In the first article about Ken Colyer we looked at his childhood and saw how he finally reached New York City. In this article we will continue our story and look at what happened when Ken went into the city and how this changed his life. We will also look at his first steps as a professional musician and his first band.
In the spring of 1948 Ken Colyer arrived in New York City and couldn’t believe what he saw and heard. Back home in England Ken had seen a concert of jazz gitarist Eddie Condon aired by the BBC, so his first stop was Eddie Condon’s jazz club. So he bought a ticket for that night's show and he was lucky, Ken could get a seat very close to the stage and had the time of his life listening to Eddie Condon host a jam session. He revisits the club a couple of times and realises that there is nothing better than live jazz, you can listen to studio recordings but they are just a pale comparison to seeing and listening to a live jazz show. Unfortunately for Ken the Port Sydney could stay in New York City forever and sailed back to London with Ken on board. Also on board was a stack of records bought by Ken in New York. During his stay in New York City Ken had written a number of letters to his brother Bill raving about the New York jazz scene and all the great live shows he had seen. Bill can’t believe what he is reading and also signs up for the Merchant navy and manages to get a job on the Port Sydney. When Ken arrived back in London he told everybody who wanted to hear, how amazing New York City is and how great the musicians are in America. After a short stay back home Ken, this time with his older brother Bill, gets on board the Port Sydney again. This time it is not going to New York City but South America instead and the brothers must have been disappointed about not going to North America but make the best of the trip. Bill is shoving coal below deck, four hours a day, then eight hours of rest and then back to four hours of shoving coal. It’s a tough job and Bill has to work hard but he was very lucky getting on the same ship as his little brother. Meanwhile Ken was still working in the kitchen and became friends with one of the second chefs, Les Mullocks. Les had brought his banjo on board and Ken had his trumpet with him. Les was also a jazz fan and soon Les and Ken would jam, while Bill kept the rhythm beating on a suitcase. Since that first jam session the three friends jammed every night and it was soon apparent that Ken had talent and could play along with a song after hearing it only once or twice. Bill is impressed with his little brother and wants to help him get gigs when they are back in London. In London, and in the rest of England, the trad jazz boom was slowly happening with George Webb as the big British hero on his piano. When Ken is back in London, he goes to one of George Webb’s concerts at King George’s Hall and after the show decides it’s time to quit his job and become a professional musician. By this time Ken is sure that he is as good as any professional musician in the UK, he just needs a chance to prove himself. Bill was going to try and get some jobs for Ken but that wasn’t easy. Ken couldn’t play a solo show, so he needed a band that he could join and play some shows with them.
It turned out that it wasn’t easy to find a band that wanted to hire someone who couldn’t read notes and had no experience performing or playing with a band but said that he had a lot of talent. After a while he got an audition to play with the Jelly Roll Kings but Ken failed on multiple levels. Later on we will talk about the fact that Ken Colyer wasn’t an easy person to work with and this already shows in his first audition. Jelly Roll Kings bandmember Dave Stevens remembers Ken’s audition and said that Ken did not say a word to the other band members and because of that they didn’t say anything to him and rejected him.
At the end of 1948 Ken was back in London for more than six months, he quit his job but hasn’t found a band to play with, and hasn’t played a single show. Just one audition, that was all he got. Ken must have felt miserable living with his parents in Cranford, 24 kilometres from London’s city centre. Suburbs like Cranford became very popular in the mid fifties but there wasn't much to do for teenagers. If you wanted to get out you had to take the bus and be back on time before the last bus. Ken still visits jazz clubs in Soho but that’s nothing compared to what he heard in New York. Ken was still determined to make it as a professional musician but had to work, cleaning trains on the London Underground to make ends meet.
Ken Colyer is described by many, who knew him, as not a very social person, his brother Bill is different, he is very social and has many friends. Also unlike Ken Bill doesn’t want to become a musician but would like to be Ken’s manager, to look after his little brother. One day one of his friends tells Bill that he has a little brother that plays guitar and is of the same age as Ken. When Ken hears about this friend's little brother, he takes his trumpet and goes over to that friend's house to meet this guitar player. So on a Saturday afternoon Ben Marshall opens his front door to be greeted by a guy holding a trumpet. “Hello, my brother knows your brother and they told me that you play guitar.” Is the first thing Ken says to Ben and Ben decides to let the guy in. Not long after that the two are jamming and Ken starts telling him that he is looking for a band. Ben is already in a band with a few friends but they aren’t playing the kind of jazz Ken would like to play. They are playing trad jazz but Ken would like to go even further back in time and play the old jazz songs.
Ben recognizes that Ken has talent but isn’t sure about the songs Ken would like to play, so Ken invites Ben over to his house to listen to some old records. The more Ben listens to these songs the more he likes them and decides to talk to the band about letting Ken join them and play his kind of jazz.