History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

In the 1950s and 60s I read articles by the highly regarded jazz writer, Leonard Feather in Down Beat and Melody Maker. From his detailed knowledge of numerous New York musicians, I always assumed he was American, but in fact he was born in 1914 at No.93 Teignmouth Road, just off Walm Lane in Willesden.    In his autobiography he said his father Nathaniel Feather owned a chain of clothing stores and he was brought up in a strictly conformist upper middle class Jewish family. When he was eleven the family moved to No.18 Bracknell Gardens Hampstead. While business was good, they had servants, and a Daimler car driven by a chauffeur.  Leonard studied classical piano and clarinet from an early age while secretly loving popular music. About the age of fifteen he came across Louis Armstrong’s recording of ‘West End Blues’. He said: ‘I was hooked. Though I was not to realize it for many years, this episode in the listening room of the record shop, not long before I turned fiftee...