Gene Conners obituary

US trombonist known as the 'Mighty Flea'When the Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Revue played the 100 Club in London in July 1972 in front of a teeming, enthusiastic crowd, several acts stood out, among them the diminutive, yet slightly menacing, singlet-clad trombonist and vocalist Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners, who has died of lung cancer, aged 79. His stuttering, high-energy style on trombone seemed to owe as much to bopper JJ Johnson's slide mastery as it did to more routine r'n'b conventions. Conne...

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