Johnny Parker (jazz pianist)

John Robert " Johnny" Parker ( born November 6, 1929 in Beckenham (Kent ), † 11 June 2010) was a British jazz pianist.

Parker began playing in jazz bands in the 1940s, after he heard boogie-woogie pianist in the U.S. Soldatensender AFN. Until 1948 he was the house pianist in Catford Rhythm Club. During this time he served from 1948 to 1950 in the Royal Ordnance Corps in the testing of ammunition, but played casually with jazz musicians such as Beryl Bryden and Mike Daniels. 1950/51 he studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic and played in the band of Mick Mulligan. 1951 to 1957 he played with Humphrey Lyttelton, with whom he accompanied, among others, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Eddie Condon. After that he played with his own band and one year for Graham Stewart and then took a job in an aircraft factory as a component inspector. 1961/62 he played with Monty Sunshine and 1962/63 for Blues Incorporated by Alexis Korner.

He led his own bands now and again, played with Diz Disley, Cyril Davies and Long John Baldry and worked in between again in a factory and from the late 1960s to 1978, often with Kenny Ball and appeared regularly on the Cork Festival. In the 1970s and 1980s he had his own bands over and over again and played as a soloist in London, Switzerland and Germany. He accompanied by traveling jazz musicians such as Wild Bill Davison, Doc Cheatham and Eddie Miller. 1979/80 he was in Hefty Jazz by Keith Smith and he played with Sammy Rimington in the 1970s and 1980s and the Summer All Stars by Pat Halcox. In the 1980s, he was with the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band in Germany and Denmark. In the 1990s, his appearances for health reasons subsided, but he continued to play solo and in his own trio. He played in the London area and toured the Middle East. In 2005, he withdrew entirely from the music scene.

He was married twice with two children from his first and second marriage ( with the South African singer Peggy Phango (died 1998), a cousin of Miriam Makeba ).

Lexical entry

June 11 Eddie Miller (jazz saxophonist) Integrated Authority File
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