God Bless "Humph"

On Friday 25th April we heard of the sad and unexpected news of the passing of Humphrey Lyttelton.

Humph was a true ambassador for Jazz and was a pioneer figure in the trad jazz revival movement. His Career spanned over 50 years and his intelligent wit and knowledge touched millions... his like will not be seen again..

'Humph' was a frequent visitor to Ronnie Scott's, both as a performer and listener. He last came in last Summer when Keeley Smith was performing.

His BBC Radio Show 'The Best Of Jazz' helped to launch the careers of many British Jazz Musicians, and he would always be prepared to give young musicians a chance.

Ironically Stacey Kent and Jim Tomlinson were performing at the club on Friday evening, Stacey was a very close personal friend of Humph and worked with him many times...In addition, and as a small tribute to Humph, in the opening set James Pearson drew his material from the 'Traditional Jazz'
repertoire, and played "Bad Penny Blues" and "Sweet Georgia Brown"

With the recent passing of George Melly and Allan Ganley, the news of
Humphrey Lyttelton's death marks the end of an era.