Kathy Stobart

Florence Kathleen "Kathy" Stobart (1 April 1925 – 5 July 2014) was an English jazz saxophonist primarily known for playing the tenor sax. Stobart was born in the coastal town of South Shields, and first learned piano as a child. After picking up saxophone, she first played in Don Rico's all-female band at the age of 14, then locally in Newcastle. She then moved to London in the 1940s playing with Denis Rose, Ted Heath and Jimmy Skidmore. Later that decade she played with Art Pepper and Peanuts Hucko. She played with pianist Art Thompson in the late 1940s, and was married to him briefly. She toured with Vic Lewis in 1949 and led her own group in 1950-51; among its members were Derek Humble, Dill Jones, and Bert Courtley; she was married to Courtley from 1951 until his death in 1969. In the 1950s and 1960s she went into semiretirement to raise her family. From 1969 to 1977 she played with Humphrey Lyttelton. Following this she led her own groups, with Harry Beckett, John Burch, and Lennie Best, among others. Aside from this she played with Johnny Griffin, Al Haig, Earl Hines, Buddy Tate, Zoot Sims, Marian McPartland, and Dick Hyman.