Ian Wilfred Hamer (11 September 1932 – 3 September 2006) 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 m ...

trumpeter.

Early life

Hamer was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, the son of a successful Merseyside dance band leader. Together with his two brothers, also professional musicians, he played in the band run by his mother until serving in 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) an ...

Music career

In 1953, Hamer moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to work for clarinettist

Carl Barriteau Carl Alrich Stanley Barriteau (7 February 1914 – 24 August 1998)Val Wilmer, "Barriteau, Carl Aldric Stanley (1914–1998)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 201accessed 15 January 201 ...

and a brief period with the

Oscar Rabin Band The Oscar Rabin Band was a popular British dance band in the first half of the twentieth century. Formation Oscar Rabin formed his first band with Harry Davis, the Romany Five at the Palace Hotel in Southend in 1924 in which Rabin played violi ...

. From 1955 to 1956, he was part of the

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 ...

octet. He later joined the

Vic Ash Victor "Vic" Ash (9 March 1930, in East London – 24 October 2014) was an English jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. He was of Jewish ancestry. Biography Ash began playing professionally in 1951 when, with Tubby Hayes, he joined the band o ...

quintet. In 1963, together with

Harry South Harry Percy South (7 September 1929 – 12 March 1990) was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who moved into work for film and television. Career South was born in Fulham, London. He came to prominence in the 1950s, playing ...

, he led a band called The Six Sounds, featuring Ken Wray and

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerg ...

, and which by 1966 had developed into his own band, the Ian Hamer Sextet. The Sextet featured variously South, Dick Morrissey, Keith Christie,

Kenny Napper Kenneth Napper (born July 14, 1933 in London) is an English jazz double-bassist. Napper started out on piano as a child and picked up bass as a student at Guildhall School of Music. He entered the British military in the early 1950s, playing with ...

Bill Eyden William James "Bill" Eyden (4 May 1930, Hounslow, Middlesex – 15 October 2004, Isleworth, Middlesex) was an English jazz drummer. Biography The son of James Eyden and Ivy (née Tiller), his first professional gig was in 1952 with the Ivor ...

, Tubby Hayes, Alan Skidmore, Spike Wells,

Daryl Runswick Daryl Runswick (born 12 October 1946) is a classically trained English composer, arranger, jazz musician, producer and educationalist. Career Runswick was born in Leicester, and educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi Co ...

Alan Branscombe Alan Branscombe (4 June 1936 – 27 October 1986) was an English jazz pianist, vibraphonist, and alto saxophonist. Biography Branscombe was born in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), in 1936. His father and grandfather were also professio ...

and

Ron Mathewson Rognvald Andrew Mathewson (19 February 1944 – 3 December 2020) was a British jazz double bassist and bass guitarist. During his career, Mathewson performed with Ronnie Scott, but also recorded with Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Joan Armatrading, ...

. Also in 1966, Hamer joined the ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' studio orchestra conducted by

Johnny Pearson John Valmore Pearson (18 June 1925 – 20 March 2011) was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist. He led the ''Top of the Pops'' orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the ...

. Hamer also played in big bands led by Tubby Hayes,

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

, Mike Gibbs,

Jack Parnell John Russell Parnell (6 August 1923 – 8 August 2010) was an English musician and musical director. Biography Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London, England. His uncle was the theatrical impresario Val Parnell. During hi ...

and Harry South. He also played with

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

, Dizzy Gillespie,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, as well as smaller bands with

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Inspi ...

, Benny Golson, Lalo Schifrin,

Gary McFarland Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "on ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's Anglo-American Herd, Barbara Thompson, the

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

band, Eric Delaney,

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

and

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 ...

. As a session musician, he played on recordings by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

Got to Get You into My Life "Got to Get You into My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, first released in 1966 on their album ''Revolver''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is a homage to the Motown Sound, wit ...

" ) and Bing Crosby, Tom Jones,

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 and dram ...

, Shirley Bassey,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

, and

Peter Herbolzheimer Peter Alexandru Herbolzheimer (31 December 1935 – 27 March 2010) was a Romanian-German jazz trombonist and bandleader. Biography Herbolzheimer was born to a Romanian mother and a German father in Bucharest, Romania. His family emigrated in 1 ...

. He played trumpet on the theme tune for '' The Sweeney'', written and arranged by Harry South. In 1987, Hamer moved to Brighton and founded the group Ian Hamer and the Sussex Youth Jazz Orchestra (later dropping "Youth").

Personal life

Hamer was first married to Veronica Spinks in 1957. They had three children before their marriage was dissolved. He married Marion Stedman in 1988. On 3 September 2006, Hamer died in Brighton aged 73.

Discography

As sideman

With

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

* ''Sound Venture'' (Columbia, 1966) * ''The Two Faces of Fame'' (CBS, 1967) * ''The Third Face of Fame'' (CBS, 1967) * ''In Hoagland 1981'' with

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

(Bald Eagle 1981) With Michael Gibbs * ''Michael Gibbs'' (Deram, 1970) * ''Directs the Only Chrome Waterfall Orchestra'' (Ah Um, 1991) With

* ''100% Proof'' (Fontana, 1967) * ''Tubbs' Tours'' (Mole Jazz 1981) * ''England's Late Jazz Great'' (IAJRC 1987) * ''200% Proof'' (Master Mix 1992) With

* '' Song for Someone'' (Incus, 1973) * ''Music for Large & Small Ensembles'' (ECM, 1990) * ''A Long Time Ago'' (ECM, 1999) With others *

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...

, ''Isn't This Where We Came In?'' (Deram, 1968) *

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...

, ''Eleven Sides'' (Baker Mountain 1977) *

Miquel Brown Miquel Brown (born Michael Brown February 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress, disco/soul singer, former dancer and music video director, in the 1970s and 1980s, most popular for the songs "Close to Perfection" and the Hi-NRG songs " So Many Men – ...

, ''Symphony Love'' (Polydor, 1978) * Joe Gallivan, ''London'' (Compendium, 1976) * John Mayer, ''Etudes'' (Sonet, 1969) *

Gary Shearston Gary Rhett Shearston (9 January 19391 July 2013) was an Australian singer and songwriter and Anglican priest. He was a leading figure of the folk music revival of the 1960s and was notable as a performer of Australian traditional folk songs in ...

, ''The Greatest Stone on Earth and Other Two-Bob Wonders'' (Charisma 1975) * Barbara Thompson, ''Barbara Thompson's Jubiaba'' (MCA, 1978) * Andrew Lloyd Webber &

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

, ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (MCA, 1970) *

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

, ''I Remember'' (Gryphon, 1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamer, Ian 1932 births 2006 deaths Bebop trumpeters British jazz bandleaders English jazz composers Male jazz composers English male composers English jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters Musicians from Liverpool 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century jazz composers