I'm Built For Comfort - Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated - R & B From The Marquee

Alexis Korner - guitar/vocals (born April 19th 1928, Paris, died January 1st 1984, London)

Other Members Included:-

Cyril Davies - harmonica (born 1932, Denham, died January 7th 1964, London)

Ian Armit - piano

Andy Hoogenboom - string bass

Jack Bruce - string bass/bass guitar (born May 14th 1943, Glasgow)

Charlie Watts - drums (born June 2nd 1941, London)

Ronnie James - vocals

Dick Heckstall-Smith - saxophone (born September 26th 1934, Ludlow)

Johnny Parker - piano

Graham Bond - organ (born 1937, died May 8th 1974, London)

Ginger Baker- drums (born Peter Baker, August 19th 1939, London)

Alexis Korner loomed large and significant in the affairs of British R&B and Blues Incorporated were a major influence on the burgeoning British blues scene of the early Sixties.

Korner began his career with Chris Barber's Jazz Band which he joined in 1949. In 1952 the group merged with Ken Colyer's Jazz Band, and it was during this period that he met Cyril Davies, a musical soul-mate who shared Korner's passion for American blues. In 1954 they teamed up as an electric blues duo and began making the rounds of London clubs. They opened their own club, the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, where they featured visiting bluesmen from America.

Korner. And Davies formed Blues Incorporated in early 1962 bringing in some of the best blues musicians on the scene at the time and secured a residency at the Marquee Club in May '62. They were a seminal influence upon the kids who would become Britain's top rock musicians later in the decade.

Among the dozens of musicians who passed through were, Mick Jagger , Hughie Flint, Danny Thompson, John Renbourne and Long John Baldry.

Their popularity with audiences soon brought them to the attention of record companies and the renowned Jack Good arranged the recording of one of their performances and the resulting album was released in November 1962. Around the time of the album's release, Korner decided to add a horn section to the band which created a rift with Davies, who left to form his own group - Cyril Davies' All Stars.

Blues Incorporated never put much effort into making commercial recordings and were quite happy to concentrate on their live work. Indeed, two of the first three albums were recorded live.

Korner broke the group up in 1967.