Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen was a British jazz band formed in 1958. Born in Essex, England On May 22, 1930, Kenny Ball was in the vanguard of the traditional jazz revival which swept the UK in the 1960s. Along with contemporaries Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball became a household name making regular appearances on UK light entertainment TV programs. While their debut album, Invitation to the Ball, was released in 1960, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen didn’t achieve fame until their 1961 rendition of Cole Porter’s “Samantha” reached Number 2 in the UK charts. The single's follow-up, “Midnight in Moscow” (1962), sold over a million copies and set the scene for a long and successful career in the UK with 14 top 50 singles. The band released a series of best-selling albums including Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen (1961), It’s Trad (1962), The Big Ones - Kenny Ball Style (1963), King of the Swingers (1969), and Saturday Night at the Mill (1977). Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen also enjoyed a brief period of success across the Atlantic with three consecutive chart entries in the U.S. An honorary citizen of America's jazz capital New Orleans, Louisiana, Kenny Ball and his band were invited to appear with Louis Armstrong during his final European tour. Kenny Ball continued to tour and record along with his Jazzmen until shortly before his death. Kenny Ball died from pneumonia on March 7, 2013 at the age of 82.
