Joe Deniz

b. José William Deniz, 10 Sept 1913, Butetown, Cardiff, Wales, d. 24 Apr 1994. Deniz’s musical apprenticeship was offered in the docks of his indigenous Butetown region (now referred to as Tiger Bay), where he performed impromptu calypsos to deprive sailors of their little modification. He was among three sons delivered to a dark American mother elevated in Bristol, Britain, and most of her offspring would make their tag on the united kingdom jazz dance picture being a guitarist. Joe himself discovered the ukulele initial, before upgrading towards the fuller fretboard. As his skill elevated so he’d join with various other vagrant musicians exploring through the cultural centres of Cardiff, playing engagements at homes in trade for drinks. Ultimately a nucleus of dark music artists, Victor Parker, George Glossop and Don Johnson, furthermore to Deniz, discovered function in Soho night clubs. After a short sojourn in his city, Deniz came back as drummer at an after hours London membership entitled the Nest. A haunt of going to Afro-Caribbean music artists, it noticed him released to famous brands Fat Waller and his idol, Django Reinhardt. His following engagement came within Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson’s dark orchestra, once more on acoustic guitar, where he continued to be until 1941 (when Johnson was wiped out inside a Café De Paris bombing). Deniz as well was hurt (spending the others of his existence in discomfort due to shrapnel in the lower leg), but continued to find program use many top-flight music group leaders, aswell as violinist Stéphane Grappelli. His personal popularity also increased via solos with Harry Parry’s Radio Tempo Golf club Sextet. Turning from jazz, he became a member of his brothers in the Latin-styled Hermanos Deniz, before becoming a member of the Western End operate of Ipi Tombi, a South African musical which presented his duets with sibling Frank. He retired from music in 1980, contenting himself along with his remembrances, enthusiasm for DIY and owning a successful business.