Jazz fans had a Ball with kenny

Ball, who passed away at the age of 82 after suffering from pneumonia, was best known as lead trumpet player in the band Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

He made regular TV appearances with comic duo Morecambe & Wise at a time when celebrity football fan Eric Morecambe was a director of Luton Town.

The highly respected jazzman performed several times in Dunstable and the Gazette has discovered this picture, right, of him on stage with his band at the town’s annual carnival in the mid ‘60s.

We would love to hear from any readers who remember attending the event and who can tell us exactly when and where it took place.

Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen also played during an evening barbecue after the Priory Church fete, opened by Coronation Street actor William Roache (Ken Barlow), in Dunstable in 1962.

And if you were a regular visitor to Cesars Palace nightclub in Skimpot Road on the Luton/Dunstable border during its heyday, you will recall the band playing there as well.

Ball turned professional in 1953 and formed his own group five years later. They had their first hit record, (I Love You) Samantha, in 1961 and other successes included Midnight In Moscow, March Of The Siamese Children and I Want To Be Like You.

Ball supported his idol, Louis Armstrong, in 1968 during his last European tour and played at the wedding reception for the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981.