Alastair Fairweather (12 June 1927 – 21 June 1993) was a British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter, born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. Educated at the city's Royal High School and

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

, Fairweather served his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in Egypt. In 1949 Fairweather started a band with his school friend Sandy Brown. In 1953 the pair went south to London with

Stan Greig Stanley Mackay Greig (12 August 1930 in Joppa – 18 November 2012 in London) was a Scottish pianist, drummer, and bandleader. Greig's father was a drummer and piano tuner. Greig played with Sandy Brown while still in high school in 1945, t ...

recorded several sides for

Esquire Records Esquire Records was an Australian record label based in Sydney. In 1951 it acquired the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights for Discovery Records and later that year the distribution rights for Prestige Records. In 1955 Esquire acquire ...

as the Sandy Brown and the Fairweather-Brown All-Stars. They performed at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. When Brown went back to Scotland to finish his architecture studies, Fairweather joined the

Cy Laurie Cyril Laurie (20 April 1926 – 18 April 2002) was an English jazz clarinettist and bandleader. Biography Born in London, England, of Latvian/Jewish immigrant stock, Laurie was a bandleader and self-taught clarinet player. He put together his ow ...

Jazz Band. From 1966 to 1968, he worked for clarinetist

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

. Following a second career as a teacher in

Harrow, London Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popul ...

, Fairweather returned to

in 1987, where he remained and played until his death in 1993 at the age of 66.

References

* 1927 births 1993 deaths Musicians from Edinburgh 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century trumpeters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art British male jazz musicians Male trumpeters People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish jazz trumpeters {{jazz-trumpeter-stub