Derek Ansell, who had written for Jazz Journal since the mid-80s, died suddenly, aged 90, on 13 December. He had reported a gastric problem as, in mid-November, he regretfully withdrew from writing an obituary of Lou Donaldson, a player right in the middle of his musical ambit. I never guessed anything serious was afoot, but the problem turned out to be an aggressive pancreatic cancer from which he died only three weeks after diagnosis.
Tenacious commitment to covering the jazz he loved was characteristic of Derek. He was among the most prolific of JJ reviewers, especially when it came to his favourite jazz – that rooted in the 1950s and early 60s, from hard bop through cool to free jazz, either played by its original practitioners or younger performers. I don’t recall him ever declining to review anything or recoiling from receiving perhaps 15 albums a month to cover – especially if the music was on vinyl. Despite my ribbing about the environmental cost of making and transporting plastic around the world, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the vinyl revival of recent years, convinced the sound was better and no doubt pleased to live again the tactile experience that was record appreciation in his early years – and for everyone before the 80s advent of CD.
Derek first appeared in the pages of JJ in the mid-80s. His earliest piece appears to have been a May 1987 Forgotten Ones article on bassist Doug Watkins. Later that year he wrote on Ernie Henry and went on to cover between 1987 and 1993 such as Philly Joe Jones, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, Elvin Jones, Thelonious Monk, Jackie McLean, Tina Brooks, Roy Hargrove and Delfeayo Marsalis. That was only the beginning: his feature writing and interviewing remained a prominent element of Jazz Journal through the 2000s.
For most of his professional life Derek was a salesman, but his passion was jazz and his aspiration was to write as widely as possible. As well as producing copy for JJ, he published fiction and several books on jazz, including, most recently, an assessment of pianist Sonny Clark. Others were Workout: The Music Of Hank Mobley, and Sugar Free Saxophone: The Life And Music Of Jackie McLean. He also wrote concert reviews for the Newbury Weekly News, his local paper after he had moved to Newbury in 1964. After school Derek had been to St Martin’s School of Art and worked as a commercial artist for a few years before moving into sales, initially in London and then in Preston, Lancashire where he spent six years before moving to Newbury. Among the companies he worked for was Olivetti – appropriately for Derek, historically famous for its typewriters.
Derek’s dedication to jazz found a special consummation in 2017 when he visited New York to meet his daughter Juliet, who was there on a business trip. The event turned into a mini jazz-pilgrimage as Derek, his wife Sarah and another daughter Nadia were able to see sessions on such hallowed ground as Minton’s Playhouse and Birdland.
On hearing of Derek’s passing, several of his colleagues at JJ paid tribute to him:
“Very sad, RIP. Pure jazz cat. I’ll remember him when scrolling through his Mobley bio – François van der Linde
“So sorry to hear this. I didn’t know him beyond the pages of JJ, but Derek emailed me a couple of times to say he’d particularly enjoyed something I’d written – Nigel Jarrett
“Sorry to hear that, Mark, his was a (rightly) ubiquitous byline on JJ. He will be missed” – Roger Farbey
“Sad news indeed, underlined by the fact I only just reviewed his most recent book, on Sonny Clark – a review I fear he never saw” – Nic Jones
“I didn’t meet Derek, but this is a shock, nevertheless. RIP” – Simon Adams
“That really is sad, sad news. Many thanks, Derek. You were always on the case. RIP” – Michael Tucker
“This is incredibly sad” – Mark Youll
Derek leaves behind his wife Sarah, three daughters – Nadia, Charlotte and Juliet – and five grandchildren – Sophie, Ruairidh, Fergus, Harley and Lily. Derek’s funeral is at 14:00, 30 December at West Berkshire Funeral Directors, Clarendon House. Newbury. Details, including how to watch online, are here – wbfd.co.uk/funeral-details/?tribute=derekansell
Derek Ansell, writer. Born Highbury, London, 13 August 1934; died Newbury, Berkshire, 13 December 2024