Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Keith Ronald Christie was born January 6, 1931 in Blackpool, England and began playing trombone at 14 while attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He formed a band with his brother Ian in the late 1940s, and soon after the pair joined the band of Humphrey Lyttleton, recording copiously.

Keith served in the military early in the 1950s, reconvening to lead an ensemble with his brother in 1951 that lasted until 1953. He went on to work with other jazz musicians like John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, George Chisholm, Vic Ash and others in the mid 50s. He worked with Ted Heath as well as Allan Ganley in the Jazzmakers from the late 50s to early 60s, with brief stints in other bands through the end of the decade.

During this period he joined Benny Goodman on a European tour, also playing with Tubby Hayes, Paul Gonsalves, Kenny Wheeler, Ronnie Ross, and Bobby Lamb among others. In the mid-1970s Keith Christie suffered and recovered from a fall but his continuing battles with alcoholism eventually resulted in the trombonist’s early death on December 16, 1980 in London, England.

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