Parry, Harry

Harry Parry (1912-1956), jazz musician and bandleader, was born and educated at Bangor in north Wales. Between 1926 and 1934 he was employed as an instrument maker at the physics and chemistry departments of the University College of North Wales. A gifted musician, whose professional career began in Llandudno and later moved to the London club scene, he was an exponent of pure jazz and could play a variety of instruments. In 1941 he became leader of the Radio Rhythm Sextet and producer of the BBC radio programme Radio Rhythm Club . After the war he appeared in films and on television and also toured in India. He recorded extensively for the Parlophone label. For further details of his career, see Y Goriad, October-November, 1983 and Harry Parry - In Retrospect by Rod Holcombe in Jazz Journal International, January 2004.

From the guide to the Papers of Harry Parry, Bandleader, 1925-1987, (Bangor University)