Southampton Jazz Club supporter Pam Cotton passed away in 2021. She had been involved with the club since the mid-1980s and became a key member of the committee that oversaw its running. Pam was an excellent Membership Secretary back in the days when the club had 250 members on its books.

In the days when the club used to meet at the Joiners Arms it was Pam who ensured that the bands booked played straight-ahead jazz (nothing too modern) and that the band leaders or pianists understood that jazz standards were what was liked at Southampton Jazz Club – working alongside Pam for some 35 years gave me a good understanding of what jazz audiences wanted to hear at their club. Pam’s love for jazz music regularly took her to London jazz venues and she also enjoyed her many visits to the Swanage Jazz Festival.

The past couple of years have been difficult for many and I was unable to meet with Pam as often as I would have liked so to see her health decline as much as it had in that time was deeply upsetting. Unfortunately, Pam had a serious fall at a hotel in Plymouth and due to underlying health issues was not able to fully recover from the effects of the anaesthetic required for her to undergo an operation. As I, and those who knew Pam, would expect, Pam went out with wit, humour and dignity with her husband Brian and daughter Suzanne close by.

Pam had a large family she loved and they in return loved her for that wit and humour shown until the end but also for her wisdom and for the way she threw herself into whatever was happening in any room she entered. This was also true wherever she went with her friends, and there were many of them due to her involvement with numerous groups, all of whom loved and respected her and will now miss her.

Pam Cotton was born in Montreal but made her home here in Southampton.

R.I.P Pamela Joan Cotton 84 years young Pam … Take The ‘A’ Train

Tribute by Andy Iles