POLYMATH: a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning.
Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton was an author, broadcaster, illustrator, composer and journalist. A popular radio personality for 35 years, he hosted a humorous panel quiz show on the BBC becoming a British national treasure.
Tall, well-spoken and a natural leader, Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008) had a clear musical outlook. His cohesive recordings had a strong sense of purpose. He was often joined by his longtime associate New Orleans-style clarinetist Wally Fawkes. Directing ensembles with considerable drive, Lyttelton worked his will through a collaborative process.
Yet he shocked Jazz traditionalists when he added saxophone(s) to his ensembles, switched to Kansas City Swing and experimented with Calypso and West Indian rhythms. In the 1960s and ‘70s he worked with contemporary singers and instrumentalists, fully embracing Mainstream Jazz. Yet after decades of experimentation he returned to the Revival style in the 1980s, renewing his Classic Jazz credentials and reuniting with old comrade Fawkes.
The Consummate Jazz Musician
Humphrey was born at Eton College in Berkshire England. Though his father was a university housemaster of modest means, the Lytteltons were an illustrious aristocratic family dating back to the 1400s.
Humphrey turned his back on the titles of baron and viscount, striking out o
