British clarinetist Brian Carrick

British clarinetist Brian Carrick died on December 31, 2025, at approximately 82. Born in 1943 in South Shields, England, was a devoted exponent of New Orleans–style traditional jazz whose career bridged the U.K. revival scene and the music’s living traditions in Louisiana. He was best known as leader of the Heritage Hall Stompers and related ensembles, through which he pursued a disciplined ensemble approach rooted in the Preservation Hall repertoire and early postwar revival aesthetics.

Carrick’s immersion in New Orleans jazz began in the 1960s after hearing Bessie Smith’s recording of “Young Woman Blues,” leading him to classic jazz and blues repertoire and, by the early 1970s, to his first visit to New Orleans. He returned regularly for more than four decades, performing, recording, and learning directly from musicians in the George Lewis clarinet lineage. His playing reflected that influence through expressive blues inflection, measured melodic development, and strong ensemble awareness rather than virtuosic display. In recognition of his sustained engagement with the city’s music, Carrick was named an Honorary Citizen of New Orleans.

In 1973, after returning to northeast England, Carrick formed the Heritage Hall Stompers with longtime associates including Derek Winters and George Stacey. The band and its offshoots became fixtures on the British and European traditional jazz circuit, with Carrick also leading related units such as the Algiers Stompers and smaller Heritage Hall configurations. His recording output includes leader and collaborative albums on P.E.K. Sound, 504, G.H.B., Jazz Crusade, and Blue Dixie, documenting his work in both British and New Orleans settings.

Over the course of his career, Carrick worked with a wide range of traditional jazz musicians, including Topsy Chapman, Taff Lloyd, Reg Koeller, Kurt Jensen, Gentlemen of Jazz, Freddie Lonzo, Darryl Adams, Johnny Parker, Texas Sam Mooney, Norman Thatcher, Frank Oxley, Shirley Alexander, New Orleans Delight, Red Wing Band, Patrick Tevlin, Wendell Eugene, and others. He is remembered as a transatlantic link between the postwar revival and later generations on both sides of the pond.