Tributes have been paid to jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton, 86, who died in hospital yesterday evening.

He was a regular perfomer at Marlborough Jazz Festival but was unable to appear last year because of a booking mix-up.

Marlborough reporter Nigel Kerton said: "Every year he used to pop into the Gazette office for a chat. He was a real old gentleman and a tremendous favourite with the jazz festival crowd."

Mr Lyttelton was also known as a presenter of Radio 4 comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue,.

Mr Lyttelton, who had hosted the "self-styled antidote to panel games" since 1972, was admitted to hospital earlier this week for surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm.

Best known as a musician, Lyttelton began playing the trumpet in 1936 and still toured with his band up until recently.

In 1956, Lyttelton's Bad Penny Blues was the first British jazz record to enter the top 20.

Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer last night described Lyttelton as "an extraordinarily modest man".

He said: "Humphrey Lyttelton was a great and towering figure in the history of Radio 4 comedy.

"Of course he was fabulously funny and sharp: but more than that he was the definition of a certain sort of wit - self-deprecating, mordant and linguistically brilliant.

"It was a wonderful combination - allied to a natural human warmth."

"I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue has been the most successful Radio 4 comedy - and Humphrey its centrepiece.

"We have lost a giant and we are immeasurably grateful for all he gave to Radio 4 listeners, young and old alike, for so long."

A statement on the website of Calligraph Records, the label set up by Lyttelton and named after his love of calligraphy, said: "It is with the deepest regret that we announce the death of Humphrey Lyttelton.

"Humph died peacefully with his family and friends around him on April 25 at 7pm following surgery.

"We would like to thank everyone for their support and express our deep gratitude to the staff of Barnet General for the care that they gave Humph."

Lyttelton had played in the MIJF since it started more than 20 years ago and was so popular that he was invited back year on year.

Festival organiser Nick Fogg was not available to comment today but last year, announcing that Humphrey Lyttelton and his band would not be at the 2007 festival he said: "Humph is not just a musician, he is an institution."

As much as the legendary trumpeter was loved by his audiences, he loved entertaining and spoke of his fondness for Marlborough.

During his visits he loved to wander around the town and chat with the many people who recognised him.

He was inordinately proud of the band of elderly musicians he gathered around him and when he played in the huge jazz marquee erected on The Common a few years ago he bragged that the average age was more than 70. What are your memories of Humph? Add them below