Don Weller
Don Weller (born December 19, 1940 in London ; † May 30, 2020 there ) was a British jazz musician ( tenor saxophone , composition).
Live and act
Weller had several years of clarinet lessons from the age of fourteen and performed Mozart's clarinet concerto as a soloist in Croydon at the age of 15 . Then he played in local Dixieland bands. He later switched to tenor saxophone under the influence of John Coltrane and played in the rehearsal band of Kathy Stobart . In the 1970s he led the rock jazz group "Major Surgery", which only played his compositions. Then he founded a quartet with drummer Bryan Spring , which also toured successfully in the 1980s and recorded with trumpeter Hannibal Marvin Peterson . He also played regularly with Stan Tracey , Harry Beckett and in the quintet with Art Themes and has also worked for Tucky Buzzard , Alan Price , Tina May , Alex Harvey , East of Eden , Count Basie and Jimmy Witherspoon .
In 1980 he took the place of Michael Brecker in the Gil Evans Orchestra during a tour of the United Kingdom. In 1983 he was also a member of Gil Evans' orchestra.
Together with his friend and colleague Dick Morrissey , he was a member of the band Rocket 88 during the early 1980s , led first by Bob Hall and then Ian Stewart ; He also played in the Charlie Watts big band that emerged from this band (album 1986). Both as a composer and as an interpreter, he was involved in the films Absolute Beginners - Junge Helden and Stormy Monday . With its own big band, which u. a. Alan Barnes , Art Subjects who included David Newton , Henry Lowther , Peter King and Malcolm Griffiths , performed his "Pennine Suite" at the 1996 Appleby Jazz Festival . In addition to his trio, he had also had an electric jazz octet since the 1990s and led a quintet with Bobby Wellins .
Weller won the Top Tenor Award in 1994, 1996 and 1998 .
Discographic notes
- 1980: Commit No Nuisance - (with Bryan Spring)
- 1981: Poem Song - (with Hannibal Marvin Peterson)
- 1987: A Little Blue (Miles Music) - (with the Mick Pyne Quartet)
- 1996: The Don Weller Big Band (33 Records)
- 1996: Live (33 Records) (Big Band)
- 2003: The Way You're Going to Look Tomorrow Morning (Trio)
- 2013: The First Cut (Proper)
Lexigraphic entries
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
Web links
- Article in Jazz UK (PDF; 92 kB)
- Don Weller at Allmusic (English)
- Don Weller at Discogs (English)
Remarks
- ↑ Obituary. Jazzwise, May 31, 2020, accessed June 1, 2020 .
- ^ Art Subjects remembers Don Weller (1940-2020). London Jazz News, June 1, 2020, accessed June 1, 2020 .
- ↑ See Don Weller Spring Quartet, Commit No Nuisance (Yes to Jazz 10048).
- ↑ See Gil Evans, The British Orchestra (Mole 8).
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Weller, Don |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz musician (tenor saxophone, composition) |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 19, 1940 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
DATE OF DEATH | May 30, 2020 |
Place of death | London |