Tommy Whittle

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Tommy Whittle (1990)
Tommy Whittle with Barbara Jay (2008)
Tommy Whittle with his band in Málaga ( Spain ) 1998

Tommy Whittle (born October 13, 1926 in Grangemouth , † October 13, 2013 ) was a British jazz saxophonist .

Live and act

Whittle began playing the clarinet when he was twelve ; a year later he switched to the tenor saxophone . From 1943 he played in Claude Giddins' dance orchestra. He appeared occasionally with Lew Stone and Carl Barriteau; with Johnny Claes he appeared in the film George in Civvy Street (1945). Then belonged to the octet of Harry Hayes, with which he also recorded. From 1946 to 1952 he was a member of Ted Heath's orchestra . Then Tony Kinsey put him in his combo. In 1954 he founded his own quintet with Harry Klein and Dill Jones and later went on tour with a tentet. He has also been touring France and the United States with his own combos, which included Eddie Thompson , Brian Brocklehurst and Jackie Dougan . Recordings were also made with Ralph Sharon , Jimmy Deuchar , Bill Le Sage , Johnny Dankworth and the AllStars of Melody Maker , in whose polls he was recognized in both 1947 and 1954. In 1955 he was voted the best British tenorist in the New Musical Express .

Then he was a member of the BBC Show Band led by Cyril Stapleton , on whose radio appearances he was often featured as a soloist. From the beginning of the 1960s he was for many years a member of the ATV Orchestra led by Jack Parnell , with which he accompanied Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby , but also found time for his own projects, for which he played musicians such as Eddie Thompson, Harry Klein, Kenny Wheeler or Joe Temperley caught up. He later joined the London Big Band of Laurie Johnson and toured with Benny Goodman , and then again to lead his own quartet, with which he accompanied his wife, the singer Barbara Jay. He also directed the Pizza Express Allstars Jazz Band , with which he also presented an album. He also recorded with George Chisholms Jazz Giants , Maxine Daniels, Don Lusher , Kenny Baker , Joe Williams , JJ Johnson , Bob Wilber and George Shearing .

Whittle was awarded the Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 2005 for his lifelong contributions to British jazz .

Discographic notes

Web links

Commons : Tommy Whittle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jazzwise Magazine . Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, October 19, 2013)
  3. ^ Crescendo & Jazz Music , August / September 2005.
personal data
SURNAME Whittle, Tommy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Grangemouth
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 2013