Lyttelton received a grant for further study. He went to Camberwell School of Art, where he met
Wally Fawkes, a fellow jazz enthusiast and clarinet-player, also known as the cartoonist "Trog". In 1949, Fawkes helped him to get a job with the
Daily Mail writing the words for
Flook, Fawkes's comic strip. They had both joined the George Webb Dixielanders in 1947.
Webb was an important catalyst in the British postwar jazz boom. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Lyttelton was prominent in the British revival of traditional jazz forms from New Orleans, recording with
Sidney Bechet in 1949. To do so he had to break with the
Musicians' Union restrictive practices which forbade working with jazz musicians from the United States. In 1956, he had his only pop chart hit, with the
Joe Meek-produced recording of "
Bad Penny Blues", which was in the
UK Singles Chart for six weeks. Over time, Lyttelton gradually shifted to a more
mainstream approach favoured by American musicians such as trumpeter
Buck Clayton. By 1953 he had begun to add saxophonists to the lineup. On one occasion in that year, the development did not meet with the approval of his fans. At a
Birmingham Town Hall concert at which alto saxophonist
Bruce Turner debuted, a banner with the words "Go Home Dirty Bopper!" was prominently unfolded. Occasionally, with the help of
Eddie Harvey, he assembled a big band for BBC broadcasts and records. In 1957 and 1958 blues singer
Jimmy Rushing toured England with the band, as did Clayton,
Vic Dickenson and
Big Joe Turner in 1965. Clayton recorded with Lyttelton in the early 1960s and toured with the band on numerous occasions. Clayton considered himself and Lyttelton to be brothers. He also recorded with visiting Americans
Al Casey,
Buddy Tate, and
Kenny Davern. He was the subject of
This Is Your Life in 1958, when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews at the
BBC Television Theatre. By now his repertoire had expanded, including not only lesser known
Duke Ellington pieces, but even "The Champ" from
Dizzy Gillespie's band book. The Lyttelton band—he saw himself primarily as a leader—helped develop the careers of many now prominent British musicians, including
Tony Coe and
Alan Barnes. In 1983, Lyttelton formed Calligraph Records, which reissued some of his old recordings, all future recordings by his band, and recordings by band members. On 11 March 2008, he announced that he would cease presenting
BBC Radio 2's
Best of Jazz. On 23 July 2008, Lyttelton was posthumously named BBC Radio 2 Jazz Artist of the Year, voted by radio listeners.
Humphrey Lyttelton Band For several years during the postwar period at 100
Oxford Street his regular band included Wally Fawkes, the Christie brothers, Pat Hawes and Johnny Parker. From 1958, Lyttelton's favoured line-up was an eight–piece band with three saxophones (alto, tenor and baritone), although this was reduced to seven occasionally to save money. But he would sometimes add the baritone again for broadcasts and recordings. Lyttelton's mainstream band usually included such established musicians as
Jimmy Skidmore,
Joe Temperley,
Kathy Stobart,
Jimmy Hastings,
Mike McKenzie,
John Barnes, Roy Williams and
Pete Strange along with new talent such as
Tony Coe,
Alan Barnes,
John Picard, Karen Sharpe, and Jo Fooks. Lyttelton regarded his band as a family, with some members returning to the fold after periods away and/or staying for long periods (Bruce Turner,
Stan Greig, Adrian Macintosh, Stobart, Hastings). The band maintained a busy schedule, frequently performing sold-out shows across the country. Performances occasionally included a guest singer, or a collaboration with another band. During the 1990s the band toured with
Helen Shapiro in a series of
Humph and Helen concerts. They also featured in several Giants of British Jazz tours with
Acker Bilk and
George Melly and
John Chilton's Feetwarmers. Lyttelton had a long established professional relationship with UK singer
Elkie Brooks. After working together in the early 1960s they rekindled their working partnership in early 2000 with a series of sold-out and well-received concert performances. In early 2000, the band played on the track "Life in a Glasshouse" on
Radiohead's album
Amnesiac, released the following year. In 2003, they released the critically acclaimed album
Trouble in Mind and continued to perform occasional concerts. Lyttelton introduced American vocalist
Stacey Kent to British audiences. Lyttelton's last band featured, apart from himself on trumpet and clarinet: Ray Wordsworth on trombone; Jimmy Hastings on alto sax, clarinet and flute; Jo Fooks on tenor saxophone and flute; Rob Fowler on tenor sax, baritone sax and clarinet; Ted Beament on piano; John Rees-Jones on double bass and Adrian Macintosh on drums. His last formal recordings, one track each on trumpet and clarinet, appeared on his last CD 'Cornucopia 3', (CLG CD 46) all of which he supervised. Trumpet on the other tracks was played by Tony Fisher. He made some recordings as a vocalist. After his death, part of Lyttelton's appearance with his 2007 Band, (with Karen Sharpe instead of Robert Fowler), at the
Brecon Jazz Festival, in which he was joined by American tenor saxophonist
Scott Hamilton was shown by BBCtv as a tribute, (''Humph's Last Stand''). The band continues to give concerts performing his music. The trumpet part is played by Tony Fisher with occasional guest spots by singer
Sue Richardson and ex–Lytteltonians such as
Karen Sharp. ==Radio personality==