HE was Britain’s father of jazz whose links with The Concorde stretched back to the early 60s.

Humphrey Lyttelton, or Humph as he was affectionately known to his legion of fans, died aged 86 in 2008.

And one of his last gigs was at the Stoneham Lane club which has become an international jazz mecca.

The famous bandleader wrote the foreword to the book which marked the Concorde’s 50 th anniversary.

Trumpet player Humph left a rich musical legacy to a band of multi-talented musicians who are today still proudly playing under his name.

Lyttelton was also famous for his role in the iconic BBC Radio Four Programme I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. Fellow panellist, comedian and writer Barry Cryer was to have been a special guest alongside The Humphrey Lyttelton Band. But he was unable to appear at the club’s international jazz night due to illness.

Jimmy Hastings did a superb job in adding master of ceremonies to his duties of playing saxophone and clarinet.

The first of the two sets opened with a rousing version of the Dixieland jazz band standard Basin Street Blues. Published in 1926 the tune was made famous two years later by Louis Armstrong.

After Humph died Tony Fisher was asked to fill the band’s trumpet role and he has an impressive musical pedigree spanning more than 60 years.

As well as working with almost every band, including the great Ted Heath, he has appeared on hundreds of recordings and TV shows including Morecambe & Wise, The Two Ronnies and 25 years with the Parkinson Show.

Humph may no longer be with us but his music is still very much alive and the Concorde sets were peppered with his memorable compositions.

The lively musical menu included Red Beans & Rice, Cross A Busy Street, The Bear Steps Out, Blue Mist and a composition which was inspired by Humph’s shopping trip to a Nairobi market.

One of the biggest applauses of the night came for Nobody Knows the Trouble I have Seen, a much covered spiritual number.

It was a wonderful master class in jazz by the trio of Ted Beament (piano) John Rees-Jones (double bass) and Adrian Macintosh (drums) Humph, who had been a bandleader for 60 years, set his fellow musicians the challenge of creating their own arrangements.

One of those was a longer version of the jazz/blues favourite Makin’ Whoopee.

Humph would have been proud that his band are still making beautiful music at a club very close to his heart.