Andy was born in Port Maria on Jamaica’s north coast in March 1918. The son of a butcher and farmer, he played various instruments with the Scouts and Salvation Army before settling on the tenor saxophone. Inspired by American jazz, he met Louis Jordan and Duke Ellington, played for Noel Coward and worked for actor Errol Flynn, before heading to the UK in 1949, eventually settling in Birmingham.

Critically acclaimed and lauded by generations of musicians and fans, his influence on the city’s music scene and wider community has been great. He was granted the freedom of the city in recognition of his work in community relations in 1990, and received an honorary MA from the University of Birmingham in 1996, while he was appointed MBE in 2008.

But his greatest legacy has arguably been The Notebenders. Based in the inner city suburb of Ladywood, the community group encourages and nurtures new generations of musicians, offering them vital first-steps on their careers. Many of The Notebenders ‘graduates’ have pursued successful careers in music, forming their own bands, and releasing their own music.

The performance sees The Notebenders Big Band, under the musical directorship of Andy Bunting and Richard Foote, celebrate Andy’s legacy with a new generation of stars-in-waiting and established musicians.