Well it’s not everyone that is born into a money family, but in 1942 George Bruno Money did just that, and yes the family name is actually “money”.
George always had a love of music, playing the french horn and singing in the choir at school, and in 1961 having been heavily influenced by listening to Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he formed the Big Roll Band, which during the next two years became a line up of Andy Summers (guitar), Nick Newall (saxophone), Colin Allen (drums), and Zoot playing piano and Hammond organ.
Before long the Big Roll Band was playing the famous Flamingo Club in Wardour Street in London’s Soho, alongside other well known acts including Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames and The Animals.
In the late 1960’s the band morphed into Dantalian’s Chariot, and played at gigs with other top psychedelic acts of the day, including the original Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, Soft Machine, and The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown.
Zoot went on to play in the USA for a while, but returned to the UK where in the early 1980’s he turned to acting, playing the music director in the BBC television show “Tutti Frutti”, which helped launch the careers of Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane.
Back to today, where Zoot has returned to his Jazz/Blues roots with the formation of the British Blues Quintet, which sees Zoot playing alongside other British Blues/Jazz legends Maggie Bell, Miller Anderson, Colin Hodgkinson and drummer Collin Allen.
In the 1960’s my Dad worked repairing Hammond Organs, and I wonder if he ever had to work on Zoot’s? Alas that is something I will never know.
(Photo of Zoot Money from The British Blues Quintet)
