 After serving in the RAF, during which he played at weekends with Cy Laurie, he spent a further four months with Laurie before joining Humphrey Lyttelton, from 1954 until 1961.From 1962 to the early 1970s he worked with Tony Coe as well as co-leading a quintet with Kathy Stobart in the late 1960s.From 1975 to 1973, he was a member of the London Jazz Big Band, led by Stan Greig.