Rex Harris: Jazz

˝Rex Harris was born in Kent in 1904. He has been associated with the appreciation of jazz music for many years, his introduction to ragtime at the age of 8 setting him on that path. He has combined a professional career of consulting optician with that of a jazz authority. He was a founder member of the National Federation of Jazz Organizations, and has been chairman and vice-chairman. In 1955 he was appointed to the advisory selection board of Jazz Book Club, assisted by Gerald Lascelles and Humphrey Lyttelton. An Honours Fellow of the British Optical Association and Freeman of the City of London, he has a busy practice and spreads jazz information, either by his articles for the press and an encyclopaedia, discussions on the subject for the Forces, Education Authorities, and Music Clubs, or his frequent broadcasts in the Home, Light, and Overseas programmes. His hobbies, when time allows, are gardening and designing furniture for his home, but he says: 'This means a twenty-eight hour day.' His ambitions are to build a really good rockery, fi nd time to appreciate all music, and help dispel the prevalent misconceptions regarding the word 'Jazz'.˝