Johnny Van Derrick

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John Arthur "Johnny" Van Derrick (born August 11, 1926 in Ealing ; † May 15, 1995 in Denham , Buckinghamshire ) was a British jazz violinist who also worked as a studio musician in the field of pop music .

Live and act

Van Derrick was introduced to music by his father, a Dutch cornetist. He attended the Conservatory in Brussels and had classical music lessons until the outbreak of World War II. In London he first played with Louis Mexano's Accordion Band during the war before he worked in the merchant navy . In the post-war years he first played as a trumpeter in the dance bands of Maurice Winnick and Lou Preager, finally he took violin lessons from his mentor Sascha Lasserson and played in the Halle Orchestra, before becoming a freelance musician. He performed with Roy Fox and Geraldo and played in the early 1960s in Diz Disley's String Quintet, with which the first recordings were made ( At the Jazz Band Ball ), as well as with Tubby Hayes , Gary Potter and the Jack Togood Swingtet. In 1976, after a serious illness, he was able to return to work.

Until the 1980s, Van Derrick played with Denny Wright again and again . In 1984 he toured with Biréli Lagrène . There were also appearances with Fapy Lafertin , Hebe and The Mayfair Merrymakers (including Digby Fairweather , Keith Nichols ), Diz Disley and The Soho String Quintets, Howard Alden and Tony Crombie & Friends.

In 1992 Van Derrick recorded the album Always On the Fiddle in Jersey with Marvin Hanglider (piano), Phil Bond (guitar) and Pete Townsend (bass) ; In 1993 the duo album Gershwinning followed (with Phil Bond), on which he interpreted standards like " I Got Rhythm ", " Let's Call the Whole Thing Off ", " Nice Work If You Can Get It " and " Oh, Lady Be Good ". In the field of jazz he was involved in nine recording sessions from 1962. As a session musician he worked a. a. for Albert Lee , Mungo Jerry , Mike Cooper / Michael Gibbs ( Places I Know , 1971), Gerry Rafferty ( Can I Have My Money Back?, 1971), Henry Mancini ( Pink Panther ), Mike Batt and Allan Clarke . He taught at the Royal Academy of Music .

literature

  • John Chilton Who's Who of British Jazz . London: Continuum, 2004

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed May 12, 2018)
  2. ↑ Derek Watts: Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee . Jefferson (NC): McFarland, 2012, p. 190
personal data
SURNAME Van Derrick, Johnny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Van Derrick, John Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British jazz musician (violin)
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Ealing
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1995
Place of death Denham (Buckinghamshire) , Buckinghamshire