The remarkable life, times and music of Humphrey Lyttelton will be celebrated by a series of shows next year marking the 100th anniversary of his birth. Jazz trumpeter Chris Hodgkins has put together a ten-piece band featuring top UK and American musicians that will tour the UK from November 18 to December 8 2021. Chris and his band aim not only to do justice to Humph’s music but will also write new music based on his compositions and journals. The performances will be multi-media presentation including video footage from I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, the Radio 4 panel show, which Lyttelton presented from 1972 until shortly before his death in 2008. The band comprises Chris Hodgkins and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Alison Rayner on double bass, Cheryl Alleyne on drums, Jinjoo Yoo on piano, Wayne Wilkinson on guitar, Charlotte Glasson on saxes, Diane McLoughlin on saxes, Chris Johansen on saxes and Mark Bassey on trombone. Susan da Costa, Humph’s long-time manager, has given her support to the tour, as have the National Jazz Archives and the Jazz Centre in Southend, the archive of Humph’s private papers, instruments and other ephemera. A travelling exhibition curated by the Jazz Centre and the National Jazz Archives featuring Humph’s life and times will tour with the band. Lyttelton was one of the best-loved figures in jazz and broadcasting for many decades. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, he became a professional musician, leading his own eight-piece band, which recorded a hit single, Bad Penny Blues, in 1956. He was widely credited with leading the way for the jazz revival of the late ’40s and ’50s, As a broadcaster, he presented BBC Radio 2’s The Best of Jazz for 40 years.Lyttelton was also a cartoonist, collaborating on the long-running Flook series in the Daily Mail. Visit www.chrishodgkins.co.uk for more information about the tour.