Acker Bilk's manager claims he was vastly important to the jazz movement due to his special tone and vibrato. Photograph: Allstar/CinetextThe celebrated jazz clarinettist Acker Bilk has died aged 85.
Bilk was perhaps best known for his 1961 song Stranger on the Shore and was one of the most important figures in the revival of traditional jazz in the middle of the last century.
“He was vastly important to the jazz movement, he could play the clarinet like nobody else, he had a special tone and vibrato – other musicians would tell you that,” his manager, Pamela Sutton, said.
Sutton, who worked with Bilk for 45 years, said: “His life was music and performing. He only gave it up because his age caught up with him and he couldn’t perform any more.”
Bilk’s last performance was in August 2013 at the Brecon jazz festival in Wales.
Sutton said: “He was a charming person to be with and he was famous worldwide, especially in Australia.
“He was a brilliant musician. He had a great sense of humour in every way. He just loved life.”