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Today, from the Bond on Vinyl archives, we’re moving ahead and listening to music featured in From Russia With Love!
Kenneth Daniel Ball was born in Ilford, Essex, in 1930. By 1944, Ball left school to work as an advertising clerk and began learning to play the trumpet. He continued improving his trumpet skills at night while working for the ad agency. In 1953, he left to play trumpet professionally in multiple bands. By 1958, Ball led his own Dixieland jazz band: Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.
The UK experienced a bit of a jazz revival in the early 1960s, and Kenny Ball was right in the middle of it. Their 1962 self-titled album went gold, selling over a million copies, and had singles that went as high as #2 on both the UK and US Singles charts.
The band’s success continued for decades, touring with Louis Armstrong during his final European tour, making countless television appearances, and even playing at the wedding reception of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Up until 2002, the Jazzmen were still playing 150 shows a year, remaining active until Ball’s passing in 2013.
Today’s selection comes from his 10th album (only five years into the Jazzmen), the 1964 release: Hello Dolly and 14 Other Big Hits. While I’m not familiar with all the tunes on the album, and Dixieland jazz is not my preferred style, this compilation is a lot of fun all the way until the final track: a jazzy instrumental version of From Russia With Love with a bit more pep than John Barry’s Opening Titles version as heard on the Original Soundtrack two years earlier.
96. Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen – Hello Dolly & 14 Other Big Hits
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