IT was more than 50 years ago that Louisiana-born clarinet player and bandleader Edmond Hall made his debut at a Hampshire jazz club.

In those days The Concorde Club - now based in Eastleigh’s Stoneham Lane - was squeezed into the back bar of The Bassett pub in Burgess Road, Southampton.

Hall, who was a member of the legendary Louis Armstrong and His All Stars band, was among a long line of top flight American musicians who have appeared at the club which has become an international jazz mecca.

Concorde boss Cole Mathieson recalled: “He played the clarinet beautifully and was a wonderful gentleman.”

Hall was the headliner at the club on November 16, 1966, which was part of his first UK tour. An original poster of his appearance with the Alan Elsdon band has pride of place in the club’s archives.

The artefacts also include a review from the Daily Echo’s jazz critic the late John Mann, who always signed off his critiques with his trademark initials JEM. He was full of praise for Hall’s “vigour, inventiveness, immaculate skill and ease of execution.”

Sadly, just months after his Concorde appearance Hall died aged 65 leaving a rich musical legacy of swing and Dixieland.

Now a fascinating jazz link has been forged between the Eastleigh club’s past and present.

More than 50 years after Hall’s Concorde appearance the music and life story of this ace American clarinet player has been performed by one of the UK’s top clarinet players Adrian Cox.

Adrian has made it his mission to find out everything about his favourite clarinet player, from his unique musical technique to buying a rare biography of his idol in a New York record store.

Now he can add to his prized collection a copy of the poster of Edmond Hall’s Concorde appearance whose first tour on UK soil was promoted by legendary showbiz impresario Harold Davison who was married to TV singing star Marion Ryan.

Adrian’s Profoundly Blue Show is named after the 1941 chamber jazz song which is regarded as a pre-Second World War classic. And Adrian has devoted two albums to the work of the American jazz superstar.

Hall worked as a farm hand but by 1919 he had become tired of the hard work and despite his parents’ worries of him finding a decent job he headed for New Orleans – the spiritual home of jazz.

The first New Orleans band he played with was that of Bud Rousell and he also lined up with Jack Carey on trombone and blues cornettist Chris Kelley.

Adrian said Hall moved to New York where he worked with a lot of big bands and appeared with people like Billie Holiday.

He got offered a job with the Duke Ellington Orchestra but turned it down because he wanted to jam with smaller groups but he played with some amazing musicians.

Adrian says: “Hall has got a really unique sound. He can make it sound so gravely. It was also really powerful. He was cutting edge and had a huge influence on me.

“Profoundly Blue is a track name from the recording in 1941. We start there and the whole concert goes through his life. He wrote some incredible original music which I discovered by chance.

“The concert is his music and life story and it was great to bring it to Eastleigh where Hall appeared more than 50 years ago.”

So good is Adrian Cox’s interpretation that those jazz fans who remembered Edmond Hall’s Concorde debut could probably close their eyes and think it was him.

Now Adrian has a copy of the original poster of that concert proudly hanging on his wall along with his growing memorabilia of a legendary American clarinettist who also has pride of place in The Concorde’s Hall of Fame.