It was a dark day for the jazz world when trombonist Malcolm Griffiths sadly passed away in January of 2021. With a career spanning over five decades, Malcolm was an extraordinary musician. During the 1960s and 70s, he was at the core of the British jazz scene and forefront of an exciting new generation of trombonists.
As a player he was influenced by the sound and style of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and known as a talented and memorable improviser!
During his career, he worked with luminaries of the British jazz scene like Mike Westbrook OBE, Stan Tracey, and Chris McGregor. He was a prolific player, featuring on many classic jazz recordings. He also played with groups such as the Buddy Rich Big Band, Brotherhood of Breath, Stan Tracey’s octet, and Harry Miller’s Isipingo among many others.
Photo courtesy of Bibi Griffiths
In later years Malcolm sessioned and toured with artists including Björk and George Michael. He even featured on the well-loved (if controversial) Christmas ballad Fairytale of New York from The Pogues.
Throughout his long career, Malcolm performed, influenced, and touched musicians and music fans alike with the breadth of his work, his talent and creativity.
However, his legacy will now live on through talented new players as well as his recordings.
Kent Music are honoured to receive a donation of instruments from Malcolm’s own collection. This was kindly passed on to us via the Musician’s Union (MU).
The instruments – a drum kit, an upright piano, and (of course) four trombones will form part of the Kent Music instrument library. Our team will make sure the instruments are passed on to passionate and talented young players to help them on their musical journey.
