Carfrae

My

Early Years

In my early teens I became an avid jazz fan triggered by the then so-called Trad Boom, when there were several excellent small jazz bands recreating traditional, aka dixieland jazz of the 1920’s. I began playing clarinet in the many jazz clubs and pubs around London which resulted in my being expelled from school and 5 years later sacked from my job in plastics research, all I wanted was to be a professional musician.

My love of jazz did not stop me from appreciating the many great pop and rock bands emerging in the 1960’s, so when I was offered a place in The New Vaudeville Band, who had already had a worldwide hit with ‘Winchester Cathedral’, I leapt at the chance of actually earning a living in music.