Jeff Rous - Trombone

I started to listen to jazz in the mid fifties. Whilst visiting Brian Farrington, pianist and trombone player, he asked whether I liked Lewis - I thought he meant Louis Armstrong, so I said yes'. He played Gettysburg March; I had never heard music like it. The clarinet sound was sweet and simple - the trombone was deceptively simple but a knockout - I had never heard this type of music before - it was of course the George Lewis Band. I fell for this music there and then and have never been swayed away from its raw power and soul. I think that this music has integrity and purpose that so many other types of music lack; as a consequence I started to learn to play the trombone. Other like-minded friends were also learning to play instruments; we attempted to play jazz together and after a while we formed a band. This band was known as the Blyth River Stompers.

With the passing of time, the opportunity arose to play in other Jazz Bands, e.g. The Sole Bay, The Black Tiger, The Jubilee, The Climax, The Rising Sun, The Superior Brass Band, Smokehouse Blue Marching Band etc. and now Redbeans 'n' Rice. I cannot play my trombone without thinking of Kid Ory or Louis Nelson but most of all Big Jim Robinson.