Kenny Graham was a British jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer born Kenneth Thomas Skingle on July 19, 1924, in London. He began his musical career on the banjo before transitioning to the tenor saxophone and became a professional musician at age 16. During World War II, he performed under the pseudonym “Tex Kershaw”. In 1950, Graham formed Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists, an ensemble that integrated bebop with African and Cuban rhythms. The group recorded the EPs Afro-Cadabra and Excerpts from Caribbean Suite in 1954. Graham released the albums Moondog And Suncat Suites in 1956 and Presenting Kenny Graham in 1957. Following a serious illness in 1958, he focused on composition and arranging. He composed the Beaulieu Festival Suite (1959) for Ted Heath and wrote for Duke Ellington's musicians in 1960. Graham collaborated with Humphrey Lyttelton on the musical pieces “One Day I Met an African”, “Adagio For David”, and “Ladyless and Lachrymose”. His film scores included The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963), Night Train to Paris (1964), and Where the Bullets Fly (1966), and he wrote the orchestral suite The Labours of Heracles for BBC Radio. Graham died on February 17, 1997.
