Robert Cornford

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Robert "Bob" Cornford (born May 15, 1940 in Brazil , † July 17, 1983 in London ) was a British composer and conductor . He wrote film scores and was also active as an arranger , keyboard player and pianist in the field of jazz and fusion music .

Life

Cornford had a classical music education and went to school in England. He studied at the Royal College of Music and then initially worked as musical director of theatrical music at the Bristol Old Vic Theater and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art . He also directed the Webern Ensemble and performed works by Egon Wellesz , Anton Webern , Friedrich Cerha , Karlheinz Stockhausen , Robin Holloway and Elisabeth Lutyens . In 1964 he assisted Benjamin Britten in staging the opera Curlew River . Shortly thereafter, he became interested in jazz after listening to Bill Evans . Now he worked for John Dankworth and wrote numerous arrangements for singers such as Mark Murphy , Sandra King and Norma Winstone and soloists such as Bobby Wellins and Tony Coe on behalf of the BBC . Cornford also created several television and film soundtracks, such as All Neat in Black Stockings (1969, directed by Christopher Morahan), The Monster with the Devil's Claw (1972), and the TV series Ren and Stimpy and A Nero Wolfe Mystery . In 1970 his music was performed, including with the DR Big Band . In Germany, where he lived from 1970 and then in Copenhagen , he worked as a composer and arranger for the NDR Radiophilharmonie , with which he performed the Ben Webster tribute Coalescence and in 1982 In Memoriam (Bill Evans) .

In 1974 he produced his own solo album, Cool Beat . From 1977 Cornford was a member of Tony Coes band Axel (heard on his album Tournee du Chat , 1982); he has also worked in his career with musicians such as Kenny Wheeler ( Windmill Tilter , 1968), Michael Gibbs ( Tanglewood 63 , 1969), Pat Smythe , Phil Lee , Chris Laurence , Trevor Tomkins , Alan Skidmore , Humphrey Lyttelton , Palle Mikkelborg and John McLaughlin (for whom he wrote the composition Hearts and Flowers on the album My Goals Beyond ). He also accompanied the singers Scott Walker ( The Moviegoer , 1972) and Gitte Haenning ( Alle Vil De Jo Det Samme , 1972). He last appeared in June 1983 with Lee Konitz at the London club The Canteen before succumbing to a heart attack a month later .

In the judgment of Ian Carr , Cornford was "an excellent composer / arranger and a sensitive pianist" who, in the tradition of Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, also processed romantic influences from Webern, Debussy and Ravel .

Discographic notes

  • Cool Beat (Studio G, 1974)
  • Perception (KPM Music, 1981)
  • Tony Kinsey / Robert Cornford - Music for the Movies (KPM Music, 1982)
  • Robert "Bob" Cornford, Tony Coe, Kenny Wheeler and the NDR 'Pops' Orchestra - Long Shadows (Chapter One, ed. 2007)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Music was also used by him in five episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants .
  2. ^ A b 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 , p. 136.
personal data
SURNAME Cornford, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cornford, Bob (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British composer and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Brazil
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 1983
Place of death London