Dave Paxton

One of Royal High School Gang, having attended Portobello High School then RHS a year or two ahead of Bob Craig, Al Fairweather and Sandy Brown. Clarinetist in Johnny Dodds mode. Played in 1940s with Sandy Brown, Bob Craig, Al Fairweather, Stan Grieg et al at Edinburgh Rhythm Club and Edinburgh Jazz Club at Riego Street and India Buildings. From 1951, spent 15 years in Bahrain, Italy and Lebanon working in the oil industry before returning to Edinburgh in 1966 where a band was already formed for him to lead as the ‘Dave Paxton JB’. However, this band became the ‘New Society Syncopators’ in which he formed an outstanding front line with Ian Telford (tpt) and Bob Craig (tbn) playing mostly music of the early Armstrong and Jell Roll Morton era. Became a member of ‘Bill Salmond’s Louisiana Ragtime Band’ from 1976 to 1991 then with Jim Petrie et al in ‘Diplomats of Jazz’ and band with Al Fairweather and Bob Craig to the end of 1992 when ill health ended his playing.