Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is 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 ...

cornetist, author and broadcaster.

Biography

Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

and

archiving An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

. He led his first band, Dig's Half Dozen, in 1971 and recorded in 1973 with

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

. Four years later, he was a member of the band Velvet, with Ike Isaacs,

Len Skeat Leonard Skeat (9 February 1937 – 9 March 2021) was a British jazz double-bassist, and the younger brother of Bill Skeat, a saxophone player (1926 – 1999). Biography He was born in East End of London, and worked with the Ted Heath band. Duri ...

, and

Denny Wright Denys Justin Wright (6 May 1924 – 8 February 1992), known professionally as Denny Wright, was a British jazz guitarist. A session musician for many years, Wright frequently acted as arranger and "fixer" for recording sessions. He was a proli ...

, then a member of the Midnite Follies Orchestra and the Pizza Express All-Stars. In the early 1980s, he started a band that performed music by

Nat Gonella Nathaniel Charles Gonella (7 March 1908 – 6 August 1998) was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist, and mellophonist. He founded the big band The Georgians, during the British dance band era. Early life and career Gonella was bo ...

. He worked as a sideman for George Chisholm, Alex Welsh, Tiny Winters, and

Brian Priestley Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940)Many sources list Priestley's year of birth as 1946, but this is inaccurate. See Priestley's entry in ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'' anon his revised Charlie Parker study. is an English jazz writer, pianist and a ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s, he led the Jazz Superkings, the Great British Jazz Band, and the Half Dozen. During the 1990s, he was part of the ''Salute to Satchmo''. Fairweather and Stan Barker started the Jazz College charity to introduce improvisation in schools. He established the Association of British Jazz Musicians, The Jazz Centre UK and the

National Jazz Archive The National Jazz Archive is a collection of materials pertaining to jazz and blues that is kept at the Loughton Library in Essex, England. The archive was founded by British trumpeter Digby Fairweather in 1998 and contains visual and print mater ...

. He wrote ''Jazz: The Essential Companion'' (1987) with Brian Priestley and

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

. In 2000 it was renamed ''The Rough Guide to Jazz''. Fairweather's musical style has been influenced by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Braff ...

, Billy Butterfield,

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. Biography Early life and career Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...

, and Gonella. Digby's Half Dozen toured and recorded with singer

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

in the later years of his career (2003–2007). Fairweather's band toured with singer Paul Jones in their presentation Rocking in Rhythm in 2007. Apart from his playing and group leading, Fairweather has long pursued a parallel career as a jazz broadcaster and writer. From 1985 to 1988, he worked and recorded with

's Special Septet and Tony Milliner's Mingus Music, and wrote the book ''How to Play Trumpet''. By 1990 he had embarked on a dual vocation as broadcaster for BFBS,

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

, Jazz FM (1991–92) and BBC Radios 2 and 3 (1992–98), including occasionally deputising for

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

on his show ''Best of Jazz'' and successively presenting ''Jazz Parade'' and ''Jazz Notes''. In 2016, Fairweather founded The Jazz Centre UK, a registered charity (no. 1167421) whose aim is to promote, preserve and celebrate the culture of jazz in all its forms.

Awards and honors

* Musician of the Year, BBC Jazz Society, 1979 * Freedom, City of London, 1992 * British Jazz Award (trumpet), 1992 * Benno Haussmann Award,

Cork Jazz Festival The Cork Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cork City, Ireland in late October. The first festival began on Friday 27 October 1978, and has been held every year (except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The festival is Irel ...

, 1993 * Freedom of Southend on Sea, Millennium Role of Honour, 2000 * Top Small Group (Digby's Half Dozen), British Jazz Awards, 2005, 2006, 2008–2015 * Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Jazz, Worshipful Company of Musicians London, 2013 * Services to British Jazz, British Jazz Awards, 2015

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''Havin' Fun'' (

Black Lion Black Lion, Black Lions, or Blacklions may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black Lion, Hammersmith, a London pub * Black Lion, Kilburn, a London pub * Black Lion Records, a British jazz record company * Black Lions Films, associated wit ...

, 1979) * ''Going Out Stepping'' (Black Lion, 1979) * ''Songs for Sandy'' ( Hep, 1981) * ''Anytime, Any Place, Anywhere'' (Hep, 1982) * ''A Portrait of Digby Fairweather'' (Black Lion, 1991) * ''Mick Potts Tribute Concert'' (Flat Five, 1993) * ''Squeezin' the Blues Away'' with Tony Compton ( FMR, 1994) * ''The Quality of Mercer'' (with Susannah McCorkle, Keith Ingham (Jazz Alliance, 1996) * ''Twelve Feet Off the Ground'' (Flat Five, 1998) * ''Singing and Swinging the Blues'' with George Melly (Robinwood Productions, 2003) * ''Things Ain't What They Used to Be'' (Robinwood, 2003) * ''The Ultimate Melly'' (

Candid Candid may refer to: * Candid (app), a mobile app for anonymous discussions * Candid (organization), providing information on US nonprofit companies * Candid Records, a record label * Ilyushin Il-76, NATO reporting name ''Candid'', a Soviet aircraf ...

, 2006) * ''Two Part Conversations'' with Craig Milverton (Raymersound, 2006) * ''Partners in Time'' with Pete Strange (Rose Cottage, 2006) * ''Farewell Blues'' with George Melly (

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, 2007) * ''Jazz at the Stone Hall'' with Dave Claridge (Rose Cottage, 2009) * ''Crackerbarrel Music'' (Hainault, 2011) * ''To Frederick with Affection'' (Rose Cottage, 2012)

Publications

* * * * ''On the Road with George Melly: the Final Bows of a Legend'' JR Books, 2007 *Ace of Clubs: A Celebration of the 100 Club, Foreword by Jools Holland, Edited by Digby Fairweather, 2021, ISBN 9781858587288

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairweather, Digby 1946 births Living people British jazz horn players People from Rochford People from Southend-on-Sea Hep Records artists Black Lion Records artists