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Diz Disley - Jazz Guitarist
1931~2010
-
Stephane & Django's Renaissance Man
 
Sadly
Diz Disley Passed away on Monday 22nd March 2010 but you don't have to believe
it if you don't want to. Alas no more 'Sausage me a Gregory' requests.
Think of
it as a Reunion with the Master
- William Charles "Diz" Disley, guitarist,
born 27 May 1931; died 22 March 2010
His funeral was held on Wednesday, 7th
April at The West Chapel, West London Crematorium at Kensal Green, Harrow Road, London
W10 4RA there was a procession behind the marching band. Sadly,
Diz was destitute and funds were needed for a fitting send off.
If you feel you
would like to make a contribution, please make your cheque payable to DIZAID
and send it to me at 5
Dronfield Road, Stoke,
Coventry, CV2 4BZ. The DizAid
Concert mentioned below is still going ahead. Very many thanks, Swarb
x”
Didn't Diz
Ramble
Just a
Closer Walk with Diz
 
The
first ever recording of Diz Disley in a 1952 performance at the
Royal Festival Hall - and Ken Colyer, Humph, and Alex Welsh. Diz is identified
only as ‘Disley’. - Alex B
Diz Disley, supplementing his day job (as are other members
of his group) playing Django's music. Diz and his band of semi-pros played every
Thursday at London's Club Django. In his band were
Neville Skrimshire
and Denny Purrsord
on guitars,
Dick Powell
on violin and
Timmy Mahn on bass. Another
point of interest is that a pre 16 year-old Diz
learnt his Django licks from violinist
Norrie Greenwood
where at weekends they would go out to Norrie's caravan in the country and play
for hours into the night.
I knew that he'd been ill for
some time. It would be nice to invite eulogies on the website. So many were
affected by him.
I remember fondly playing Nuages on his Selmer Maccaferri when I was 17. He
accompanied me on a flat top, lent by an audience member. He was always
supportive and encouraging and beneath that legendary wit lay a musician of
calibre who loved his swing jazz and played the most tasteful chord progressions
with rock-steady precision. He played a lot of folk clubs where at some point Django
would always take over almost seamlessly!
I can only imagine
what fanfare Django and Stephane are playing for him but they will all be
jamming for a long, long time! Paul Vernon Chester.
 I
only ever met Ike Isaacs once - when he was with Diz,
guess it may have been around 1977 - and just after he had a blazing row with
Grappelli. He was a gracious, thoughtful guy who gave me an interview for Radio
Leeds. At the time I was with the University Jazz band and I was in awe of these
men who seemed to be so understated and modest. I got the impression that he did
not trust Diz Disley, simply because he never referred to him and evaded my
questions about the trio. (Diz, Ike and Ron Chesterman, bass) -
Alex B
Phil Bates
Double Bass player Phil Bates was born in Brixton, London in
1931 and he took up
the instrument in his teens. He played with Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes' Jazz
Couriers in 1958 after previous work at the 51 Club with Harry Klein and Vic
Ash. Through the 1950s and '60s he worked with some top bands including
the Peter King Quartet, Jack Sharpe Quintet, and the Ronnie Ross-Bert Courtley
Jazztet (for almost a year from April 1961). A longer spell, from
1962 to 1968
followed with the Dick Morrissey Quartet where he also worked with
Harry South
both in the quartet and South's own big band. He is heard to good effect as a
soloist on the two Morrissey quartet albums recorded in 1963 and '64. From
1970 he was a successful freelance and worked with Sonny Stitt and
Jimmy
Witherspoon and other visiting celebrities. He led his own trio from the 1990s
and was also active as a teacher.
I was 12
when I first met Diz. It was the early 1950s and my father, Tom Cundall, was
co-editing Jazz Journal with Sinclair Trail. This was an early example for me of
why not to get involved in Jazz as it involved trips to a pawnbroker’s in
Kilburn High Road to raise the money to pay the printers bill. Diz stayed at
our home a few times, doing artworks for Jazz Journal. He also had a guitar and
a trumpet and I had a ukulele. He taught me a couple of what might just about
have been approximations of chords and so I had the rare honour of backing Diz
while he was on trumpet and I was still in short trousers - until my father said
we were upsetting the landlady, a hanging offence at the time. Diz always seemed
larger than life to me, clearly enormously talented, always cheerful – although
I have never forgotten one horror story he told me from his time in the army in
Trieste. I last saw him about 15 years ago, playing with
Digby Fairweather at
the Pizza Express in Dean St. He instantly called up memories from when he used
to stay with us and told me he now had some land in Almeira which he hoped to
get permission to turn into a golf course. So I was very surprised to learn he
was broke when he died. - Peter Cundall
What a fellow Diz was. I used to run Folk Clubs in the sixties and early 70s
around Northampton. One time I remember him turning up in a Rolls Royce which
did not have a steering wheel but some sort of joy stick to steer it by. He
enjoyed giving me a ride and showing it off. He is the only person who ever
asked me if I took any money for myself form the folk club admission charge.
When I told him no he gave me a couple of quid. He would get paid about £10 for
his guest spot. Mind you I was earning about £12 a week as a teacher. On a
couple of occasions with his £10 fee he took himself, me and 2 others for an
Indian meal and still had change. He was one of life's greats and I'm sorry now
I did not keep in touch when I stopped running clubs. Wilfrid Feely
I knew Diz in the 60's - met
him at Corby Folk Club. He was very talented, very amusing & could be very
unreliable! Besides his obvious musical talent he was an excellent cartoonist &
his monologues were brilliant Re: Wilf Feely - I was with Diz when we all had a
meal after his appearance at a Northampton Folk Club, 1964/5?
RIP Diz,
Mary, Rutland
Diz
Disley
was born in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba,
Canada
but was brought up in
Wales
and northern
England.
In his childhood, he learnt to play the
banjo,
but took up the jazz guitar at the age of 14, after hearing the playing of
Django Reinhardt.
Diz studied art in Leeds and it was a good time for music at the
Leeds
College of Art. There was Diz, Alan Cooper who later formed the
Temperance
7, & from quite a different scene a lad called Frank Abelson who later
became Frankie Vaughn. Diz played banjo in the college band - the Vernon
Street ramblers - when he was asked to join the slightly more prestigious
Yorkshire Jazz band, which brought him to London & the Mick Mulligan/George Melly rave-ups.
WHC-127 ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND
Proper
Records
Yorkshire Jazz Band: Dickie Hawdon, cnt, Eddie
O'Donnell, tb; Alan Cooper, cl; Tommy Dunn, p; Diz Disley, bjo; Bob Barclay,
tu; Stan Bellwood, d.
Sheffield, September 9, 1949
In those days the band
was playing for £4.50 a week. But they didn't even consider the money, it
was a pleasure to be playing Jazz in London. Melody Maker voted Diz Jazz
Guitarist of the Year for a number of years. Diz has played with & continues
to play with some of the great names in Jazz - Big Bill Broonzy, Louis
Armstrong, Ken Colyer, Sandy Brown, Cy Laurie, Kenny Ball & Alex Welsh among
others. Diz led his own quintet at the BBC & compered various folk & jazz
programmes for years.
 It
was while organising the Cambridge Folk Festivals in the early 70's that Diz
invited Stephane Grappelli to make an appearance. Steph had not played his
style of Jazz since Django died in 1953 - mainly because he couldn't find
reliable acoustic guitar players. The best guitar players to suit his style
of Violin Jazz were all gypsies - & reliability was a problem. It was for
that reason that Steph had stepped out of the limelight for almost 20 years,
before meeting with Diz. Stephane wanted a pianist to accompany him at the
Cambridge Folk Festival, but Diz couldn't get the piano across the field to
the stage, so he suggested that he & Denny Wright accompany the legendary Stephane Grappelli. It was an outstanding success. When Diz formed the
Diz
Disley Trio with Ike Isaacs, Steph was asked to lead the band on a short
tour.
 
Melbourne
Solo 1976
Diz with Naguine
Diz Solo 1982
Soho String
Quintet - with Johnny van Derrick
Diz at
Grappelli's 70th Birthday
Musical Career Highlights.
Yorkshire Jazz Band 1949. Mick
Mulligan Jazz Band 1953. Ken Colyer Jazz Band 1954. Cy Laurie Jazz Band
1955. Diz Disley String Quintette 1956. Sandy Brown Band 1956. Bob Cort
Skiffle Group 1957. Nancy Whiskey Group 1958. Kenny Ball Jazzmen 1959.
Alex Welsh Band 1960. BBC Radio Bandleader & Compere 1956-1963. Folk
Clubs & Festivals 1963-73. S. Grappelli & Diz Disley Trio 1973-83.
Artist: Melody Maker, Radio Times, The Spectator, Jazz Journal, Daily
Mirror, record companies, advertising etc. Actor : (Hollywood LA),
Heliotrope Theatre, Mark Taper Theatre. Has recorded 13 albums with
Stephane Grappelli 1973-83. One album Soho String Quintet 1959 on
Lansdowne label.
 Attendance Local Gypsy Jazz Gig:-
 Took
Place on 20th
Oct 2007
Woodcote Village Hall,
Reading Road 1
Mito & Fleco Loeffler + Gypsy Jazz - Ian Cruickshank, John Coverdale
Genuine Alsace Gypsy
guitarists from the French / Belgian Manouche Gypsy Tribe, Mito & Fleco are
highly respected guitarists, in the Django Reinhardt vein Mito Loeffler
and his musical family live in a caravan in Alsace, speaks only Romany
and some bad French and lives and breathes Manouche music of all lands
from traditional waltzes to gypsy jazz. Gypsies begin to play as soon
as they can hold a guitar. Mito’s playing was charming, honest,
bewitching, utterly entrancing. The mature but ever enthusiastic
Diz Disley attended the concert and
sat quietly and appreciatively nodding and voicing his approval of the
Manouche tradition that influenced his own musical contribution in
perpetuating the magic of Django's Heritage. The band paid him due
tribute for his supreme presence..
 
 After
leaving the English military service in the 1950's, William "Diz" Disley
enrolled in art school and became a skilled illustrator and painter,
eventually doing covers and cartoons for the weekly magazine Melody
Maker and the political journal The Spectator.
 Music
entered his life some years earlier when he became a fan of jazz guitar
playing in the style of Django Reinhardt and his group The Hot Club of
France which featured Stephan Grappelli on violin. He mastered the
guitar and before long Diz was on his way up in the world of jazz music.
After joining Tony Crombie's outfit (Britain's first rock and roll band)
in 1958, Diz performed with Acker Bilk (Stranger on the Shore),
Humphrey Lyttleton, Beryl Bryden and others who would gain success on
record like Chas McDevitt, Ken Colyer, Nancy Whiskey and Lonnie Donegan.
Eventually he formed his Diz Disley Trio and made contact with
Stephan Grappelli whose music career had stalled and was playing piano in a hotel
bar in Paris. Through Diz's connections with the British festival
circuit he revived the violinist's career during the 1970's world-wide.
In 1963 the guitarist, artist, had been given the honour of
hosting a popular jazz radio program for BBC before a live audience.
Paul - I was
sorting my CDs the other day and came across the CD: – ‘THE GYPSY JAZZ
GUITAR FESTIVAL ‘98’. This was a live recording, still available
through Fret Records, where I saw Diz for the first time in years. He is
represented on this compilation, which may be of interest to visitors to our
website. It's great to share CD space with him! There are photos of this
festival with myself, Diz and other gypsy musicians which I will try to get to
you. It was a very special day.
Diz in Retirement!
- in his frail maturity he could still be seen mingling with fellow Manoucheries
at various live concerts given by those that have followed his creed.
He sits entranced by the passion and intricate skills of the new
generations that seek to emulate the master as he did.
He could be heard
sighing in delight and satisfaction that he was a torch bearer in
his time and kept the Django Legacy alive and thus restoring its glory
to the ears of a rising generations of Listeners and Players alike.
He
graciously takes a bow each time from the appreciative audiences that
recognise this gargantuan effort to keep this music alive and vibrant -
and what success he achieved!!.
Diz Performance Sydney 1975
The BBC had paid national insurance
contributions on Disley's behalf during the comparatively brief period
he had worked for it. But otherwise the guitarist had made no provision
for his old age and when he became ill in his last years he was
impoverished. He spent the last two years in a home for old people.
Additions to the
Appraisal.
ENCOUNTERS
Like Diz, I was an art student and went down to London
just at the end of the skiffle boom... Donegan had 'gone pop', but trad. and
folk were quick to follow. We went to jazz clubs to keep warm and my mate was
into guitars and banjos. He idolized Django like Diz... they got on well and he
was often allowed to sit in on sessions... and I purchased Diz's 10" LP
released on Dobell's jazz record shop's 77 label and based on Django's HCQ numbers....
one night at the 100 club, Donegan appeared as "Dustman" reached no.1 and I
helped Lon. off with his coat... my mate, Diz and Lon. jammed on banjos...after
the set we all went to a basement below Bunjie's coffee bar off Charing Cross
Road and ALL the greats of UK trad assembled there after hours -- Melly,
Mulligan, Acker etc etc, even Ken Colyer, plus a dwarf on harmonica who really
swung. We left at dawn and kipped down at Diz's after some of the best jazz I've
ever heard! He was up a 10am to do an illustration for Radio Times. The
Fishmonger's Arms at Wood Green was another memorable occasion... Alex Welsh was
playing, with Diz on guitar... a mass brawl ensued but Herr Lennie Hastings did
his usual "Oooooh-yahs" while Welsh and Diz continued playing mounted on chairs
above the melee of beer, blood and broken glass. Diz fixed his plectrum in one
eye pirate- style and the pair rocked to the vocal of 'After you've gone'. Diz
commented "Did you hear the piss-ee-carto there? An Italian word meaning
drunk..." . Fabulous! I went on to work for Decca Records and was flabbergasted
to see Diz recording with pop instrumental group Nero &The Gladiators rocking up
'In the hall of the mountain king'. Such versatility had our Diz...the measure
of a musical genius and perhaps an unsung superstar. Farewell Diz, and I hope
you meet your hero in the sky! - misterill
I met Diz about 40 years ago in Stafford where he
used to visit sometimes at the height of the folk club era. He would
entertain us with humorous ditties and sometimes we would have a meal in
the local Chinese restaurant. It was at one of these meals that he had
us all in stitches ,relating his hilarious exploits on his way to
entertain the troops in Malaya I think it was. One day he turned up at
my mothers house ,where I lived and cadged some money for petrol . He
was off to a gig in Manchester when his Rolls Royce ran out of gas !
True to his word the small loan was repaid. On another occasion
he was on his way to Immingham with a load of disco equipment bound for
Sweden when his car broke down . The gear was stored in our garden shed
until he collected it some time later. I later heard the Swedish disco
venture ended rather ignominiously, but I'll leave the details to Diz!
I met him again some years later at the Cambridge Folk Festival and he
introduced me to Stephane Grappelli . A memorable moment, Stephan played
for us in the tea tent, we were awestruck that such an eminent musician
should ask us what we would like him to play ,when he should have been
relaxing between spots .
Two of life's real gentlemen . I salute
you! Pete Richardson Stafford
There are other anecdotes about Diz I could relate but the person who knew him
best was Ron Winkle, local banjo player and vintage car restorer. Diz
commissioned Ron to paint his Rolls Royce yellow once I believe ! This was
typical of Diz who had a rather cavalier attitude to his own personal road
transport. I remember he had a large heavy saloon which would not go in reverse
so any trip had to be accompanied by helpers who pushed when required . Ron told
me that Diz parked this unwieldy vehicle in the Lord Mayors parking spot in
Birmingham once when attending a gig.I can only imagine the kerfuffle that
probably ensued !
Diz was unfailingly courteous in all the dealings he had with me and his memory
was and probably still is prodigious . He never forgot my mother and sister ,and
would enquire of their welfare ,despite the passage of many years and the fact
that he only met them once.
Our association was very brief but I often think of the
humour and fun he brought into our lives. I'd love to drop him a line but don't
have his address . One little anecdote that I never forgot was when I asked Diz
how he kept so fit and slim . His reply was "It all goes in through the mouth
son " Pete Richardson Stafford
An old friend of mine who is now in his early nineties and who's name is
Norrie Greenwood claimed to know Diz Dizley in his very early days.
Norrie often recounted the story of how he was playing his guitar in his
house in Settle, Ribblesdale when the postman rang the door bell and
asked what kind of music Norrie was playing. Norrie went on to give the
postman a few lessons but was soon outclassed by him. The postman
turned out to be Diz. Norrie would tell this story to anybody who would
listen and most of us in the local jazz scene took it with a pinch of
salt. That was until all the local players including Norrie went to see
Stephane G. with Dizley at the Annersley Hotel in Lincoln. When Dizley
saw Norrie he was said to be over the moon and insisted that he went
back stage to meet Stephane. I don't think Norrie, after shaking hands
with Stephane, has washed his hand since! Nobody knows if the story
was correct but Diz's reaction on seeing Norrie would lend some credence
to the tale. -
Best
Wishes - Alan Davies - Lincoln
I also know Norrie Greenwood and a few years ago met Diz Disley who was on his
way to play a concert in Lancaster. He called in on Norrie at Hellifield, where
Norrie was living at the time and played along with us .well I say along he was
stunning .the evening is on a video the fiddle player's wife made.. He didn't
tell me Diz was coming he just said there was a special friend coming to the
practice session ...special indeed...Diz confirmed the postman story by the
way....Doug Lawrence
Hi, ref Diz
Disley. I used to see him at the Surbiton (Surrey) folk club quite often. He
would sing gently ribald songs and play a lovely old Maccaferri type guitar. He
can't be that old now - why doesn't he ever perform? Anyway, he made me fall in
love with that type of guitar and it's music. So I wish him many thanks.
All the best Nick Weeks
I'm
back-tracking to 1964/65 when I was also part of the Surbiton folk club
audience. At that stage Diz always included one or two George Formby
impersonations in his folk club performances and this led to the production of
an LP featuring George's songs. A number of recruits from the Surbiton audience
attended the recording studio to provide choral backup and applause (myself
included). Diz designed the record cover which featured a cartoon of George
Formby sitting astride a huge stick of Blackpool rock, with the title "EEE, What
a Whopper". The record was a tribute to George Formby who had died in 1961 -
though the rather risque cover meant it wasn't a record for taking home to
mother at that time! I recall Diz had great respect for the accomplishments of
former generations, whether the subject be music, musicians, flying machines or
cars. He heard about a 1926 Rolls Royce that someone was trying to sell. It
wasn't going but he was excited at the prospect of working on it and I lent him
the £15 needed to buy it. He got it going and I later had some rides - feeling
very high and mighty, sitting way above mere mortals in the 1960s London
traffic. Best wishes to the very able star of this show. -
Linda Muldoon (in Canberra)
When I lived in Corby, I remember Diz Disley was booked to
play at the Nag's Head in the old village, having played there myself on a
few occasions, I asked him if I could sit in. Diz , at the time was doing
his solo folk club thing but called me on during the second set.
It must have gone ok as he invited me to his next gig in Market Harboro', I
turned up feeling quite nervous, however I felt a lot worse after the interval
when he announced me as "boy wonder"!! after the first number I got up to go
and he told me in no uncertain terms to "sit down" so I ended up doing all the
second set with him, he then invited me to do a concert with him on the
following Saturday in Leicester.
At the time I was a member of quite a successful local band called "The
Midnighters" run by two brothers, Pat and John Casey, and I had a gig with them
on the same night so I had to decline his offer, Diz was not the type to accept
such a futile excuse so I remember him saying to me "this is not a pub gig dear
boy, it's a Concert in a Theatre, it's your big chance" sadly it was a chance I
missed, as much as I wanted to do it I felt I had to honour the first gig with
the boys.
When he was in the area Diz called on me a few times after that, he had a big
influence on my playing and certainly kept you on your toes, - playing with Diz was
a great experience. - Ade Holland Jazz
Guitarist
I first met Diz in the late 60s/early 70s at a
Bayswater pub called “The Redan” on the corner of Queensway and Westbourne Grove
in London. I was playing jug band music and early 20s jazz with a loose
collection of musicians called “The Egbert Souse All-Stars”. The pub landlord
was an ex-muso called Johnny Watkins, and Diz was his tenant in the upstairs
flat. Johnny had all kinds of jazz-based music going on – I recall Sunday
lunchtime sessions with Frank and Laurie Denise, for example, and the “Egberts”
played once a week. We weren’t particularly accomplished musicians, but we
played with enthusiasm and gave a good performance for £2 each and a free beer!
The band members would come – or not – as the mood took them and, one
particularly sparse night, there were only 3 or 4 of us playing. Diz came
downstairs for a pint, saw us struggling, and went upstairs for his Maccaferri.
He jammed with us all night and turned it into a wonderful evening. When we’d
finished, I asked if he would take a share of the kitty. He said “no”, he had a
good gig the next evening. When asked where, he said “Carnegie Hall – with
Stephane”. I last saw him when I was playing at a folk club in Arundel called
“The Willows”. I turned up to watch. He saw me in the audience and asked me to
come up and play “backing” guitar for him – which turned out as me taking as
many solos as he did! He drove a huge hearse in those days, and wondered where
he could fill up before going back to London. I’ve not heard of Diz for years –
hope he’s OK...Mike Ainscough
Hi - I served with him in Trieste in 1940 and was in touch till nearly 1950.
Diz gave us all instruments - spoons, comb and paper, harmonicas, and wash
boards. We ran Music sessions in the various Barrack rooms. -
Lionel Morgan ex Sgt - Royal Signals
I tripped over this site while
trying to search for Derek Sergeant who used to be resident compare at the
Surbiton Folk Club which was mentioned by some of your other correspondents.
Anyway - back to Diz Disley - who was definitely a favourite of mine when he
appeared at Surbiton. The main reason for this was that along with his Jazz
Guitar and Folk Songs and occasions when he accompanied the likes of Martin
Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, he was also capable of excruciatingly funny
renditions of such favourite Humorous Monologues such as The Battle of Hastings
and Albert and the Lion. Without fail, the entire audience, which at that time
regularly included actor Michael Balfour, would be convulsed with laughter
making for a very enjoyable evening. The very last time I saw Diz at
Surbiton, I asked if he would do the Battle of Hastings for me and he did kindly
make a stab at it, but it seems he had not been performing monologues for some
time and unfortunately he had to give up part way through because he could no
longer remember the words to continue. Thank you Diz for many super
memories of the Surbiton Folk Club which in days gone by was held at the
Surbiton Assembly Halls near Kingston upon Thames.
John Paine
I went to the Fishmongers Arms -
Wood Green Jazz Club. He forgot to mention Thursday nights when Diz Dizley
played there with the great Denny Wright.- Martin Guy
 The
Dark Side - Disley was always asking fellow musos play in his impromptu
all string quartets. Little is known what happened to his earnings which were
quite substantial. He earned generous fees, but he was always broke. In about
1976 that he made $25000+ dollars for a 2 week tour of America
with Grappelli. He always worked. Grappelli had a reputation for being
moody and stingy, but he always paid his sidemen generously. In 2005 Diz was
living near the Enfield airfield, and often burst into bitter rants against
Grappelli and Martin Taylor. He blamed them for everything. Even close friends
disowned him in the end and still owed the odd £50 cajoled from them. He then
had some three Macca’s one broken, one D hole and a small hole, and also a
Gibson, which looked rather like Bill Bramwell’s… All probably borrowed
desperately for an urgent fictitous gig on a promise of care and conveniently
not returned.
Sausage me a Gregory! was his urgent call for cashing a cheque.
A Little Humourous Vocal
from Diz and Bassist Ray Campi -
Diz (centre) here with Ray Campi and Carl
Perkins 1997
Diz once borrowed my favoured guitar, a hand built Italian
cello style, which in truth was too mellow for Jazz, but hell, I was young!
Eventually I had to travel to London to retrieve it. Kenny Baker once sacked Diz
when he failed to turn up for a Nixa 'Baker's Dozen' recording, I believe Roy
Plummer was brought in a short notice. As a result he never played with
Baker again and Baker subsequently blackballed Diz. Alex B
DIZ DISLEY MEMORIAL CONCERT, MARTIN CARTHY & DAVE SWARBRICK, LE HOT CLUB DE
LONDRES, DICK LAURIE & THE ELASTIC BAND, BOBBY CLARK & DENNY PURSSORD, HYLDA
SIMS, SIMON PRAGER & KEVIN STENSON
Thank you for the news on my old friend, Diz Disley – we met in 1960s London,
also meeting up in Bahrain with Acker Bilk in the 80s – and many more times. I
was sad to hear of his frailty and accept that visiting him is out. Di Klein
In the late 1940’s
Denis Preston joined the pioneering Jazz magazine,
‘Jazz
Music’
which coincidentally employed the late Diz Disley as illustrator and cartoonist.
Often covering the ‘100
Club’
reviews Denis was to befriend many Jazz musicians. - Alex B
During the mid seventies I ran Leeds Uni's Jazz club and was also secretary
for the folk club. I booked Diz to appear - as at the time he wasn't touring
with Grappelli. Diz rang me on the Tuesday as he was to perform on the Friday,
and he informed me that he was booked at a Wakefield club the following day,
however due to Licensing issue it had been cancelled.
So he couldn't come, 'Not worth it, cock...' I said I would
contact him as I had a friend who ran either a Jazz or a Folk club in Dewsbury;
this I arranged and subject to formalities he agreed to fulfil his booking. I
met him at the station and was surprised as he was not carrying his guitar. I
originate from a fairly musical family and one scion of the tribe runs a music
business, then in Leeds, now in Harrogate. I had acquired an Italian hand made
guitar, rather like a Maccaferri but with a large oval sound hole. I had got it
at cost, which was the only way I could afford it.
Needless to say Diz 'borrowed' it, for both the Dewsbury bash
and my Uni's do... He subsequently returned to Hammersmith, failing to return my
guitar. As at the time I was playing with a Condonesque type band I needed my
guitar. So I ended up having to go to London to retrieve it.
I met him several times
during the intervening years and though he was always friendly ...I never
forgave him. Diz,
although he is held in great affection was 'bitchy'. He 'hated' 'that bloody
Colyer' 'fake and about as plausible as Jellyroll Morton' - 'Grappelli was an
arse bandit' So was Diz - if it had a pulse he was not bothered which sex it
was. Mind, it beats
being pursued around a Manchester nightclub by George Melly, wearing only long
johns and waving a large bar of soap. Alex B
|
PAUL
VERNON CHESTER
