Lauderic Caton (31 August 1910 – 19 February 1999) was a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

ian guitarist who settled in Britain in 1940. He was an early proponent of the use of

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

in Britain, particularly in

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 ...

music. According to

Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Lif ...

, "he exercised a significant influence on Pete Chilver and Dave Goldberg, the two jazz guitarists more generally credited as British pioneers of the amplified instrument, while his students, official and unofficial, ranged from jazz exponents to the Nigerian highlife specialist

Ambrose Campbell Ambrose Campbell (19 August 1919 – 22 June 2006) was a Nigerian musician and bandleader. He is credited with forming Britain's first ever black band, the West African Rhythm Brothers, in the 1940s, and was also acknowledged by Fela Kuti as "t ...

and

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

Biography

Born in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, Lauderic Rex Caton was the fourth son and last among the eight children of Robert Caton, who was of Saint Lucian descent, and Margaret Caton. Caton was an autodidact on guitar, which he played professionally from the age of 17. He was also proficient on saxophone, double bass, and banjo. After spending time in Guadeloupe and

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

, he moved to Europe in 1938, playing in Paris with guitarist

Oscar Alemán Oscar Marcelo Alemán (20 February 1909 – 14 October 1980) was an Argentine jazz multi instrumentalist, guitarist, singer, and dancer. Career Alemán was born in Machagai, Chaco Province, in northern Argentina. He was the fourth child of seve ...

and then in Brussels with Ram Ramirez, Jean Omer, Harry Pohl, and Jamaican Joe Smith. While in Antwerp Caton played with Gus Clark and Tommy Brookins. Influenced by Lonnie Johnson and

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nat ...

, Caton first began using an amplifier in May 1940. He played in England with Don Marino Barreto (in whose band he met and befriended saxophonist Louis Stephenson, a frequent collaborator) and led a house band at Jig's Club. He worked with

Cyril Blake Cyril "Midnight" Blake (22 October 1900 – 3 December 1951) was a Trinidadian jazz trumpeter. Biography Blake moved to England about 1918, where he played in a British group called the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. He worked in Paris and Lon ...

Johnny Claes Octave John Claes (11 August 1916 – 3 February 1956) was an English-born racing driver who competed for Belgium. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a jazz trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain. Early life and jazz ...

, Bertie King,

Harry Parry Harry Owen Parry (22 January 1912 – 18 October 1956) was a Welsh jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Biography Parry was born in Bangor, Wales. He played cornet, tenor horn, flugelhorn, drums, and violin as a child, and began on clarinet a ...

Dick Katz Richard Aaron Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and record producer. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with O ...

, and

Coleridge Goode George Coleridge Emerson Goode (29 November 1914 – 2 October 2015) was a British Jamaican-born jazz bassist best known for his long collaboration with alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Goode was a member of Harriott's innovatory jazz quintet thro ...

. Late in the 1940s Caton played with

Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...

and

Ray Nance Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913 – January 28, 1976) was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra. Early years Nance was the leader of his ow ...

, playing under the pseudonym "Lawrence Rix" for legal reasons. Later in his life he also taught and built custom amplifiers. He left music at the end of the 1950s. Caton was the musical arranger for '' Walking on Air''. Lauderic Caton died in London and was buried in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caton, Lauderic 1910 births 1999 deaths Jazz guitarists Trinidad and Tobago musicians British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent People from Arima 20th-century guitarists Trinidad and Tobago people of Saint Lucian descent