Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ian Armit was born on April 11, 1929 in Kirckaldy, Fife, Scotland and little is known about his youth. Surfacing on the jazz scene in 1957 he was found performing with Sandy Brown and releasing the solo EP Jazz Club Piano for Decca Records.

In 1960 Ian began a two year stint with the Humphrey Lyttelton Band and went on to record with Al Fairweather, Cy Laurie, The Wally Fawkes-Sandy Brown Quintet and Wally Fawkes and The Troglodytes. He guested a few of Chris Barber appearances for BBC Radio in 1963. The following year he led his own quintet on the BBC Radio program “Three’s Company.

Tiring of jazz he turned his direction towards blues in late 1964 he joined Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, followed by Long John Baldry’s Hoochie Coochie Men and then became a member of The Steampacket. He recorded with Rod Stewart, toured with Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac. He remained with Baldry until 1972 when he joined Bob Wallis on a European tour.

Moving to Switzerland, Armit once again led a quartet and recorded Ian’s Boogie Woogie with the Old Rivertown jazz band in 1989. He would play with the Piccadilly Six, the Harlem Ramblers and other blues bands.

Pianist, composer and bandleader Ian Armit, who never returned to jazz, died after a short illness on February 19, 1992 in Zurich, Switzerland.

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