Robert Orr (15 August 1928 – 12 March 2020) was a Scottish

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 ...

drummer and

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Early life

Orr was born in

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

, Scotland on 15 August 1928. His father's name was John Orr. Orr began playing drums at the age of three, encouraged by his father, a drum major. From the age of 16 Orr also played the trumpet, as a member of Basil Kirchin's band; however, he had difficulties with his embouchure and returned to the drums.

Later life and career

In the 1950s and 1960s, Orr was a fixture on the London jazz scene, including as a founder member of

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriott ...

's quintet (which he left and subsequently rejoined) and for

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. Early life H ...

and others. He also served as a house drummer at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

Club, backing top American visitors such as

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zo ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

, and

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

. Orr had three tours with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

. As a freelance from 1970, he also toured with

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, as well as

Tommy Whittle Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist. Biography Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by A ...

and

Don Lusher Don Lusher OBE (6 November 1923 – 5 July 2006) was an English jazz and big band trombonist best known for his association with the Ted Heath Big Band. In a career spanning more than 60 years, he played trombone with a number of jazz orchestras ...

. In the 1990s, Orr toured extensively with the UK Glenn Miller Tribute Band. As an aside from his jazz career, he also played on many recording sessions for pop and rock artists such as

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

and

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

Discography

With Sandy Brown *''Work Song'' (Lake, 1962–68) *''In the Evening'' (Lake, 1970–71) With George Chisholm *''Clinton Ford'' (Oriole, 1962) *''In a Mellow Mood'' (Peerless, 1974) *''George Chisholm's Trombone Showcase'' (Line Records, 1975) *''The Swingin' Mr. C.'' (Zodiac Records, 1986) With

Digby Fairweather Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is a British jazz cornetist, author and broadcaster. Biography Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz bibliograph ...

*''Songs for Sandy'' (Hep, 1970–82) With

*''

Benny Goodman Today ''Benny Goodman Today'' is a jazz compilation album by Benny Goodman. It was released in 1970 and features big band and small group selections recorded during a concert in Stockholm, Sweden. It was released in the United States on the London Re ...

'' (London records, 1970) With

*''Blue Harriott'' (Columbia UK, 1959) * ''A Guy Called Joe'' (Columbia UK, 1960) *''

Southern Horizons ''Southern Horizons'' is an album by Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott recorded in England in 1959 and 1960 and released on the Jazzland label.

'' (Jazzland, 1960) *'' Abstract'' (Capitol, 1962) *'' Movement'' (Columbia, 1963) *'' High Spirits'' (Columbia, 1964) With

Shake Keane Ellsworth McGranahan "Shake" Keane (30 May 1927 – 11 November 1997) was a Vincentian jazz musician and poet. He is best known today for his role as a jazz trumpeter, principally his work as a member of the ground-breaking Joe Harriott Quintet ...

*''Bossa Negra'' (Columbia, 1962) *''That's the Noise'' (Decca, 1965) Main source:

References

External links

Bobby Orr at Drummers Unlimited site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Bobby 1928 births 2020 deaths People from Cambuslang Scottish jazz drummers Scottish jazz trumpeters British male drummers Scottish session musicians British male jazz musicians