by GRANT JACKSON February 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
Saxophonist who played for Charlie Parker, collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald and wrote the Avengers theme tune dies after a 60-year career in music
Ben Quinn, The Observer
Sunday 7 February 2010
Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
Sir John Dankworth, a totemic figure of the British jazz scene who worked as a musical director for artists including Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, has died at the age of 82.
A saxophonist, he enjoyed a parallel career as a film and television composer and wrote the theme tune for The Avengers, as well as scores for films of the 1960s such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Servant and Modesty Blaise.
Born into a family of musicians in Essex in 1927, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music after winning a place there at the age of 17 and was voted British Musician of the Year in 1949 following a period of national service. His group, The Dankworth Seven, became a favourite of the British jazz scene in the 1950s, and he shared the stage with numerous jazz legends, including Charlie Parker.
by Grant Jackson
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. "We look on the program as a whole and try to vary things without compromising our music," Dankworth says. "We want to keep the audience interested without too many people falling asleep, because that's embarrassing."
Photo: Graham Turner/Hulton Archive
John Dankworth celebrates his wife and singer Cleo Laine's Order of the British Empire after she was presented it by the Queen in 1979.
The show continues with his bluesy arrangement of "Fine and Mellow." Laine's big voice and incredible range on this Billie Holiday tune are punctuated with Dankworth's willowy alto, and the tune is followed by a jumping take on "T'ain't What You Do, It's the Way That You Do It."
"Stompin' at the Savoy" showcases Dankworth's chops and ability to lead the rhythm section. And in "How High the Moon," he leads in with a bouncing solo before Laine smoothly improvises a few free lines in place of the verse before getting into a scat solo that, along with support from Dankworth's horn, segues seamlessly into the changes to Charlie Parker's "Ornithology." It's a spontaneous moment of bebop magic to wrap up this installment of Piano Jazz.
Originally recorded Nov. 2, 1997. Originally broadcast March 26, 1998. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127929869&ft=1&f=10002
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist.
Early years
Born in Woodford, Essex he grew up, within a family of musicians, in Walthamstow in its suburb of Highams Park and attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow. He had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet at the age of 16, after hearing a record of the Benny GoodmanQuartet. Soon afterwards, inspired by Johnny Hodges, he learned to play the alto saxophone.
After studying at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where his jazz interests were frowned on, and national service in the army, he began a career on the British jazz scene. During 1949 he attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with Charlie Parker. Parker's comments about Dankworth led to the engagement of the young British jazzman for a short tour of Sweden with the soprano-saxophonist Sidney Bechet. Dankworth was voted Musician of the Year in 1949.
1950's
In 1950, Dankworth formed a small group, the Dankworth Seven, as a vehicle for his writing activities as well as a showcase for several young jazz players, including himself (alto sax), Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), Eddie Harvey (trombone), Don Rendell (tenor sax), Bill Le Sage (piano), Eric Dawson (bass) and Tony Kinsey (drums). After three successful years, the group was wound up, although it re-formed for several reunions over the years. Dankworth formed his big band in 1953. The band was soon earning plaudits from the critics and was invited to the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival. The New York Times critic said of this appearance "... Mr. Dankworth’s group ... showed the underlying merit that made big bands successful many years ago - the swinging drive, the harmonic colour and the support in depth for soloists that is possible when a disciplined, imaginatively directed band has worked together for a long time. This English group has a flowing, unforced, rhythmic drive that has virtually disappeared from American bands."
The band performed at the Birdland jazz club in New York and shortly afterwards shared the stage with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for a number of concerts. Dankworth’s band also performed at a jazz event at New York’s Lewisohn stadium where Louis Armstrong joined them for a set. By now, Cleo Laine's singing was a regular feature of Dankworth's recordings and public appearances and they married in 1958. Beginning that year, Dankworth started a second career as a popular composer of film and television scores (often credited as "Johnny Dankworth"). Among his best-known credits are the original themes for The Avengers (used from 1961 to 1964) and Tomorrow's World, plus the scores for the 1966 films Modesty Blaise and Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.
1960's
In 1961, Dankworth’s recording of Galt MacDermot’s African Waltz reached the British charts and remained there for several months. American altoist Cannonball Adderley sought and received Dankworth’s permission to record the arrangement and had a minor hit in the US as a result. The piece was also covered by many other groups.
Dankworth’s friendship with trumpeter Clark Terry led to Terry being a featured soloist on Dankworth’s 1964 album The Zodiac Variations, together with Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Lucky Thompson and other guests. Other Dankworth recordings during this period featured many other respected jazz names. Some were full-time members of the Dankworth band at one time or another, like Tony Coe, Mike Gibbs, Peter King, Dudley Moore, John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler, while others such as Dave Holland, John McLaughlin, Tubby Hayes and Dick Morrissey were occasional participants.
During this active period of recording, the Dankworth band nevertheless found time for frequent live appearances and radio shows, including tours in Britain and Europe with Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Gerry Mulligan, and concerts and radio performances with Lionel Hampton and Ella Fitzgerald.
1970's and 1980's
Dankworth’s friendship with Duke Ellington continued until the latter’s death in 1974. He recorded an album of symphonic arrangements of many Ellington tunes featuring another Ellingtonian trumpet soloist Barry Lee Hall. Dankworth also retained his Ellington links by performing with the Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Duke’s son, Mercer Ellington. Other symphonic albums were recorded with Dizzy Gillespie and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and others. Other jazz musicians with whom Dankworth performed include George Shearing, Toots Thielemans, Benny Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Tadd Dameron, Slam Stewart, Oscar Peterson.
From 1984 to 1986, Dankworth was professor of music at Gresham College, London, giving free public lectures. He always had an enthusiasm for jazz education, for many years running the Allmusic summer schools at The Stables in Wavendon, a theatre created by him and his wife in their back garden.
Later work
He appeared with Craig David on Later with Jools Holland on BBC Two. He set up his own record label, Qnotes, in 2003, to reissue some of his old recordings as well as new ones. They include a number with Julian Lloyd Webber, Dudley Moore and members of his family. Dankworth and Laine's two children are both jazz musicians: Alec Dankworth is a bassist who is also a member of his father's band, and Jacqui Dankworth is a singer.
John Dankworth was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Year's Honours List, the first British jazz musician to receive such an honour._[citation needed] Sir John remained an active composer into later life, and he wrote a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian Garrick to play. This work had its world premier in Nottingham on 1 March 2008 in partnership with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra.
In October 2009 at the end of a US tour with his wife, Sir John was taken ill. The couple cancelled a number of UK concert dates for the following month. Dankworth did return to the concert stage for just one solo at the London Jazz Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, London, in December 2009. He played his sax from a wheelchair. He also played at John & Cleo's Christmas Show on the 17 December at The Stables in Wavendon. He died on 6 February 2010, aged 82. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dankworth
Hear the fabulous Cleo Laine with the John Dankworth Group in concert at Pepperdine University in Malibu.
Cleo Laine is a singer who has done just about everything. She's played everywhere - English dance halls to London's Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie to the Blue Note Cafe. She's been on stage, on Broadway, to London's West End, done opera and the BBC.
The London-born Laine can sing opera or jazz with her set of multi-octave pipes. A star of the theatre, she has also recorded with such hepsters as Ray Charles and Mel Torme.
One of the best singers in the world
Newsweek
John Dankworth
In a career that spans more than fifty years as a performer, composer and conductor, John Dankworth combines confidence and virtuosity with eclecticism and unpredictability.
It is unlikely that there is a British musician better known for a wider range of musical activities. For many years now his name has been synonymous with the crossing of musical barriers. Indeed he started achieving quite surprising musical breakthroughs of this sort at a time when such events were rare occurrences.
Cleo Laine with John Dankworth Group in Concert
Pepperdine University Malibu CA.
Friday, September 18
Visit http://arts.pepperdine.edu for more information. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=42135
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