LVSteve
Member
We lost Kenny Ball today. He was a stalwart of the traditional (trad) jazz movement in the UK for 50 years. Kenny was such a proponent of the style that he was invited to play with Louis Armstrong and was made an honourary citizen of New Orleans.
His band was also the resident band for the British TV comedy duo Morecombe and Wise and as you might guess Kenny had to put up with some "stuff" from that pair.
The big question about Kenny Ball is did he help end the Cold War. Think I'm kidding? Kenny and his band actually toured the the Soviet Union and rearranged an old Russian song into "Midnight in Moscow" which was a hit in the UK in 1961. Turns out the tune was a favourite of both Ronald Reagan and Mikhael Gorbachev. It is alleged that the pair sang it together during a break in their summit talks.
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - "Midnight in Moscow" (original) - YouTube
His band was also the resident band for the British TV comedy duo Morecombe and Wise and as you might guess Kenny had to put up with some "stuff" from that pair.
The big question about Kenny Ball is did he help end the Cold War. Think I'm kidding? Kenny and his band actually toured the the Soviet Union and rearranged an old Russian song into "Midnight in Moscow" which was a hit in the UK in 1961. Turns out the tune was a favourite of both Ronald Reagan and Mikhael Gorbachev. It is alleged that the pair sang it together during a break in their summit talks.
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - "Midnight in Moscow" (original) - YouTube
