FM
Biography
Ellsworth McGranahan “Shake” Keane (born 30 May 1927 in Kingstown, St Vincent -- died 11 November 1997 in Oslo, Norway), was a jazz musician, poet and government minister. He is most well known today for his role as a jazz trumpeter, principally his work as a member of the ground breaking Joe Harriott Quintet (1959-1965).
Keane attended Kingstown Methodist school and St Vincent boys' grammar school. During his early adulthood in St Vincent, his principal interest was poetry and literature, not music. He had been dubbed ‘Shakespeare’ by his school friends, on account of this love of prose and poetry. This nickname was subsequently shortened to ‘Shake’, which would become the name he used throughout his adult life. He published two books of poetry, L'Oubili (1950) and Ixion (1952), while still in St Vincent.
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