CAMPBELL BURNAPJazz musician Campbell Burnap, who worked with pioneering musicians such as Punch Miller and Jim Robinson, died aged 68 on 30 May, 2008.
The cricket enthusiast was born in Derby, grew up in Belper and attended Herbert Strutt School, where he formed a skiffle band in which he played washboard.
He was also a broadcaster in both jazz and cricket, was born in Derby to a Scottish family, and moved between Scotland and the city before settling in Belper shortly after the war.
At 19 he emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, where he worked as a civil servant. He then travelled across Australia and America before returning to England in 1965, where he played with clarinetist Terry Lightfoot, before touring Eastern Europe with Monty Sunshine.
He then went back to Australia but resettled in England in 1969, collaborating with Humphrey Lyttelton and Acker Bilk, among others. He returned to Derby on a number of occasions to play at the Assembly Rooms. He had been heavily influenced by trombonist Jack Teagarden and as a result learned to play the instrument.
Former school friend Neil Hallam paid tribute saying: “I urged him to write an autobiography because he'd had such a fantastic life, travelling to so many places and meeting so many people.
“He sent me the first chapter in the post a few months ago. It was about his time at Herbert Strutt. It was absolutely hilarious, highly irreverent and very rude.
“He was a handsome, charming, intelligent man who was a superb cricketer and writer as well as a musician.
“He was a true prophet of jazz who attended to his friendships very diligently.”
Pat Gibson, a cricket correspondent at the Daily Telegraph, was also a friend.
He said: “As soon as Campbell began to talk to you, he made you feel like the most important person in the world.”
Mr Burnap was a member of Derbyshire County Cricket Club for over 20 years and was a close friend of Derbyshire player Geoff Miller, the England team national selector. His ashes were to be scattered at Lord's.
Keep me informed of updates
