Remembering jazz great Val Mannix
Jazz musician Val Mannix passed away following a battle with heart and liver disease, aged 73, this July.
Val, who played the double bass with the Jazz Warriors and Courtney Pine, amongst numerous others, was well recognised in the jazz world.
His wife Brenda said that following his appearances with the Jazz Warriors he went from “strength to strength”.
She said: “Very often he used to play with the American players when they came over.
“They would be booked over here and he would be asked to play with them. So he really loved doing that.”
Val met Brenda at Goldsmiths College when he played piano, before later changing to the double bass. The couple, who were together for 37 years, wed in 2008.
Born in Sri Lanka, Val came to Britain as a health worker and learnt the double bass whilst in Britain.
He is fondly remembered for his love of his music, family and animals.
Following his death this summer, Brenda is seeking donations to the British Heart Foundation in his memory.
Heart and circulatory diseases take the lives of 1 in 4 people- the British Heart Foundation is working to prevent this.
Donations to the charity are put towards research to attempt to find the causes and cures for heart disease.
