Harry Parry & His Radio Rhythm Club Sextet
There wasn't very much in the way of British jazz in pre-war years, and it was only during the war that it gained any popularity, thanks to the efforts of the BBC Radao Rhythm Club masterminded by Charles Chilton. Late in 1940 he discovered 28-year old Welshman Harry Parry leading a small group at a West End hotel, including George Shearing, at 21 even younger than the leader.
Parry had started in music at the age of ten playing tenor horn and cornet in a brass band, later taking up violin, drums, piano and saxes, especially clarinet. He played with Phil Cardew, Percival Mackey and Charles Shadwell and was also featured as a singer in Miff Ferrie's Jackdaus in BBC radio’s “Band Wagon”. Now he went on his own leading a trio at the Coconut Grove before moving on to the St Regis Hotel where Chilton offered him the job with the BBC. So began Harry Parry's Radio Rhythm Club Sextet and its long sojourn of 8 years in the Parlophone Rhythm Style Series to which they contributed 100 or so sides.
The first session on 28 January 1941 produced “I Found A New Baby”, followed six months later by “Don't Be That Way”, “Honey¬suckle Rose” and his signature tune “Champagne”, all heard here. Shearing was on the first twelve sides succeeded by Tommy Pollard and Yorke De Sousa, other various sidemen including saxists Derek Neville and Ken Oldham, trumpeter Stan Roderick and guitarists Lauderic Caton and Joe Deniz. Nor must we forget Roy Marsh, whose vibraphone added a distinctive sound.
It was in 1947 that I saw him leading a small group at the Potomac Restaurant, but Parry never had a regular band, possibly because he had diversified his interests into production and personal presentation. Like taking over the Radio Rhythm Club on Charles Chilton’s departure, then on to Mark White's Jazz Club and graduating to mainstream programmes like Housewives' Choice and TV's Crackerjack.
Parry never had hit records by today's standards but “I Can't Dance” is quite well remembered, and “Parry Opus” was in every semi-pro band's library. His disc repertoire was mostly jazz standards plus 12 of his own tunes over the years, but his records tended to be overlooked in the Parlophone lists with competition from the American mainstays of the catalogue like Goodman, Shaw, James, Lunceford, Ellington, Wilson, Basie et al.
For some reason Harry Parry didn't record at all between May 1944 and June 1946, in fact from then on his work for Parlophone was spasmodic, and he was leading a quartet at one stage. He never stopped playing though, whether on a tour of India or in a British holiday camp, until his death from a heart attack in October 1956.
Despite his allegiance to the sound of the Benny Goodman small groups (but then, wasn't every British jazz musician indebted to USA?) Harry Parry was nevertheless a seminal figure in the jazz idiom in this country and should never be overlooked.
This information is featured in the CD booklet.
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