Okay Chris as you asked, a blog mentioning you. Chris kenningley come to Leeds College of Art as a callow youth, with dark good looks and one talent. Not his drawing skills, we all had them, nor the fact that he had escaped the mining village of South Emsal, with his lungs still intact, but that he could play the clarinet. As Martin Fox, the best trad jazz clarinet player in the whole of the North of England, had been nearly wiped out at the FForde Grene traffic lights in Harehills by a drunk lorry driver, Chris was dragged reluctantly into the The Ed O'Donnel jazz band. Ed gave him some King Oliver records to listen to and expected him to learn all the licks in a week to play at the Friday night rave at Woodhouse Moor working men's club. I was there selling condoms at 3 shillings for 3, to pay my way through the week. Much to everybody's surprise Chris got through 6 numbers, and became a regular fixture. After that he was enrolled in the Leeds Jazz society and deped in all the jazz bands in the area. One night coming going to a gig in Sheffield the car passed through Hoyland Common, and Chris after 10 pint of Tetley's was in need of a piss. So rather than stop the bus he peed out of the window, or that was what Herbert Hooley of high Hoyland reported to the police. In actual fact the lads were larking about with water pistols playing at Candid Camera stunts and Herbert claimed the pee had ruined his new tie. At Barnsley Magistrates Court Chris protested his innocence and was let off much to the chagrin of the rest of the band who were fined. The press got hold of the story and it became front page news in all the tabloids. He went on to playing the sax and trying to make a name for himself in London, but the Leeds Music Mafia kept him at bay for full stardom. However not that many players can say they were complimented by Rose Hayes, Tubby's wife, in the Meridian Hotel in Nice, for their playing. As Tubby is one of my hero's this alone puts Chris in my hall of fame.
We were in Nice for the Nice Jazz Festival, we had both managed to get hold of press passes and spent most of our time between the murguez stall and back stage, or in the well in front of the stage reserved for press photographers. Stan Getz did a 2 hour set with just a piano player and Chris and I stood in the wings two arms lengths away in such awe of his talent that we didn't take a photo of the performance although we both had cameras. We just forgot. Such is the power of the master of the West Coast Scene. Rose Hayes knew Getz from Tubbie's friendship with him, and introduced me to him, I was tongue tied but managed to quiz him on his set up. I could see he had a Selmer mark VI tenor and a rubber mouth piece. He said as he was getting old and had cancer so he preferred a set up that was an easy blow. Here it is.
An Otto Link 5* rubber with a 2.5 reed. Now you know.
