Derek Watkins

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Derek Watkins (born March 2, 1945 in Reading ; † March 22, 2013 in Esher , Surrey ) was a British trumpeter who was best known in Germany as a member of the orchestra of James Last .

childhood

Derek Watkins comes from a family of musicians, his great-grandfather was a brass player in the army in Wales , his father taught brass instruments at Reading University. Derek started playing cornet at the age of four and won numerous competitions before becoming a professional musician at the age of 17.

Watkins was married with two children. He died of complications from cancer.

With James Last

Watkins was one of the most important members of the James Last Orchestra. He also played many solo parts there, for example in the titles MacArthur Park or My Way . Although James Last paid all musicians equally, he wanted to make an exception at Watkins, but the latter refused on the grounds that I may have a little more talent, but my colleagues do their best just like me .

While recording in the studio, he had a recording played for him once and decided that something was still missing, although everyone around was completely enthusiastic. A colleague then said that he should "... add an octave on top" to piss him off. Derek played again, this time as instructed, and everyone involved believed that what he had just done was physically impossible.

further activities

Watkins, who was referred to as "Mr Lead" by Dizzy Gillespie , has worked in the field of jazz in various British big bands and as a studio musician with The Beatles , Elton John , Eric Clapton , Frank Sinatra , the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . He also worked on the soundtracks of numerous James Bond films. As a member of the BBC Big Band , he worked with jazz musicians such as John Dankworth , Maynard Ferguson and Benny Goodman . In the field of jazz Watkins participated in 89 recording sessions from 1967 to 2011.

literature

  • James Last with Thomas Macho: My Life. The autobiography . September 2006, ISBN 3-453-12063-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Obituary in Express & Star
  2. ↑ a b James Last, My Life, Chapter 4, Around the world
  3. ↑ Tom Lord: The Jazz Discography
personal data
SURNAME Watkins, Derek
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Reading
DATE OF DEATH 22th of March 2013
Place of death Esher , Surrey