Bill West Jazz Band
Jazz genre. Heritage jazz in Contemporary New Orleans style.
List of personnel
Marian Price-Carter, chanteuse
Graham Parker, bass
Don Franks, banjo, vocals
Graham Kelly, piano, vocals
Chris Anderson, clarinet
Brian Kelly, trombone
Bill West, cornet, vocals
Bill West
Bill grew up in York, England, learning melodies from his mother who had been a singer in a Glasgow band in the 1940’s. Influenced during the 1960’s by Ken Colyer, Bill led a jazz band around Wellington during the 80’s & 90’s. Most current band members are from that time. Bill was recently inspired to pick up his horn again after hearing the current generation of New Orleans style jazz musicians.
Owen Kneebone – Drums
Owen has been playing drums since 1960 being taught by the late Frank Gibson Snr.
He was the first winner of the Premier Drum Award in 1964. He has played and recorded with Peter Posa, Dinah Lee, The Chicks and Tommy Adderley amongst others. He now divides his time between gigs with the Society Jazzmen, The Lindsay Meech band and casual gigs. He is a founding member of the new Auckland Dixieland band The Hauraki Hot Six.
Brian Kelly – Trombone
Brian was inspired to play trombone after growing up listening to his fathers Dance Band.
He played in the original Bill West Jazz Band in Wellington, the Rodger Fox Band and has played numerous styles of music.
In the 1990’s he was a member of the Hotter Than Six Jazz Band in Melbourne that toured festivals around the world. Now back in NZ, brian plays with Lindsay Meech in the Hauraki Hot Six and is enjoying playing with Bill Wests new Heritage band.
Graham Kelly- Keyboards
Graham is a pianist who had his own popular dance band, “The Graham Kelly Orchestra”, in Wellington for 24 years during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. He was a member of the Bill West Jazz Band during the 1980s and played in Bill’s band on their recording.
Graham organised the successful Parliamentary charity concerts “Harmony in the House” for the Mary Potter Hospice for 15 years and is currently playing in the reformed New Valley Stompers Dixieland Jazz Band.
He has been an active member on the Committee of the Wellington Jazz Club since 2007, having introduced Tribute Concerts for musicians who have made an outstanding contribution to jazz.
Marian Carter
Marion is a Wellington based singer and musician, lends her vocals to some of the Heritage repertoire and can also be heard singing with the New Valley Stompers and singing and playing clarinet as half of the Raven Mavens duo”
