Obituaries: Connie Kay

Like so many musicians whose names are known mainly to jazz fans, Connie Kay spent much of his working week as an uncredited hired hand on non-jazz sessions, writes Charlie Gillett [further to the obituary by Steve Voce, 3 December].

During the early Fifties he was among the pool of peerless musicians based in New York who helped Atlantic Records to become the leading rhythm and blues label of the time. Connie's unique combination of elegance and excitement on Joe Turner's "Boogie Woogie Country Girl", still sounds marvellous. Fifteen years later, he played an equally vital role at the sessions which resulted in Van Morrison's magical masterpiece, Astral Weeks.