A life in music
Beginnings

I was introduced to African music and jazz of the 1930s and 40s by my parents. My father served in the Royal Navy and travelled extensively, attending performances and finding 78rpm recordings of various types of music which interested him. My mother and I often went to sales of second-hand records when I was a child. Consequently, by the time I was eight years old, I was more aware of jazz and other musical forms which involve improvisation than most of my school friends were.

My earliest recollection of an active involvement in improvised music stems from a little later, when I decided that I would become a drummer and present a free Sunday concert for my neighbours in Aylesbury. Assisted by my mother, I suspended a washing line, bearing numerous kitchen utensils, from my bedroom window down to the garden below, where it was securely anchored. Neighbours were then invited to sit in a circle around the rope, with tea and biscuits, to await the commencement of an exciting 'Drum Spectacular'. Following a prolonged period of musical inactivity intended to create an atmosphere of tension and excitement, a small boy (me) with a stick leapt out from the window above, swinging hand over hand down the line, striking various pots and pans as often as possible, before falling to the ground. I then immediately leapt up to acknowledge applause from the seemingly enthralled and delighted observers, who left quickly for the relative normality of their homes.

Photo: R.A.F. Wattisham. In the billet window with alto saxophone. 1950.

In 1947 I bought an old alto saxophone from a local junk shop, hoping that I might eventually be able to play like Charlie Parker. I was booked, after a few months, to appear at the Aylesbury Polish Hostel, where I played 'Cool Blues' and a couple of other tunes. I was very unpopular and my almost non-existent fee was replaced by a bottle of lemonade and a stale sandwich. Considering the quality of my performance, I think it was quite a good deal.

Later, having wasted two years in the Royal Air Force (the best thing was seeing the John Dankworth Seven in a corrugated-iron dance hall in Ipswich), I bought soprano and tenor saxophones and studied in London with Aubrey Frank at Dinely's Studios, funded by the spoils of West End busking. I played jazz and standard compositions merged with open improvisations, always solo. This eventually led to work around the London clubs. Consequently, in 1965, I was able to leave a daytime bookbinding job in Aylesbury for my first professional work with Tony Knight's Chessmen, accompanying Rufus Thomas for TV and a tour of R&B clubs in England. I was also becoming more established in the areas of contemporary jazz, solo and group improvisations.

Lol Coxhill, 1999, from the sleeve notes of Spectral Soprano.