Dankworth Dynasty | Sir John Dankworth

“I was proud to call Sir John a close friend and his indefatigably enthusiastic work on behalf of jazz was equalled by his friendship to the world, his ever-generous spirit and his incomparable body of work”
(Digby Fairweather/ Trustee & Founder and Lifelong Patron/The Jazz Centre UK)

Britain’s first jazz Knight, Sir John Dankworth grew up in Woodford Essex and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Inspired by Benny Goodman he first played clarinet before taking up the alto-saxophone In the late 1940s he visited New York to experience American jazz first-hand (as part of ‘Geraldo’s Navy’) and also played at the Paris Jazz Festival with Charlie Parker in 1949.



In 1950 he formed his own small group ‘The Johnny Dankworth Seven’ (his singers were Frank Holder and the young Cleo Laine) and then, in 1953, his first big band which scored a top ten hit with ‘Experiments with Mice’ in 1956. In 1958 he married Cleo and in 1959 was the first British bandleader to appear at America’s Newport Jazz Festival where his orchestra scored a sensation. The New York Times said: ‘Dankworth’s group showed the underlying merit that made big bands successful years ago” and they also played Birdland, New York’s Lewisohn Stadium (where Louis Armstrong joined them) and more concerts opposite Duke Ellington. John was an early political activist on behalf of racial equality (he refused a South African tour on account of the country’s segregation laws) and in 1959 became chair of the ‘Stars’ Campaign for Inter-Racial Friendship’ to combat the fascist White Defence League. In 1961 he scored a second hit with ‘African Waltz’ (which reached no.9 in the UK charts) and his new outstanding albums included ‘What the Dickens’ (one of the greatest-ever British recordings) as well as the equally outstanding ‘Shakespeare and all that Jazz’ (with Cleo Laine) and the British-American collaboration ‘Zodiac Variations’ were more major on-record triumphs. From the 1960s John began a second career as composer of film and television scores including ‘The Avengers’ (1961-4) the signature tune to ‘Tomorrow’s World’ (1965-2003) ‘Darling’ (1965) ‘Modesty Blaise’ and ‘Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment’ (1966) and ‘The Frost Report’ (1966).



A longtime enthusiast for jazz education and regular patron for young musicians he also co-founded (with Cleo in 1969) the revolutionary ‘Wavendon All-Music Plan’ including his Summer School which ran for over thirty years and in 1982 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee School of Music, Boston. By then however John had formed the duo with Cleo Laine that from 1976 would turn them into international superstars after a headlining concert at New York’s Lincoln Centre and prompt a non-stop international touring schedule in Europe, Australia and the USA for three more decades. During this time John and Cleo would collaborate with many American and British stars including Mel Torme, Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing and Oscar Peterson both on and off the record and in 2006 Sir John Dankworth was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List. In later life he remained as busy as ever writing a jazz violin concerto for Gabriel Garrick (2008) but became ill after a US tour in 2009 and died on 6th February 2010. With Cleo he remains the only British musician to achieve genuine worldwide recognition.

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