It's with much sadness that we learnt of the death of popular Grapevine writer Alan Crumpton over Christmas.

Alan, who lived in the Sudbury area, had been ill for some time but continued to write his monthly jazz column, something he'd done for many many years.

Yorkshire-born Alan was 74 and had lived in Suffolk since the 1960s when he moved to the county as a newspaper reporter. He was known throughout East Anglia for his passion for all types of jazz. He championed the jazz cause as a writer, compere and broadcaster. He was a founder of Jazz By The Stour and was heavily involved in the early days of Fleece Jazz. For well over a decade he was the regular Master Of Ceremonies at Ipswich Jazz Club and in recent years co-hosted Roger Odell's fortnightly Jazznights sessions at The Bell Hotel in Clare.

Fellow Grapevine columnist and BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Stephen Foster has paid this tribute to the man affectionately known as Crumpy : "In spite of his worsening health Alan remained upbeat about life and was never happier than when he was waxing lyrical about the latest young jazz musician he'd seen locally. I will always look back fondly on the many times we shared both a stage and a radio studio. Crumpy always used to say to the audience at the end of a gig "whatever your taste in music, keep it live" and there's no doubt Alan played an enormous part in keeping the East Anglia jazz scene alive."

All at Grapevine echoes Foz's sentiments. Alan will be much missed and we'd like to pass on our deepest sympathies to his family and many friends.

The funeral will take place at West Suffolk Crematorium near Bury St
Edmunds at 12.45pm on Monday 11th January and the family are requesting
that people do not wear black but turn out to "celebrate his life and
love of music".