John Robert Coles (28 April 1914 – 24 April 1991) was a British composer, trumpeter, arranger, and conductor of
light music, best known for his composition ''Tyrolean Tango''. Coles often composed under the pen-name 'Paul Stewart' and 'Paul Vincent'.
Early life and education
Jack Coles was born in London and began music at an early age. After studying the trumpet at the
Royal Military School of Music
The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...
from 1933 to 1934 and winning the "Gold Cup" for best all-round pupil, Coles played with leading
British dance band
British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War.
Thousands of miles aw ...
s until the outbreak of war in 1939, when he enlisted in the
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
.
Career
After his time in the Rifle Corps, Coles enrolled in the British Band of the
Allied Expeditionary Forces
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF t ...
(AEF), where he played trumpet and arranged for its conductor,
George Melachrino
George Melachrino (born ''George Miltiades''; 1 May 1909 – 18 June 1965) was a musician, composer of film music, and musical director who was English born of Greek and Italian descent. He was an accomplished player of the violin, viola, oboe, cla ...
. In 1946, Coles started broadcasting for the BBC Radio with the 'Music Masters', a short-lived ten-piece dance band.
He went on to form, at the request of the BBC, a larger, 22-piece light orchestra named 'Jack Coles and his Orchestre Moderne' which lasted over a decade. This orchestra did over 200 broadcasts for BBC Radio, appearing in light orchestral programs such as 'Melody Hour', 'Morning Music' and, 'Music While You Work'. In 1958, Coles was invited to the BBC Festival of Light Music at the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
in London. By this time, he was guest-conducting for various BBC Regional Light Orchestras and touring Holland with the BBC Studio Choir.
[The Gramophone Company Ltd]
"The Music of Jack Coles."
''Yahoo! Auctions'', Yahoo Hong Kong, www.hk.auctions.yahoo.com. Auctioned by user 'touchingmusic.' Album printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse in 1966. Retrieved 28 December 2018 One of these regional orchestras, the BBC Midland Light Orchestra (MLO), had been without a permanent conductor since early 1959. In August of the following year, the BBC appointed Coles as the principal conductor of the MLO, a post he held until 1972.
Music
Style
Throughout the 20th century, Coles composed and arranged light orchestral music for radio, television, film and stage productions. He evolved a distinctly modern rhythmic style and composed both contemporary light music and popular standards of the time. His arrangements incorporated more and more jazz as time went on, which contrasted the traditional style of light music conducted by
Gilbert Vinter
Gilbert Vinter (4 May 1909 – 10 October 1969) was an English conductor and composer, most celebrated for his compositions for brass bands.
Life
Vinter was born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln. As a youth, he was a chorister at Lincoln Cat ...
(a co-conductor of the Midland Light Orchestra until 1969).
Coles' musical taste ranged from swing to operatic and symphonic works.
Compositions
Coles' best known composition, "Tyrolean Tango", written under the pen-name of Paul Stewart, was recorded in England by George Melachrino and in the United States by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
, re-titled "The Echo Tango".
His other numerous compositions include:
* Fan Tan, The Girl From Cadiz, Parakeets and Peacocks, Positano, Procida, Sparky, Cowbell Polka and Joy Ride
*A Day at the Zoo, Dance of the Dragonflies, Casbah, Puppet March, Seaside Special and Riverboat Serenade
* Mexican Serenade, Dude Ranch, Dance of the Pan-pipes and Celebration Waltz
*Gentle Persuasion, The Nightrider and Elegy
Retirement and death
In 1972, Coles retired to Positano, Italy. However, he returned to London around ten years later and conducted in two editions of a revived series of 'Music While You Work' for BBC Radio.
Coles died on 24 April 1991, four days before his 77th birthday.
Legacy
Coles' musicianship, program-building and conducting ability were held in high regard by the BBC and earned him a favorable reputation. Coles was also known for his generosity, as he often aided struggling musicians financially.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, Jack
20th-century British composers
Light music composers
20th-century conductors (music)
British jazz composers
Jazz arrangers
British trumpeters
1914 births
1991 deaths
20th-century jazz composers
British Army personnel of World War II
King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers