Cyril Anthony ‘Tony’ Kinsey (born 11 October 1927) is an English jazz drummer and composer.
Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield. He held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, studying while at port with Bill West in New York City and with local musician Tommy Webster in Birmingham. He had a close association with Ronnie Ball early in his life; the two even had a double wedding together. Kinsey led his own ensemble at the Flamingo Club in London through the 1950s, and recorded on more than 80 sessions between 1950 and 1977, including with Tubby Hayes, Bill Le Sage, Ronnie Scott, Johnny Dankworth, Tommy Whittle, Joe Harriott, Lena Horne, Frank Holder, Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Webster, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, Buddy DeFranco, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, and Sarah Vaughan. He performed at European jazz festivals both as a drummer and as a poet. He did some work as a session musician in the 1950s and 1960s, playing on records by Eddie Calvert, Cliff Richard, and Ronnie Aldrich.
Kinsey also branched into composition; a string quartet composition of his is used in the short film On the Bridge, and he wrote arrangements for big bands in addition to music for over 100 commercials. Later in his life he wrote music for a musical based on the life of George Eliot.
In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “Pickles”, “The Stranger in Town”, one of Kinsey’s compositions, plays in the background during SpongeBob’s confrontation with Bubble Bass at the Krusty Krab.
In 2012, Kinsey appeared in the documentary film, No One But Me, discussing jazz musician, Annie Ross. (by wikipedia)
And here´s a real nice album from 2003:
`Blue Circles’ was recorded live at the Ealing Jazz Festival in August 2002. The drummer, composer and arranger Tony Kinsey led his quartet featuring alto saxophonist Peter King in a performance that was dedicated to Bill Le Sage, a long time musical associate of Kinsey’s, who died in the spring of 2002.
The repertoire chosen was a selection of jazz favourites and standards, plus two originals by Tony Kinsey and Bill Le Sage. They were played to an appreciative audience with the style and passion one would expect from these talented musicians.
This quartet of seasoned jazzmen are all individually very well known and respected on the British jazz scene, and they have all been leaders in their own right. They have produced a great live album of straight-ahead swinging jazz.
Personnel:
Alec Dankworth (bass)
John Horler (piano)
Peter King (saxophone)
Tony Kinsey (drums)
Tracklist:
01. I Love You (Porter) 7.57
02. Alone Together (Schwartz) 10.14
03. Confirmation (Parker) 8.07
04. Blue Circles (Kinsey) 9.08
05. Close Your Eyes (Petkere) 8.14
06. All Blue (Davis) 9.28
07. Last Resort (Le Sage) 10.49
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