John Wallbank (24 Feb 1938 - 13 Feb 2018)

In appreciative memory of the splendid John Wallbank

John, thank you for your wisdom, fun and support over so many years. xx

Hello, I sent this in an email but seeing as there is this thoughtful space, I’ll say again... My heart goes out to everyone who loved John Wallbank. There are so many of us. He was such an incredibly kind, clever, loving and lovely man. He always made me feel part of your extended family. His loss of life, too too soon, is one of the excruciating cruelties of this world... His beautiful spirit, his fantastic music, his sparkly eyes, his brilliant mind, his talking, his listening, his massive knowledge and his great big loving heart, beats on in his beautiful children, grandchildren, and their children, always. xxx

My deepest sympathies to you Jane and the rest of your family. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Please call if I can be if any assistance. Highest Blessings xxx

John and I go a long way back and there’s not the space to even summarise the many ways he has affected my life. So, I will just cherry pick some of the most vivid memories, particularly of our association in jazz.
It was about thirty years ago, on a jazz ‘course’ near Monmouth (more of a week in a beautiful location, delightful people eager to spend all hours of the day and night, playing the music they loved, with the bar open till about 2.00). Around midnight, in the last active jam, after days of concentrated playing, our fingers were looser, our ears more ‘tuned in’ and our brains more relaxed (after a few beers). We started with ‘Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You’ (an old Jimmy Rushing feature, I think). I sang the lyric, in my best Jimmy Rushing impersonation, and John played some bluesy fills, not dissimilar to Buck Clayton. Then, we each took a few choruses. We were in a beautiful groove and it was a joy for me to play with John in this kind of situation. I can’t remember what time we turned in, but we both made it to breakfast, to fuel up for another day. What happy times.
John played in my ‘Little Big Band’ for over 20 years, many of them alongside 1st trumpet, Roland Ramanan. Despite coming from very different musical backgrounds, John from traditional and mainstream, Roland following a famous father (Shake Keane) into the free music scene, they got on very well together, a testament to John’s wide taste and flexibility.
I can’t recall the date, but I remember how lucky I was to get a new neighbour, when John moved to Barclay Road, literally just round the corner. We would often call on each other to chat and rehearse, particularly Tadd Dameron tunes, which we played in our ‘Hot House’ quintet, a few years ago. John was such an interesting and sociable man, it was always a pleasure to be in his company.
We enjoyed listening to recordings, of course, and catching many of the stream of top players at our local Eastside Jazz Club and in town. John accompanied me once to one of the best concerts I have ever heard – Hugh Masekela at the Barbican. John was much more familiar with HM’s bands than I was. I was absolutely bowled over by M’s beautiful playing, but also his wit, dancing, singing and engaging with the other superb musicians with him, and the sheer energy of this septogenarian man was astonishing. I may not have said so at the time, but I think there was quite a bit of that in my old friend’s make up. I will miss him dearly.

John and I go a long way back and there’s not the space to even summarise the many ways he has affected my life. So, I will just cherry pick some of the most vivid memories, particularly of our association in jazz.
It was about thirty years ago, on a jazz ‘course’ near Monmouth (more of a week in a beautiful location, delightful people eager to spend all hours of the day and night, playing the music they loved, with the bar open till about 2.00). Around midnight, in the last active jam, after days of concentrated playing, our fingers were looser, our ears more ‘tuned in’ and our brains more relaxed (after a few beers). We started with ‘Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You’ (an old Jimmy Rushing feature, I think). I sang the lyric, in my best Jimmy Rushing impersonation, and John played some bluesy fills, not dissimilar to Buck Clayton. Then, we each took a few choruses. We were in a beautiful groove and it was a joy for me to play with John in this kind of situation. I can’t remember what time we turned in, but we both made it to breakfast, to fuel up for another day. What happy times.
John played in my ‘Little Big Band’ for over 20 years, many of them alongside 1st trumpet, Roland Ramanan. Despite coming from very different musical backgrounds, John from traditional and mainstream, Roland following a famous father (Shake Keane) into the free music scene, they got on very well together, a testament to John’s wide taste and flexibility.
I can’t recall the date, but I remember how lucky I was to get a new neighbour, when John moved to Barclay Road, literally just round the corner. We would often call on each other to chat and rehearse, particularly Tadd Dameron tunes, which we played in our ‘Hot House’ quintet, a few years ago. John was such an interesting and sociable man, it was always a pleasure to be in his company.
We enjoyed listening to recordings, of course, and catching many of the stream of top players at our local Eastside Jazz Club and in town. John accompanied me once to one of the best concerts I have ever heard – Hugh Masekela at the Barbican. John was much more familiar with HM’s bands than I was. I was absolutely bowled over by M’s beautiful playing, but also his wit, dancing, singing and engaging with the other superb musicians with him, and the sheer energy of this septogenarian man was astonishing. I may not have said so at the time, but I think there was quite a bit of that in my old friend’s make up. I will miss him dearly.

Unfortunately I am not able to attend John’s funeral.
I met John when we both attended a jazz class run by Len Phillips at Goldsmiths in the early 1980s. From that time until I last saw him a few eeeks ago, and despite years of being out of touch, he was just one of those thoroughly nice and funny individuals who you always knew you could reconnect with in a heartbeat. I will miss the repeat of the London Marsthon gig that we did last year outside Up the Creek in Greenwich, which summed up all that made John such great company.
Rest in peace dear friend.

Happy memories of running the Ambassadors Theatre with you for all those years JB. You'll always be smiling. RIP

Happy memories of running the Ambassadors Theatre with you for all those years JB. You'll always be smiling. RIP

In Memory of John - so many happy times to remember and be grateful for, always entertaining and full of good stories and advice.

John Wallbank was an enormous inspiration to me; he was the first West End producer to offer me a contract for a musical I wrote which gave me, as a young writer, the confidence to continue writing. I never knew until the production was mounted at the Half Moon Theatre in Bow,which was produced by Chris Bond, that I had cast his talented young daughter, Jane, in my production of STREET ANGELS. I am hoping that Jane and I can continue what Mr John started and get STREET ANGELS in front of an audience and fulfill the promise that John had in me and my show. I am in Leicester rehearsing a new show so sadly I won't be able to be physically present but my love and spirit will be there with you to celebrate John's life and memory.