The photograph above was posted to the Facebook page of Simon Spillett and appropriated here for its huge significance to the story of Duke Ellington's visits to the UK.
According to Simon, the photgraph portrays "Ellingtonians at the Flamingo club in Wardour Street with some of London's finest, October 1958.
Left to right: Harry South, Tony Kinsey, Jeff Kruger, Paul Gonsalves, Jack Sharpe, Ray Nance, Ronnie Scott and Harry Carney."
October 1958 saw Duke Ellington tour the UK with the entire compliment of his Orchestra for the first time in twenty-five years, his famous initial visit in 1933.
The 1958 tour began a series of regular visits by the band to the UK which lasted for the next fifteen years and which were virtually annually throughout the mid-1960s.
Of the musicians pictured, Paul Gonsalves perhaps developed the closest ties to the UK, recording several albums here, including two with Tubby Hayes and the album Boom Jackie Boom Chick title track of which was named for Jack Sharpe in the picture above.
In anticipation of what we migh call The Eastbourne Festival, there will be several posts about Duke Ellington's time in the UK to follow...
We are delighted to learn just today that Pete Long's Echoes of Ellington Orchestra, which will take to the stage of The Congress Theatre, Eastbourne as the centrepiece of the festival on 12 October, will include Simon Spillett in the chair of Paul Gonsalves. In this regard, Simon's presence means that1973 is fused directly with 2025: Paul was unavailable due to illness and did not appear at Eastbourne. On that occasion, his place was taken by Percy Marion.
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