Biography
Born on 16 August 1920 in London, England, Felix died on 29 December 1980. His professional start came in the closing years before World War II, yet it was during the initial postwar years that he secured a firm place as a pianist within the city’s jazz club circuit. Throughout the 1950s he worked in Britain alongside Freddy Randall and Harry Gold, then crossed to New York for engagements with Henry ‘Red’ Allen and Buster Bailey; by the decade’s close he had joined Wally Fawkes’ Troglodytes. He remained active through the 1960s and 1970s, issuing recordings and appearing on radio broadcasts. At his strongest when performing unaccompanied or directing a trio, Felix absorbed the mannerisms of such commanding figures as Fats Waller, Earl Hines and Art Tatum. The influence of those mentors left him ill-suited to supporting roles, and several collaborations therefore collapsed in acrimony. One such partnership, with visiting American cornetist Ruby Braff—a musician rarely hesitant to confront difficult colleagues—concluded when the visitor announced, ‘I asked for a piano player and they gave me a disease.’ In the Christmas season of 1980 Felix was hit by a car while exiting a London jazz club, succumbing to his injuries on 29 December.
Albums
