Tommy McQuater

Last updated

Tommy McQuater
Birth nameThomas Mossie McQuater
Born(1914-09-04)4 September 1914
Origin Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died20 January 2008(2008-01-20) (aged 93)
Genres Jazz
Instrument(s) Trumpet
Flugelhorn

Thomas Mossie McQuater (4 September 1914 20 January 2008) was a Scottish jazz trumpeter.

Contents

Biography

Born in Maybole, Ayrshire, McQuater was most notable for his work in the United Kingdom with Bert Ambrose in the 1930s, and also for some recordings made with George Chisholm and Benny Carter. McQuater showed musical talent from an early age. Largely self-taught, he began on the cornet and by the age of 11 was a regular member of the Maybole Burgh Band – a brass band that won several competitions in the late 1920s – and played at local events and dances. [1]

McQuater turned professional in his teens and got a regular position with Louis Freeman's Band, which played at Greens Playhouse in Glasgow. [2]

In 1934, aged 20, McQuater was offered a job with one of London's most renowned bands: the Jack Payne Orchestra, which played in London and Paris. The following year he joined Lew Stone's band [2] and made the classic recording of "Pardon Me, Pretty Baby". In the 1940s, McQuater joined The Squadronaires.

Leaving the Squadronaires at the end of the 1940, McQuater joined the Skyrockets at the London Palladium for over a year. From 1952 he joined the BBC Show band and started to broadcast regularly with Kenny Baker's Dozen. He freelanced widely in the 1960s, with sessions for radio, television and films and appeared regularly with Jack Parnell's ATV Orchestra.

He can be heard in the signature music for Steptoe and Son, on backing tracks for Thunderbirds and on many of hit records. His TV work included his playing the featured trumpet parts in The Muppet Show, throughout its 1976 - 1981 run. [3]

McQuater often performed with John McLevy [2] in the 1970s and 1980s. In his later years, he concentrated his energy and playing around the Ealing Jazz Festival. [4]

Death

He died in London, aged 93, and was survived by his two sons.

Select discography

With Johnny Dankworth

With George Chisholm

With Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra

With Kenny Baker

With Tommy Watt and His Orchestra

With The Vile Bodies Swing Band

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flugelhorn</span> Brass musical instrument

The flugelhorn, also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some are in C. It is a type of valved bugle, developed in Germany in the early 19th century from a traditional English valveless bugle. The first version of a valved bugle was sold by Heinrich Stölzel in Berlin in 1828. The valved bugle provided Adolphe Sax with the inspiration for his B soprano (contralto) saxhorns, on which the modern-day flugelhorn is modeled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Heath (bandleader)</span> Musical artist

George Edward Heath was a British musician and big band leader.

George Chisholm OBE was a Scottish jazz trombonist and vocalist.

The Squadronaires is a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in Britain during and after World War II. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The Squadronaires".

Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative and imaginative musical arranger.

Philip William Seamen was an English jazz drummer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British dance band</span> Genre of popular jazz and dance music

British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War.

Brian Lemon was a British jazz pianist and arranger.

<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.

Keith Ronald Christie was an English jazz trombonist. He was the brother of Ian Christie.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Phillips (musician)</span> British jazz musician (1907–1973)

Isador Simon "Sid" Phillips was an English jazz clarinettist, bandleader, and arranger.

Albert King (1912–1981), known as Bertie King, was a Jamaican jazz and mento musician. He played the clarinet and the saxophone.

Thomas Mitchell Watt was a Scottish jazz bandleader.

Ian Wilfred Hamer was a British jazz trumpeter.

George Evans was an English jazz bandleader, arranger, tenor saxophonist and vocalist.

Derek Roy Watkins was an English jazz, pop, and classical trumpeter. Best known for his lead trumpet work on the soundtracks of James Bond films, Watkins recorded with British jazz bandleaders as well as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and The Beatles. Dizzy Gillespie called him "Mr. Lead".

Robert Dodsworth, better known as Bobby Worth, is a British jazz drummer. He was named the 1998 British Telecom Drummer of the Year.

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1914.

Gregory Bowen is a Welsh trumpet player. His primary work was done in London before relocating to Berlin, Germany in 1976. Since 1961, Bowen has performed and recorded with jazz, pop artists and entertainers from Europe and North America on records, soundtracks and T.V. broadcasts. Most notable is his lead trumpet work on the James Bond film soundtracks Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.

References

  1. The Guardian obituary, guardian.co.uk; accessed 22 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Vacher, Peter (26 January 2008). "Tommy McQuater: The last of a line of great jazzmen, his musical career spanned eight decades". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  3. "Tommy McQuater: Illustrious jazz trumpeter". The Independent. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  4. "Tommy McQuater". 24 January 2008. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 26 January 2019.