Dee Palmer (formerly David Palmer; born 2 July 1937) is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

group Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980 (although she had worked with the band as an arranger since their inception in 1968).

Early life and career

She later studied composition at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

with

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

, winning the Eric Coates Prize and The Boosey and Hawkes Prize and during her studentship taught clarinet to second study students. She was appointed a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in 1994.

Jethro Tull

Going about her early career as a jobbing arranger and conductor of recording sessions, Palmer recorded her first album project, '' Nicola'', in 1967 with

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

. She was then referred to

Terry Ellis Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...

, then manager of the early Jethro Tull, which was making its first album at Sound Techniques Studio in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, London. At short notice, Palmer came up with arrangements for the horns and strings on the

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, B ...

composition, "Move on Alone" from the ''

This Was ''This Was'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in October 1968. Recorded at a cost of £1200, it is the only Jethro Tull album with guitarist Mick Abrahams, who was a major influence for the sound and music ...

'' album. This work and professional performance endeared her to the band and she was soon to visit them again, with a string quartet arrangement to "A Christmas Song". Palmer arranged string, brass, and woodwind parts for Jethro Tull songs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before formally joining the group in 1976 and primarily playing electronic keyboard instruments. In 1980, leader

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist w ...

intended to release the album '' A'' with other musicians as a solo project, but was persuaded by his

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

to release it instead under the Jethro Tull name. This resulted in every member of the group, including Palmer, leaving except guitarist

Martin Barre Martin Lancelot Barre (; born 17 November 1946) is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 201 ...

and Anderson himself. Palmer formed a new group, Tallis, with former Jethro Tull pianist and organist

John Evan John Evan (born John Spencer Evans; born 28 March 1948, in Derby, Derbyshire.) is a British musician and composer. He is best known for having played keyboards for Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980. Evans' father was headmaster at a De ...

. The new group was not commercially successful, and Palmer returned to film scoring and sessions.

Solo work

Beginning in the 1980s, Palmer produced several albums of orchestral arrangements of the music of various rock groups, including Jethro Tull,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. In 2017 Palmer announced the release of her first solo album, ''Through Darkened Glass'', which was released in January 2018 and has the guest appearance of former band-mate

. In August 2019 Palmer appeared, alongside Barre, at

Fairport's Cropredy Convention Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festiv ...

Gender transition

In 1998, Palmer came out as

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

and

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

, changing her name to Dee. Palmer was born with genital ambiguity, assigned male at birth, and underwent several surgeries, the last in her late twenties. Palmer said her

gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...

had been a part of her life since she had been young, and that the dysphoria "started to reassert itself again" in the year following the death of her wife Maggie in 1995.

Discography

Solo

*''Through Darkened Glass'' (2018)

With Jethro Tull

;Providing orchestral arrangements: *''

'' (1968) *''

Stand Up Stand Up may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Stand-up comedy, a comic style in which a comedian performs in front of a live audience Film * ''Stand Up'' (2007 film), a film featuring Modi Rosenfeld * ''Stand Up'' (2008 film), a Brit ...

'' (1969) *'' Benefit'' (1970) *'' Aqualung'' (1971) *''

Thick as a Brick ''Thick as a Brick'' is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released on 3 March 1972. The album contains a continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is intended as a parody of the concept alb ...

'' (1972) *''

A Passion Play ''A Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released in July 1973 in both the UK and US. Following in the same style as the band's previous album ''Thick as a Brick'' (1972), ''A Passion Play'' is ...

'' (1973) *'' War Child'' (1974) *''

Minstrel in the Gallery ''Minstrel in the Gallery'' is the eighth studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull, released in September 1975. The album sees the band going in a different direction from their previous work '' War Child'' (1974), returning to a blend of e ...

'' (1975) *'' Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!'' (1976) ;As a full-time member: *''

Songs from the Wood ''Songs from the Wood'' is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 11 February 1977 by Chrysalis Records. The album is considered to be the first of three folk rock albums released by the band at the en ...

'' (1977) *''

Heavy Horses ''Heavy Horses'' is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1978. The album is often considered the second in a trio of folk rock albums released by the band at the end of the 1970s, alongsi ...

'' (1978) *''

Bursting Out ''Bursting Out'' is a 1978 live double album by the rock band Jethro Tull. The concert was recorded at the Festhalle in Bern, Switzerland, on 28 May 1978 during the band's European Heavy Horses Tour in May/June of that year. A spelling er ...

'' (1978 live album) *'' Stormwatch'' (1979) *'' Nightcap : The Unreleased Masters 1972–1991'' (1993) *''

Live at Madison Square Garden 1978 ''Live at Madison Square Garden 1978'' is a concert video and an album by British rock band Jethro Tull, released in 2009. It was recorded on 9 October 1978 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 50 minutes of the performance were broadc ...

'' (2009 DVD)

Symphonic arrangements

*''

A Classic Case ''A Classic Case'' (1985) is an album by Jethro Tull, playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, released in 1985. The music was arranged and conducted by Dee Palmer, who had collaborated with the band from 1968 and had been a full band mem ...

'', also known as ''Classic Jethro Tull'' (1986) *''We Know What We Like'' (

The London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

with David Palmer) (1987) *''Orchestral Maneuvers: The Music of

'' (1991) *''

Symphonic Music of Yes ''Symphonic Music of Yes'' is a 1993 album by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, covering songs of the progressive rock band Yes, with the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Community Gospel Choir. The arrangements were by Dee Palmer. Pl ...

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

with

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...

and

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

(1993) *''Orchestral Sgt. Pepper's'' (version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' album ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'') (1995) *''Passing Open Windows: A Symphonic Tribute to

'' (1996)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Dee Living people Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music English keyboardists English rock keyboardists Intersex women Jethro Tull (band) members Musicians from London People from Hendon Transgender women musicians English LGBT musicians 1937 births Transgender musicians