Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Andy Raphael Thomas Hamilton, MBE was born March 26, 1918 in Port Maria, Jamaica, and learned to play saxophone on a bamboo instrument. He formed his first band in 1928 with friends who were influenced by American musicians such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie and by the Kingston-based bands of Redver Cook and Roy Coburn.

While in the U.S. he worked as a cook and farm laborer but also held short jazz residencies in Buffalo and Syracuse, New York. Returning to Jamaica, he worked as musical arranger for Errol Flynn at his hotel The Titchfield, and on his yacht the Zaka.

Hamilton emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1949 as a stowaway and eventually lived in Birmingham and worked in a factory, while at night he played jazz with his own group, the Blue Notes formed with fellow Jamaican pianist Sam Brown in 1953. He would go on to play local gigs, promote numerous Jamaican bands like Steel Pulse, and established a regular weekly venue in Bearwood, inviting visiting musicians such as Joe Newman, Al Casey, Teddy Edwards, Art Farmer, Harry Sweets Edison, and David Murray.

In 1988 EndBoards Production produced a documentary called Silver Shine about Andy Hamilton’s migration to the UK and the hurdles experienced in growing his music career, the changing musical taste of Windrush generation and their descendants. The documentary features Andy’s Band the Blue Notes with lead vocalist Ann Scott; his first youth band The Blue Pearls, Tony Sykes, Millicent Stephenson, his children Graeme and Mark.

Having recovered from a diabetic coma in 1986, he celebrated his 70th birthday in 1988 playing at his regular venue, The Bear, performed at the Soho Jazz Festival, and in 1991 at the age of 73, Hamilton made his first-ever recording with Nick Gold, Silvershine on World Circuit Records. It became the biggest selling UK Jazz Album of the Year, The Times Jazz Album of the Year, and one of the 50 Sony Recordings of the Year. It was followed two years later by Jamaica at Night, which led to Caribbean and European concerts and national tours. Playing regularly until his death, his 90th birthday concert featured Courtney Pine, Sonny Bradshaw, Myrna Hague, Lekan Babalola, Nana Tsiboe, son Mark and The Notebenders.

Saxophonist Andy Hamilton, appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours among other awards, continued to play, teach and promote music even as he approached his 94th birthday, passing away peacefully on June 3, 2012.

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