The Band Members:  Burtie Butler, Tom Brady,  Roy Mason, John Finch, John Cottis  and Bernie Johnson

                                                                                                            Burtie Butler - banjo/Leader
Born in the war years in 1940, Burtie was weaned on the Light Programme, Radio Luxembourg, and the Archers, until he found jazz in the early Fifties with his mates, Sos Sears, Doug Waring and Mick Rose. He first started playing the washboard with chain-mail gloves, with such enthusiasm that he wore holes in the washboard and his fingers. He decided to move up the ladder and bought a plectrum banjo at the cost of £3. 0s. 0d. Great fun in the early days with the Perdido Street Ramblers, charging 9d on the door, to be pelted with pea-shooters - all part of the fun in the old days of learning! In the late Fifties they joined up with Dave Hill, Dave Jarrett and Gordon Hurley, and the Tuxedo Jazz Band was formed. This band found fame in the early Sixties through Southern Television's "Home Grown" talent programme, winning the grand final. What a night the band had, sharing the first prize of £100! It was with the TJB that Burtie took to removing his shoes, as the stomping of his feet proved to be too much for the rest of the band. In the Sixties he ran a quartet with Ivan Gandon, Curly Mantle and his old mate, Humphrey Mayes, called the Pasadena Four, then played in the Bod Bowles band. In the Eighties, joined the Pete Rose Jazz Band, and later the Invicta Jazz Band. Memorable moments - playing behind Humphrey Lyttelton, Pat Halcox, George Chisholm, Terry Lightfoot, Monty Sunshine, etc.

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                                                                    Tom Brady - trumpet and vocals
Self-taught, can't read music, started too late - that sums me up as a musician.
I didn't buy my first trumpet until I was 19 years old (far too late in life!) and couldn't be bothered with the tutor manual that came with it. That was consigned to the bin pretty quickly, and my idea of trumpet practice was to try and play along to records (only when I had the house to myself - I didn't inflict it on the rest of the family). Forty-seven years later, I'm still trying to sound like some of my "heroes" in my record collection. First and foremost amongst these is Louis Armstrong (of course!). Some of my other favourites are (in no special order) Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Harry Edison, Bobby Hackett, Ruby Braff, Warren Vache, Clark Terry - the list could go on and on.................... .. The above-named are all Americans - on this side of the pond some of my favourites are Humphrey Lyttelton, Alan Elsdon, Colin Smith, etc. Some of you may be surprised at a couple of omissions from the above lists - Bix Beiderbecke and Ken Colyer - these guys do nothing for me but, given their reputations, the fault must lie with me! On that controversial note, I'd better finish this little essay and start running!

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                                   Roy Mason - Clarinet , saxs and vocals  Blue Moon recorded live at the Clarendon Hotel,Deal, Kent on the 2nd
                                                                                                                           March 2006, this is a great venue for traditional jazz every Thursday
                                                                                                                           8.30pm - 11.00pm adm free
Roy is perhaps better known as the leader of one of Kents most popular dance bands which he led for over 45 years. His muscical career started at the age of 12 playing mouth organ in local concerts and shows. At 17 he bought a clarinet and was teaching himself to play when he was " called up " for National Service. In the army he was fortunate to get into the military band of the King's Own Royal Regiment - two years later and fairly proficient on sax and clarinet he was demobbed. On his return to ' civvy street ' the band he joined entered the Melody Maker Dance Band Championships and won second place, with Roy winning the best clarinet player award. Shortly after, he formed his own band which for years was a favourite with dancers, as well as this he formed his own jazz quintette Gentle Jazz, which he still runs. Roy enjoyed years of playing for every type of function but with the declining popularity in ball room dancing the band broke up and he returned to his love of jazz, joining  the Invicta Jazz Band and freelancing. More recently he received a 'divine' call from Burt to become a Jazz Pilgrim, here he became reunited with his old mate John Finch who for many years was in Roy's dance band.
  
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                                        John Finch - trombone, tuba and vocals     'Move the body' over recorded on CD Reigning Supreme, John is
                                                                                                                                        vocalist on this track, other band members: Bill Phelan tpt,
                                                                                                                                       Jim Searson reeds, Burtie Butler bnj,  Alan Kennington bass,
                                                                                                                                       and Robin Beames drms.  Recorded Langlei Studios 25th Feb 1999

John has been with professional jazz and dance bands for over forty years. In 1959 he was Number One dep for Terry Pitts in the Cy Laurie band, and also for Mac Duncan in the Ken Colyer band. In the early Sixties he played in the Bill Brunskill band for about two years, and spent a year playing in Keith Smith's Climax Jazz Band, at the same time depping in Monty Sunshine's band and for Avo Avison in the Bob Wallis Storyville Jazz Band. In 1966 John took his music world-wide over a three-year period on the Canberra (P & O Line) with Dick Charlesworth. (Rumour has it that John used to deliver milk on horse and cart to the Charlesworth household at Blackheath in his early teenage years.) Later, he played on the cruise ships for the Union Castle line. In 1973 he was a founder member of the Medway Delta Jazz Band, with the infamous "Lord Arsenal" Bradley. John later played with Roy Mason's All Stars, and was promised a gold watch for dedicated service but, Roy being Roy ........... John is still waiting! He also teamed up with Nobby Willett and Barney Smith to form String & Bone, and was seen regularly bringing up the rear on tuba with the Happy Wanderers band, busking in the West End. During the Christmas period, he has been known to solo on tuba around the county's shopping malls and High Streets dressed as the Snowman, and has been seen with a dubious character on banjo dressed as a reindeer!

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                                    John Curtis - drums  John playing Hindustan, this was recorded live at The Globe in Morning
                                                                       Lane, Hackney, London. Rest of the band are Dave Stradwick tpt, Don
                                                                       York tmb, Roy Mason reeds, Burtie Butler bnj and Bernie Johnson bass.
Born in the East End of London just after the war, John was hooked on music from the early days of rock and roll. "Anything with a good beat, I loved it. I used to have a pair of wooden knitting needles from my Mum's sewing kit as a child and I would drum along to "Saturday Club" on the arms of the furniture. My first drum kit was one second-hand cymbal and a cardboard box. I eventually became a jazzer in the Trad boom of the early Sixties and was professional for a while with a ragtime banjo band." John moved to Kent in the early Seventies and has played with most of the local bands during the last thirty years on a strictly amateur basis. "I just love the music - a good tune and happy beat - you can't go wrong!" John ran the Invicta Jazz Band for a few years but his love of travel to Australia for months on end intervened and he now just occasionally deps for other drummers. It won't be long before the outback calls and he goes on walkabout again!

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                               Bernie Johnson - double bass    Memphis Blues recorded live at The Globe in Morning Lane, Hackney,London, 10th Jan 2005, band members
                                                                                                                 Tom Brady tpt, Roy Mason clt, John Finch tmb, Burtie Butler bnj and John Cottis drms

I started my playing days in the late 1950s with a skiffle group called "The Cheques" with old friends of mine, Don Hurley and Ted Hope. After a few years, I joined a small dance band called "The Viscounts" run by John Pollard, with Roger Letley on accordion and Maurice Coveney on drums, up to the early 1970s. Then I met up with Geoff Hatton and joined his band, the "Trad Fad". At this time, the local jazz really took off for me and I played with various guys like Sam Weller, and Dave Link, and played with Lyn Falvey's "Touch of Class", and various other bands - The Invicta Jazz Band, Robin Beames's Imperial Jazz Band, and also the Pilgrims.

It is with great sadness that we announce that Bernie passed away on the Thursday 15th March 2007.  It happened very suddenly with Bernie collapsing at work on the Monday and passing away in hospital on the Thursday with a massive heart attack.   He leaves behind his wife Jill and two daughters, Penny and Julia, and one granddaughter Jennifer.
The funeral was held on the 2nd April at the Bluebell Hill Crematorium, Chatham, Kent, and then afterwards at the Bridgewood Manor Hotel. The lads gave him
a wonderful send-off.   The first video clip is from the house to the end of the road and the second video is from the Crematorium gates.

                                                                     
                                                                                                    Order of Service
        

        
                                                          
                                                  Closer Walk with thee                                                                 The Saints go Marching In
                                                                                    click on picture or title to watch video clips

                                                     trombones:                                                                             clarinets:                                                                              
                                Sam Wellar,   Don York  and  Sean Maple                                     Ivan Gandon,  Dennis Lear  and Roy Mason

                                                     drums                                                                                             banjos
                                Mick Brooks,   Robin Beames (bass drum)                                     Burtie Butler  and  Nobby Willett
                                               and John Cottis

                                                      sousaphones                                                                                 trumpets
                                         John Finch  and  Gerry Birch                                                  Dennis Jenkins, Malcolm Walton, Dave Hill
                                                                                                                                                 Tony Pink  and Roger Ely
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