Photo: Graham Turner/Hulton Archive
by GRANT JACKSONFebruary 21, 2014 1:30 PM
Piano Jazz remembers John Dankworth with a special session recorded before a live audience at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. A saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, arranger and bandleader, Dankworth and his wife and longtime musical partner, singer Cleo Laine, appeared on the program in 1998, along with host Marian McPartland and bassist Jeff Campbell. Dankworth enjoyed a long career as one of England's most celebrated jazz musicians. He played with Charlie Parker in the 1940s, toured with Sidney Bechet and went on to work closely with Duke Ellington. He also worked as a film composer and wrote the theme to the British TV series The Avengers. Dankworth died earlier this year; he was 82.
In this session, the group gets things rolling with "I Can't Give You Anything but Love." Cleo Laine opens the tune with the verse before Dankworth takes a soaring bebop solo on alto sax; the couple gets into instant interplay as Laine's voice is complemented by Dankworth's horn.
"That's the result of painstaking rehearsal," Dankworth says. "Actually, about 20 minutes' worth!"
After a half-century working together, Dankworth and Laine have got it down as well as any husband-and-wife team in the business. Along with McPartland, these two musicians are among the limited coterie of English jazz musicians honored by the Order of the British Empire: Cleo Laine was made a Dame in 1997 (Lady Dankworth, to be exact), John Dankworth was knighted in 2006, and just this month, McPartland was made an Officer of the Order.
A McPartland original follows, "In the Days of Our Love," with a lyric penned by Peggy Lee. McPartland accompanies as Laine quaveringly delivers the smoldering lyric to this torch song. McPartland follows with a duet on "Like Someone in Love," with bassist Jeff Campbell.
As a thoughtful arranger and programmer, Dankworth carefully planned each set.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/2010/06/18/127929869/john-dankworth-on-piano-jazz?ft=1&f=10002
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