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| Bob Wallis |
 Bob was born in 1934 in the Yorkshire coastal town of Bridlington. The Wallis family showed a diversity of talents. Bob''s father, a veteran sailor and eventually Harbour Master at Bridlington, made magnificent model sailing ships in bottles. His mother, bored with life in her seventies, commenced evening classes on building wardrobes. Bob''s younger brother, Freddie, became a continental opera star. When Bob was old enough he joined, together with school pal Keith "Avo" Avison, the band of the Salvation Army - his mother was a stalwart member - and took up cornet. Affected by poor vision in his right eye, Bob had a tendency to march straight on when the rest of the band turned right! It needed a vigorous sideways swipe from Avo''s trombone to keep him on course. Bob''s questing appetite for life soon found a perfect medium for expression in jazz. From the start he identified with the emotional power and striking simplicity of Negro blues, gospel and work songs. His favorites included Leadbelly and Jimmy Yancey, Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe - with whom Bob was to tour Europe in 1985. He always disliked pretentious artifice, and contrived, self-conscious effects. Bob preferred his music like his tea - strong, dark, hot and not too sweet! He loved New Orleans jazz, King Oliver and Bunk Johnson being two particular idols. By 1954 Bob led his own band in Bridlington and Hull, but a wanderlust which was to remain with him all his life took him back-packing and gigging round Denmark. There he recorded some vocals with his "Washboard Beaters" for the Storyville label. Returning to England, he came to London to check out the jazz scene and recorded with Ken Colyer''s Omega Brass band. In 1956 he join the Storyville Jazzmen and took over named leadership of the band from 1958. After the roaring Trad days were over, and Bob''s professional band had disbanded, early in 1964 Bob worked on here, there and everywhere through the Sixites with re-formed personnel, and was with Monty Sunshine for a short spell. In the Seventies he found a new lease of life on the continent. From 1972 until only a month or two before his death in January, 1991 Bob was mainly resident at the Casa Bar, Zurich: His five piece group predominantly featured Forrie Cairns on clarient, Ian Armit, Pete Gresham or John Cairns on piano, and Alan Poston (from our original band) on drums. He was enormously popular and very happy there. - Hugh Rainey |
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