Don Rendell

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Donald Percy "Don" Rendell (born March 4, 1926 in Plymouth , England ; † October 20, 2015 ) was a British soprano and tenor saxophonist , clarinetist , flutist and arranger of modern jazz .

Life

Don Rendell began his professional career at the age of fifteen on the alto saxophone , but soon switched to tenor. In the bases of the US Army in 1944 he played for troop support in big bands of the United Service Organizations , then worked in various bands, such as the Oscar Rabin Band . In 1950 he became a member of the Johnny Dankworth Seven , of which he was a member until 1953. From 1953 to 1955 he led his own formations (including with Dickie Hawdon ) and played in various London jazz clubs, including in 1954 with Ronnie Ross . He then worked in the bands of Tony Crombie (1955) and Ted Heath (1955/56), went on tour with Stan Kenton's band in 1956 and can be heard with solos on his album Live at Royal Albert Hall . In 1957 he recorded with Humphrey Lyttelton and with the Melody Maker All Stars (which also included Jimmy Skidmore as the second tenor). In 1959 he played with Woody Hermans Anglo-American Herd , and he was in Billie Holiday's group when she toured the UK. Since 1960 he has directed his own bands again, including Graham Bond , John Burch and Tony Archer (1961/62), Michael Garrick (1965 and 1969) and Ian Carr . With the latter, the saxophonist formed the Rendell-Carr Quintet in 1964 , which existed until 1969. In the late 1960s he was also a member of Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra . He played on Stan Tracey's Ellington tribute We Love You Madly , with Mick Pyne and with Acker Bilk . Since the 1970s he has directed his own combos, in which Barbara Thompson (1973/76), Mario Castronari , Art Themen and Christine Tobin played, among others .

Rendell's style was initially strongly influenced by Lester Young , but he also processed the influences of other saxophonists such as John Coltrane in order to ultimately form his own style. Rendell also worked as a music teacher for a long time; from 1974 to 1977 he worked at the Royal Academy of Music and since 1984 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London .

During the entire sixties, Rendell was represented in various polls of the Melody Maker in leading positions; in particular his playing on the soprano saxophone and the quintet formed with Ian Carr were the center of attention at the time.

Don Rendell died on October 20, 2015 at the age of 89.

Discographic notes

  • Meet Don Rendell (1954–55: Tempo / Jasmine)
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Shades of Blue (1964, Columbia; with Colin Purbrook , Dave Green , Trevor Tomkins )
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Live from Antibes and the Don Rendell Quartet and Quintet (1964–68: Spotlite)
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Live in London (1965; re-released by Harkit 2003)
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Live (1969, Columbia)
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Live at the Union 1966 ( Reel Recordings , ed. 2009)
  • Rendell-Carr Quintet: Change Is (1969, Columbia)
  • Space Walk (1970: Columbia / Redial)
  • Live at the Avgarde Gallery Manchester (1974: Spotlite)
  • Just Music (1974: Spotlite)
  • What Am I Here For? (1993-96: Spotlite)
  • Reunion: Don Rendell with Ian Carr & Michael Garrick (2002: Spotlite)

literature

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Fifteen Critical Years of The Melody Maker British Jazz Polls. (PDF; 313 kB) In: iancarrsnucleus.net. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011 ; accessed on October 24, 2015 .
  2. ^ Alyn Shipton: A Memory of Don Rendell - 04/03/1926–20/10/2015. In: jazzwisemagazine.com. October 23, 2015, accessed October 24, 2015 .
  3. ^ RIP Don Rendell. In: marlbank.net . October 2015, accessed October 24, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Rendell, Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rendell, Donald Percy (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British soprano and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist and arranger of modern jazz
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Plymouth , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH 20th October 2015