Alexis Korner

Born: 19th April 1928, Paris, France.
Died: 1st January 1984, London, England.

Alexis Korner was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster. He had travelled with his parents through Switzerland and North Africa before settling in London as a 12 year-old. He grew up listening to the early blues pioneers and his music career as a guitarist and singer really began with engagements in [a1421932] and [a=Chris Barber] bands.

In 1956, Korner met [a1053895] with whom he founded the famed blues club in Ealing and the band [a=Blues Incorporated]. Their aim was to play 'real' and uncompromising blues (probably the first 'electric British blues' bands) becoming a platform for the careers of [a=Mick Jagger], [a409290], [a=Jack Bruce], [a=Charlie Watts], and many others.

Davis left in 1963 and Blues Incorporated disbanded in 1967. The following years saw Korner in many bands, most of them short-lived: [a3134722], [a=New Church] and [a=Snape]. From the late 1960s Korner toured, often as [a1251059] - for instance with [a=Peter Thorup], but mostly with bassist [a=Colin Hodgkinson]. By the late 1970s, Korner gained recognition as a radio DJ and broadcaster, continuing to record sporadically with bands such as [a325864] and Snape. His 50th birthday all-star concert was released as [m=477316]. In 1981, he joined the "supergroup" [a1227376], led by [a255182] and based on boogie-woogie keyboard players, which featured a rhythm section comprising Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts, among others, as well as a horn section. Korner died from lung cancer in 1984.

His daughter [a5017845] (aka [a1234779]) and son [a3951628] (Nicholas) were musicians, and his other son [a93015] was a sound engineer.