Kenny Graham was born in Ealing, London, and learned to play the banjo as a young child.
12 Facts About Kenny Graham
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Kenny Graham then learned the saxophone, with the tenor sax his preferred instrument by the time he became a professional musician at the age of 16.
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Kenny Graham joined the army in 1942, expecting to join a service band, but was turned down for that role and went absent without leave, dyeing his red hair black and working under the name Tex Kershaw for two years as a member of Johnny Claes's Claepigeons.
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From 1955, Kenny Graham became more active as a writer and arranger than as a performer.
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Kenny Graham wrote for several bands including that of Ted Heath, composing the Beaulieu Festival Suite recorded by Heath in 1959, and worked as an arranger at recording sessions.
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Kenny Graham directed recording sessions by blues musicians including Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White, and worked extensively as a writer and arranger with Humphrey Lyttelton, composing the piece "One Day I Met an African" which Lyttelton recorded several times.
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In 1980, Kenny Graham wrote further pieces for Lyttelton's band, including "Adagio For David" and "Ladyless and Lachrymose".
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Kenny Graham wrote for films such as The Small World of Sammy Lee, Night Train to Paris and Where the Bullets Fly, and an orchestral suite, "The Labours of Heracles", for BBC Radio.
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Kenny Graham wrote occasional and acerbic essays on music for various magazines.
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Kenny Graham was dismissive of much modern popular music, including rock and roll.
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Kenny Graham experimented with electronic keyboards, and became an expert in electronics.
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Kenny Graham worked as a London Underground ticket machine maintenance engineer, and became a skilled maker of clocks and watches.