Biography
Ellsworth McGranahan Keane, 30 May 1927, St. Vincent, West Indies, d. 10 November 1997, Oslo, Norway. Although taught music by his father as a child, Keane did not turn to the trumpet as a career until the mid-50s. Originally a teacher in St. Vincent, he came to England in 1952 to study English literature. He was already an accomplished poet - his nickname is short for ‘Shakespeare’ - with two collections of verse published, but could find no work in London except as a musician. For several years he played as a sideman in nightclubs and on recording sessions, performing calypso and Latin music as well as blues and jazz. One regular employer was calypso king Lord Kitchener, while a selection of tracks Keane originally made for the west African market with Guyanese pianist Mick McKenzie was reissued on the compilation Caribbean Connections: Black Music In Britain In The Early 50s, Vol. 2. From 1959-65, Keane was a member of the Joe Harriott Quintet, which...
Read the Full Biography of Ellsworth "Shake" Keane
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