Musician Profile

Band Info

Colin was born in Hampstead Heath, London in 1932 and now lives in Suffolk. He remembers at the age of 10 seeing through a village hall window a drummer performing live and feeling that he had discovered 'Eldorado'! Some years later, after conscription service with the R.A.F., he renewed an old drum kit, which he had bought for £5 from a workmate who was clearing out an attic. It was late 1952, Colin was collecting Spike Jones records until he heard 'Oh, didn't he ramble?' and that 78 r.p.m. disc by 'Jelly Roll' Morton put him firmly on the jazz trail. Over the years main influences have been Baby Dodds, Big Sid Catlett and Art Blakey, along with the others. Colin spent his formative years playing New Orleans style jazz with Ken Colyer's band. He is generally regarded as one of the finest New Orleans drummer in Europe