Tag-Archive for » Ken Mac « >Tony Brent, Byculla Boy >Share >“‘I hope this never happens again,’ the headmaster said ominously, as he held >the cane in his right hand and slowly flexed and arched it with the index >finger of his left hand. He removed his fingertip, the right hand brought the >cane down, whacking me three times. My eyes turned red with restrained tears. >I walked away clutching my buttocks.” >That’s the reward a schoolboy named Biddu Appiah received for cutting class >one morning in 1959 to head out to the airport to welcome one of the era’s >biggest Indian-born pop stars. His tuneCindy Oh Cindy was already a party >standard and by the time Tony Brent retired from the music business in the UK >to open a curry house in Sydney , he’d have scored seven Top 20 hits. Biddu >would grow up to write tunes that topped the charts on three continents, >including Kung Fu Fighting for Carl Douglas and Made in India for Alisha >Chinai. Despite the caning he received for playing truant, he was overjoyed to >have caught a glimpse of Brent. As he recalled in his autobiography, “…The >pain, while excruciating, was quite worth it.” >However, the critic of The Times of India, who attended one of Brent’s >performances in Bombay , wasn’t quite as impressed. Brent sang several faster >tunes, backed by the Ken Mac band. “I wonder why Brent didn’t do one of the >slow, evergreen ballads,” the critic grumbled. “It would have suited both his >style and his voice. If ‘pop’ singers have hitched themselves to the tempo of >the jet age, it seems a mistake.” But younger fans had a different reaction. >The Times headline read, “Teenagers in a frenzy.” >More than half a century since that concert, the mention of Tony Brent’s name >still elicits wide smiles in certain circles, especially in Bombay . The >musician was born Reginald Bretagne and spent his early years in Ebrahim >Terrace on Spence Lane in Byculla. Other residents of the cul de sac included >the talented classical pianist Joseph de Lima and Shaukat Ali Baig, who would >go on to create an act that combined piano playing and comedy sketches. (A >typical joke: “A girl comes up to me and says: what do you think of my bikini. >And I say, let’s drop the subject.”) Before he died a few years ago, Baig >shared his memories of the three Bretagne brothers and sister, Patsy. “When >Reggie changed this name to Tony and became famous in England , all of us on >Spence Lane were very proud of him,” Baig recalled. >Brent moved to the UK at the age of 25. Two years later, in 1949, he won a >talent contest with his performance of Some Enchanted Evening. This led him to >the BBC Showband, where he performed under the batons of Ambrose and Cyril >Stapleton. His first hit came in 1951 with Walking to Missouri. He’d make 104 >records over this career. >In 1961, Brent moved to Australia , where he ran several Indian restaurants, >including one called Sabu’s. My friend Mathures Paul of the Statemen invested >a lot of effort piecing together the Tony Brent story a few years ago, and you >can read all about it on his blog here. Tony Brent died in 1993. Here’s >footage of him shot in 1959, the year he performed in India . Click on the >image to see a short news clip about his mechanical abilities. >TONY BRENT >Category: Bombay Tags: Ken Mac, Tony Brent >Jinnah and Jazz >03 >Mar 2012 >By naresh fernandes Leave a Comment >15Share >On the evening of August 14, 1947, “the Karachi Club, hosted a grand >independence banquet (800 covers were laid) where the cities crème de la crème >jostled to felicitate the Quaid”, as Pakistan ’s first leader Mohammed Ali >Jinnah was known. So began a letter by Mohammed Aziz Haji Dossa that ran in >Dawn earlier this week. The newspaper, like the nation it serves, was founded >by Jinnah. >>From the Dawn website, I couldn’t figure out whether the letter, titled >>“Remembering Ruttie Jinnah”, was part of a continuing debate about Jinnah’s >>Parsi wife, but Dossa included a reference that will delight jazz lovers. He >>quotes a portion of Tai Yong Tan and Gyanesh Kudaisya’s compilation The >>Aftermath of Partition in South Asia to remind us that “Ken Mac, the musician >>and conductor who performed at the Cricket Club of India in Bombay , had been >>flown by a special Tata Airlines plane to perform at this special event”. >more... >Category: Jazz Tags: Jinnah, Ken Mac >Ken Mac’s Journey to a Star >14 >Jan 2012 >By naresh fernandes One Comment >14Share >When the long-time Bombay band leader Ken Mac made this recording in 1942, his >singer was Poona-born Beryl Templeman. She spent her early life in England , >before returning to India during the Second World War for what she imagined >would be a short vacation. She stayed for seven years, touring India , Batavia >, Hong Kong and Singapore . Back in England , she sang with Roy Fox’s band >after the war. The male vocalist is Bob Parke. >A Journey to a Starby naresh.fernandes >Category: Audio, Bombay, Jazz Tags: Beryl Templeman, Ken Mac >The Girl with the Yellow Shoes >09 >Jul 2011 >By naresh fernandes One Comment >34Share > > >In the 1950s, the Anglo-Indian crooner Pamela McCarthy was among the most >striking figures on the Bombay bandstand. She was always dressed in a stunning >ball gown. Her swinging voice kept dancers on their floor to the very end of >the set. And then, of course, there was her wheelchair. >more… >Category: Audio, Bombay Tags: gymkhanas, Ken Mac, Pamela McCarthey >· Navigate > * About the book and the author > * Audio Guide to Taj Mahal Foxtrot > * Buy the book > * Reviews, Notices, Interviews > * The Marco Pacci Collection >· Recent Posts > * Introducing Marco Pacci > * Tony Brent, Byculla Boy > * Jinnah and Jazz > * Dizzy Sal and Jingles > * Koli Jazz on Top of the House >· Categories > * 1935 > * Audio > * Bombay > * Bridget Moe > * Garney Nyss > * Hawaiian music in India > * Hindi film music > * Indo-jazz fusion > * Jazz > * Leon Abbey > * Taj > * Tau Moe > * Uncategorized >· Tags >Al Bowlly Amancio D'Silva Anthony Gonsalves Bombay Bombay Swing Club Braz >Gonsalves brubeck Chic Chocolate Chris Perry Churchgate Street C Ramchandra >Dizzy Sal Fisk Jubilee Singers Frank Fernand gymkhanas Hecke Kingdom Hindi >film music history of jazz in India Indian jazz history indo-jazz fusion Jazz >Jimmy Lequime Joe Theodore Ken Mac Konkani Konkani pop Leon Abbey Lorna >Lucilla Pacheco Maurice Concessio Mena Silas Mickey Correa Mina Kava >nightclubs Oliver Tines Pamela McCarthey Percy Dias Percy Issacs Raymond >Albuquerque Richie Marquis spirituals Taj Teddy Weatherford Theodore Brothers >Usha Uthup >· Archives > * March 2012 > * February 2012 > * January 2012 > * December 2011 > * November 2011 > * October 2011 > * September 2011 > * August 2011 > * July 2011 > * June 2011 > * May 2011 >© 2012 - Taj Mahal Foxtrot. 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