(b London, March 9, 1930; d Chalfont St. Giles, England, Oct 24, 2014). English clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, and flutist. He began on clarinet at the age of 14 and later took up alto and then tenor saxophone. As a part-time musician he toured Germany with Stan Tracey and later briefly worked with Nat Gonella. In the early 1950s he worked with Kenny Baker (1951–3) and was a principal soloist with Vic Lewis’s orchestra (from 1953). He led his own quartet in 1954, which toured with Maxine Sullivan, joined the group Jazz Unit Today, broadcast with Kenny Baker’s Dozen, and again led a quartet (1956–8) and sextet (1958–60), with which he made several recordings (including Vic Ash Quartet, 1956, Nixa 1032 [EP]); he rejoined Lewis several times between 1957 and 1960. With Harry Klein he led the Jazz Five (1960–63), which often performed as the support group for such visiting American musicians as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dave Brubeck; among their sidemen were Brian Dee and Malcolm Cecil. One of the pioneers of modern jazz clarinet in Great Britain, Ash was the leading clarinetist at this time; for eight years he was voted best player on his instrument in ...