Dave Lee (jazz musician)

Last updated

Dave Lee
Birth nameDavid Cyril Aarons
Born (1926-08-12) 12 August 1926 (age 97)
Newington, London, England
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Pianist, music arranger
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active1940–present
Labels Decca Records, EMI

Dave Lee (born David Cyril Aarons, 12 August 1926) is an English jazz pianist, and a former orchestra leader, music arranger, songwriter and film composer.

Contents

In a varied musical career, he wrote the hit song "Goodness Gracious Me", was the resident musician on That Was the Week That Was , wrote the score for the movie The Masque of the Red Death (1964), had a hit jazz album in the US, and was a resident fixture in early episodes of The Avengers . Later in life he was instrumental in founding 102.2 Jazz FM.

Career

Pianist, orchestra leader, arranger, songwriter and film composer, David Lee was born in Newington, London on 12 August 1926 (not 1929 or 1930 as some references give). [1] His father Joseph was a professional photographer, and during the war was transferred to the North East to work on camouflaging military equipment. The family relocated to Whitley Bay, and it was here that Dave started to perform in local groups. His big break came in 1942 when he won the Melody Maker poll for best new jazz pianist. [2] Moving to South Africa in 1947 he worked as resident musician for night clubs in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, then studied at the Johannesburg Conservatory of Music gaining a Mus.Bac.

In 1954, Lee invited Johnny Dankworth to perform in South Africa, and it was Dankworth who persuaded him to return to England as pianist/arranger for the Johnny Dankworth band. [2] From 1955 to 1959, Lee played on all of the recordings made by the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra. [3] Lee also performed with Terry and McGhee, the Buddy Tate Quartet and Jack Parnell. He also arranged for many big show business names, including Norman Wisdom, Benny Hill, Cleo Laine and Judy Garland. From 1959 he led the Dave Lee Trio who recorded several successful albums, including A Big New Band from Britain, which was in The Cashbox Top Ten for six weeks. [4]

The Dave Lee Trio also produced music for the 1960s TV series The Avengers , for which John Dankworth had written the original theme music. The Trio feature particularly in the 1962 episodes "The Removal Men" [5] (significant minutes of the episode are devoted to a complete jazz tune performed by the Trio) [6] and "The Decapod". [7] The Dave Lee Trio appeared in several episodes of Series 2 backing one of the lead characters, Venus Smith, who sang in a nightclub. Venus was usually unaware of what John Steed was actually involved in, and was phased out in favour of Cathy Gale.

Lee's composing career began in the 1950s writing jingles for television advertisements, some 700 in all, after which he teamed up with lyricist Herbert Kretzmer. Their hit songs included "Bangers and Mash" (1961, sung by Peter Sellers), "Goodness Gracious Me" (1960, for Sellers and Sophia Loren) and "Kinky Boots" (originally written for That Was The Week That Was in 1963, then recorded in 1964 by Honor Blackman and Patrick Macnee whom Lee had worked with in The Avengers and a novelty hit for them on a 1990 re-release). They also wrote the West End stage musical Our Man Crichton in 1964. [2]

Lee worked on BBC satirical shows such as That Was the Week That Was (1962), where he backed Millicent Martin singing different lyrics to the theme tune each week. He was also leader of the resident musicians known as Dave Lee & The Boys on the BBC radio comedy series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (1964–73). A running gag on the show was to imply that the band were a lot older than their name implied: "and the music was played by Dave Lee & The Boys. (Boys??!?)" He won an award[ which? ] for his composition for TW3 about the assassination of President Kennedy to add to his Ivor Novello and BBC Jazz Musician of the Year awards.

Lee also wrote the theme tune to the 1963 TV series Take Four, a programme made by Associated-Rediffusion, and incidental music for the TV series Adam Adamant Lives! in 1966.

His film music career began in 1960 with low-budget features, but gradually he progressed to fine orchestral scores for feature films such as The Masque of the Red Death (1964) for Roger Corman. He also scored the movies The Kitchen (1961), Hair of the Dog (1962) and The Very Edge (1963). In 1983, Lee was elected BBC Jazz Society Musician of the Year, and in 1990 was one of the founders of jazz-only radio station 102.2 Jazz FM. [2] Still active in his 90s, his novel Nothing Rhymes with Silver about a fictional jazz pianist was published in 2007.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Mulligan</span> American jazz musician (1927–1996)

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His piano-less quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz ensembles. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions including "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Grimes</span> American jazz musician (1935–2020)

Henry Grimes was an American jazz double bassist and violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Giuffre</span> American jazz musician

James Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Konitz</span> American jazz musician (1927–2020)

Leon "Lee" Konitz was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dankworth</span> English jazz composer and musician (1927–2010)

Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE, also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he was a music educator and also her music director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Scott</span> British jazz saxophonist (1927–1996)

Ronnie Scott OBE was a British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district, one of the world's most popular jazz clubs, in 1959.

Allan Anthony Ganley was an English jazz drummer and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennie Hayton</span> American pianist, conductor, composer, and arranger (1908–1971)

Leonard George Hayton was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club</span> Jazz club in Soho, London, England

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959.

Anthony John Kronenberg, known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an occasional but capable pianist and vibraphonist, and an energizing influence on the British jazz scene over six decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Alldis</span> Musical artist

Dominic Alldis is a jazz pianist, orchestral conductor, and arranger. He is also a business speaker and founder of Music & Management.

William A. Le Sage was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Baker (trumpeter)</span> English jazz musician and composer (1921–1999)

Kenny Baker was an English jazz trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn player, and a composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Ind</span> British jazz double bassist (1928–2021)

Peter Ind was a British jazz double bassist and record producer.

Kenneth John Moule was an English jazz pianist, best known as a composer and arranger.

Malcolm Edmonstone is a British jazz pianist and pop arranger. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he became Head of Jazz. Edmonstone provided orchestral arrangements for Gary Barlow’s 2020 album Music Played by Humans. He has conducted and arranged for the BBC Concert Orchestra numerous times for BBC Radio 2, featuring vocalists Rick Astley, Katie Melua, Mark King, Ruby Turner, Tommy Blaize, Tony Momrelle and Heather Small. In 2020 he was Music Director at the National Theatre for Tony Kushner’s adaptation of The Visit (play). In 2016 he made his BBC Proms debut, arranging and conducting for Iain Ballamy and Liane Carroll.

Laurence Holloway is an English pianist, musical director and composer from Oldham, Lancashire, England. In the 1970s he was the Musical Director for the singer Englebert Humperdick, and for the television talk show Parkinson. In 2004 he was the original MD for the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

Jazz 625 is a BBC jazz programme featuring performances by British and American musicians, first broadcast between April 1964 and August 1966. It was created by Terry Henebery, a clarinetist recruited in 1963 as one of the new producers for BBC Two.

"The Removal Men" is the sixth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Julie Stevens. It was first broadcast by ABC on 3 November 1962. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and written by Roger Marshall and Jeremy Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Holder (musician)</span> British musician

Frank Holder was a Guyanese jazz singer and percussionist. He was a member of bands led by Jiver Hutchinson, Johnny Dankworth and Joe Harriott.

References

  1. ↑ "David Lee". IMDb. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1450/1. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  3. 1 2 "Five pianists". Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Scarrow, Simon (5 October 2001). Under the Eagle: A Tale of Military Adventure and Reckless Heroism with the Roman Legions. St. Martin's Press. ISBN   9780312278700 . Retrieved 11 December 2020– via Google Books.
  5. ↑ The Avengers - S02E06 - The Removal Men (3 November 1962)
  6. ↑ "The Avengers Forever: The Removal Men". Theavengers.tv. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ↑ The Avengers - S02E03 - The Decapod (13 October 1962)
  8. ↑ "BritJazz : 0162 [Dave Lee Trio Lennie Felix Trio] FLAC 7(24.55)". Britjazz.blogspot.com. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "dave lee trio records and CDs". Musicstack.com. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.