentioned by Bill, he also worked world-wide with Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey and other big-name popular singers.

Cheers,

Ken Mathieson
www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk