Everybody’s Song But My Own: Becoming Established as a Working Musician (1959-1968)

One of Kenny’s first concerts with Dankworth was the now legendary appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1959, which is where this chapter begins. He would continue to record and tour with Dankworth, soon becoming an increasingly featured soloist. At some point during this period, tragedy struck as Kenny and Doreen lost a baby. Happily, they later did welcome a daughter, Louanne, in 1961. As a member of Graham Collier’s twelve-piece band, Kenny was playing one of his own compositions “Blue 25”, which would later reappear on Windmill Tilter under a new name. In fact, all of the songs on Windmill Tilter were being performed individually under their original titles prior to that album, and none were written about Don Quixote! Kenny wanted the album to center around the children’s cartoon The Magic Roundabout. Dankworth didn’t feel this theme was sufficiently serious, so on not much more than an impulse whilst at his local library, Kenny settled on the more famous Don Quixote as the supposed inspiration! In 1967 Kenny first met Dave Holland, the young bass player who was about to find stardom with Miles Davis and would play a significant role throughout the remainder of Kenny’s musical life. This event curiously also coincided with the first meeting with another life-long collaborator and “Azimuth” trio partner, pianist John Taylor. There were more BBC broadcasts throughout this period, further cementing Kenny’s reputation as a writer. Also, Ronnie Scott’s original club (which became known as “The Old Place”) became a centre of focus for these ambitious young creative forces. It was at this period that Kenny, increasingly exacerbated by what he perceived as his failure to master Bebop, deliberately sought out the burgeoning free jazz scene, led by John Stevens at the Little Theatre Club.