George Chisholm OBE (29 March 1915 – 6 December 1997) 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 ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and vocalist. In the late 1930s he moved to London, where he played in dance bands led by

Bert Ambrose Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (11 September 1896 – 11 June 1971), known professionally as Ambrose or Bert Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose became the leader of a highly acclaimed British dance band, ''Bert Ambrose & His Or ...

and Teddy Joyce.Coln Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 112 He later recorded with jazz musicians such as

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

during their visits to the UK. In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Chisholm signed on with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and joined the RAF Dance Orchestra (known popularly as

the Squadronaires The Squadronaires is a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in Britain during and after World War II. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The S ...

), remaining in the band long after he was demobbed. He followed this with freelance work and a five-year stint with the BBC Showband (a forerunner of the

BBC Radio Orchestra The BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1964 until 1991. The BBC Radio Orchestra was formed in 1964 as a large, flexible studio orchestra on the Nelson Riddle/H ...

) and as a core member of

Wally Stott Angela Morley (10 March 192414 January 2009) was an English composer and conductor who became a familiar household name to BBC Radio listeners in the 1950s. She attributed her entry into composing and arranging largely to the influence and en ...

's orchestra on BBC Radio's ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

'', for which he made several minor acting appearances, for example as 'Chisholm MacChisholm the Steaming Celt' in the 1956 episode 'The Macreekie Rising of '74'. Chisholm had roles in the films ''

The Mouse on the Moon ''The Mouse on the Moon'' is a 1963 British comedy film, the sequel to ''The Mouse That Roared''. It is an adaptation of the 1962 novel ''The Mouse on the Moon'' by Irish author Leonard Wibberley, and was directed by Richard Lester. In it, the p ...

'' (1963), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965) and ''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and a sequel to ''Su ...

'' (1983). He was also part of the house band for the children's programmes '' Play School'' and ''

Play Away ''Play Away'' is a British television children's programme. A sister programme to the infants' series '' Play School'', it was aimed at slightly older children. It ran from 1971 until 1984, and was broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC 2.Alist ...

''. He also sang and was a storyteller on Play School occasionally. During the 1980s Chisholm continued to play, despite undergoing heart surgery; working with his own band the Gentlemen of Jazz and Keith Smith's Hefty Jazz among others, and playing live with touring artists. He was appointed an OBE in 1984. In the mid-1990s, Chisholm retired from public life suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He died in December 1997, aged 82.

References

External links

* * George Chisholm's Life Story
Gentleman of Jazz - George Chisholm's life story
* George Chisholm 1976 interview with Les Tomkins (1

* George Chisholm 1976 interview with Les Tomkins (2

Scottish jazz trombonists Male trombonists Scottish male radio actors Scottish male film actors Musicians from Glasgow Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1915 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Scottish male actors 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century trombonists Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians The Squadronaires members Black Lion Records artists {{Jazz-trombonist-stub