As a jazz journalist, there are writers I look up to—experts in the field, whose expansive knowledge and well developed tastes make them widely acknowledged as authorities on the subject. I’m talking about the likes of Scott Yanow, Ted Gioia, and Michael Steinman, all of whom share a common characteristic: all are from the US. (They are also all men, which is perhaps a topic for another essay.)
But, as you are no doubt aware, jazz found its way to Britain fairly quickly and we too have a hundred-year history of listening, dancing to, and writing about jazz. And while early scribblings were somewhat derisive—describing the emerging American art form as “vulgar” (Dancing Times) and even pure “madness” (Picture Post)—Brits eventually accepted the syncopated sound and started writing more thoughtfully on the topic.
One such author was Ronald Maxwell Jones, known professionally as Max Jones. Born in London during 1917, the young Jones was an early adopter of jazz this side of the Atlantic. By the age of 13 he had taught himself the saxophone and started a semi-professional band, the Campus Club Dance Band, which was active until 1935. By the age of 18 Jones decided that jazz was his calling and he joined a combo led by trumpeter (later racing driver) Johnny Claes, which played mainly in the style of Coleman Hawkins.
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