A SPECIAL celebration of the life and work of a Bury-born jazz musician is to be staged in London later this month.

And the event will serve as a fitting tribute to Bury Grammar School "old boy" Paul Bridge who died last September at the age of 61.

Paul was a well-known jazz musician and was working with trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton's band up until his death.

The world-famous 100 Club in London's Oxford Street will host a tribute to Paul's life and work on Wednesday, January 30.

Another Bury Grammar "old boy" Rod Hamer, who runs his own jazzband, is among those who have been invited to perform at the event.

He said: "No doubt, many of Paul's musical friends and acquaintances will be taking part.

"And, bearing in mind that two thirds of those who wished to pay their respects at his funeral were unable to get into the chapel, the old London jazz club should be crowded on that evening." After being educated at BGS, where his father was a governor, Paul studied at Durham University and graduated in sociology.

Throughout the 1960s, he was a social worker in Bury and Manchester. But his great enthusiasm was music.

Initially, while at school, he played the trumpet but in the '60s switched to double bass and became highly proficient.

Paul joined three other BGS former pupils in the Art Taylor All Stars, a Dixieland-style group regarded as among the best in the north.

In the late '60s, he played what was then called "modern jazz" in the Manchester clubs, often accompanying famous visitors from the USA. Paul also worked with the well-known Pennine Folk, a group very popular at the time.

In 1971, he moved to Richmond in Surrey and, on the London scene, played gigs with both Brian White's Magna Jazz Band and also the Don Rendell Sextet.

It was when accompanying Humphrey Lyttelton, with the band of Rod Hamer, that Paul came to the attention of the famous trumpeter and subsequently joined his band.

At his death, Paul left a wife, a son from his first marriage, and a daughter.

Meanwhile, jazz man Rod Hamer has also proved himself proficient at painting. He received an "outstanding merit" art award from the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at their annual exhibition in London.

Rod's accolade came in the "non-member" category and was in respect of his painting entitled "Ebba, in the Studio".

He said: "After being educated at Bury Grammar School, I moved on to the Bury School of Arts and Crafts, then under Mr Percy Warburton, and later to Bolton College of Art.

"In the '60s, I was a part-time tutor at the Bury School of Arts and Crafts and, under another inspired principal, Mr Alan Childs, I was privileged to take part in its elevation to one of the most successful adult education establishments in the country."