Colin Bowden was repeatedly interviewed on both TV and radio in regard to New Orleans jazz. The list below just includes some samples. He even appeared in a movie, albeit you can only see a brief glimpse of him and the band for some seconds. The movie is West 11 from 1963.
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John Petters and Mike Pointon made an interview with Colin at the Louis Armstrong Celebration Jazz Festival at at Bracklesham Bay in 2012, and that interview is up on YouTube, link here. Mike Pointon was a jazz historian, author, broadcaster and New Orleans jazz trombonist. He died in November 2021, not very long after Colin. He co-wrote Going Home – The Uncompromising Life & Music of Ken Colyer. John Petters is jazz historian, writer, lecturer and professional jazz musician. In the interview we hear, among much more, that Colin says he was inspired to take up drums after hearing Spike Jones’ recording of Cocktails For Two. He bought records by Bob Crosby’s Bobcats, with the legendary Ray Bauduc on drums, but the clincher was hearing Baby Dodds on the George Lewis and Kid Shots Madison recording of When you and I were young Maggie.
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BBC made the TV-series 50s Britannia in 2013 and Colin is repeatedly interviewed in the second episode called Trad Jazz Britannia. In this clip Colin appears a couple of minutes into the program.
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Walter Love made a nice long interview with Colin for BBC3 Radio Ulster in 2018 (part of it was later re-broadcasted after Colin’s death, see below). It’s difficult to find on BBCs web site on Jazz Club with Walter Love or BBC Sounds, but it should be there somewhere. We have created a link to make it easier for you – Part 1 2018.
Part of the interview above was included in another program Walter Love made in 2021, after Colin’s death, and this time John Petters was invited to share his memories of Colin. Again, this program is available somewhere on BBC Sounds, but very difficult to find. We have included it here – Part 2 2021.
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John Petters made two radio programs as an homage to Colin, and included some earlier interviews with Colin. John Petters broadcast the radio program Now You Has Jazz Jazz Jazz on the Sound Of Spitfire Internet Radio. Guests in the program is Hal Smith and Pete Lay, both jazz drummers. This is a link to Part 1.
In Part 2 John Petters again has Hal Smith from the US and Pete Lay from the UK as guests. It’s now 1972 and the Crane River Band was re-started and John explains how Colin came to be part of it. Since both John, Hal and Pete are drummers, much of the program is about styles of playing the drums, and snippets of previous interviews with Colin is interlaced in the program, for example when Colin explains why and how he choose different types of skin for his drums. This is a link to Part 2.
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Alyn Shipton also made a radio show to commemorate Colin. He play some songs with Colin on drums on requests from listeners. Part of that program can be found here.
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