About Me
The life and career of jazz musician Andy Hamilton has been a remarkable one, and is all the more remarkable to know that he is still actively performing live and teaching. Jazz is his lifeblood, and at 86 he is still very much living!
Born in 1918 in Port Maria, Jamaica, his first exposure to music was through the church and a family piano. As early radio broadcast from the USA were received across the Caribbean, Andy heard the original music of what became known as The Jazz Age in the 1920s.
He made his first sax from bamboo and got his young friends to form his first band, Silvershine, in 1928. They were offered a booking at the Kingston Carnival where people danced on the roof and it collapsed, while Andy was playing, breaking the double bass!
His first experiences on saxophone came through hiring an instrument from a local gambler. Soon Andy had his band and started to perform regularly across the island. He joined the war effort in the USA and was offered regular gigs on the jazz trail towards New York. However, he had to return to Jamaica where he reformed his band and took up residency at The Tichfield Hotel in Port Antonio. The most exclusive hotel in the area, regular visitors included Noel Coward and his entourage. In the late 1940s Hollywood legend Errol Flynn arrived in town and after hearing Andy play, sent a taxi and a summons to meet Robin Hood! The next two years were spent working with Flynn and playing music on the famous yacht Zaka. It was in 1948 that Andy composed, for Flynn, a jazz calypso tune called Silvershine.
In 1949 Andy, like many others, left Jamaica and set sail for England, intending to make some money and go on to the USA where his heroes Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ben Webster and Lester Young were the enjoying the Golden Age of Jazz. Andy got no further that Birmingham, England, and being denied the opportunity to play in local clubs, formed his own band, The Blue Notes.
Life in the 1950s was not easy for Britains immigrant population, and Andy encountered more than his share of problems. Undaunted by this he set up venues and concerts throughout the city, notably to provide after show entertainment for the great American bands of Basie and Ellington. During the day he worked in factories, and at night he played various clubs and functions becoming a well-known and respected figure in the local music scene.
In 1985 Andy was rushed to hospital in a diabetic coma and was not expected to pull through. Whilst in the coma, amazingly, the melody to Silvershine, a song he had not played or even thought about in nearly 40 years, came to him and Andy believes brought him out of the coma new life was about to begin.
Celebrating his 70th birthday in 1988 at his regular jazz venue, The Bear, UK jazz writer Val Wilmer paid a visit. Her review in the national press led to the Soho Jazz Festival inviting him to play; this show was attended by World Circuits Nick Gold, who was so impressed by Andys performance he offered him a recording contract. In 1991, aged 72, Andys debut album Silvershine was released to widespread acclaim, becoming the biggest selling UK jazz album of the year. The Guardian said Sumptuous, sensuous, gifted and mercurial, Hamiltons sound is irresistible, and The Times said of Andy, his distinctive mellow tone and innate sense of melody set him apart. International recognition would also come, and Andy played concerts in Europe and the Caribbean.
Andys second World Circuit album, Jamaica by Night, was released in 1994. Influenced by the sounds of his own musical heritage, the album was again well received by critics, with the Daily Telegraph heralding this unique musical voice.
In 1996 he was awarded an Honorary Masters of Arts degree by Birmingham University and in 1999 he was presented with a Millennium Fellowship for his work in Community Education. Andy has also been a key figure in the development of the jazz programme at The Drum music venue in Birmingham. His enthusiasm for teaching has never diminished, and has resulted in the establishment of The Ladywood Community School of Music, which offers people of all ages the chance to learn from and play with one of the truly great men of jazz.
Andys residency at The Bearwood Corks Club in Birmingham continues to this day, as do his regular trips to venues and festivals across Europe.
