Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) 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 major ...

saxophonist.

Biography

Tommy Whittle was born in

Grangemouth, Scotland Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the ...

. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by

Alan Davie James Alan Davie (28 September 1920 – 5 April 2014) was a Scottish painter and musician. Biography Davie was born in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1920, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and James William Davie, an art teacher and painter who ...

. He moved to

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

, at 16 and in 1943 started playing in the dance-hall band of Claude Giddins in nearby Gillingham. During the 1940s, Whittle played with

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 c ...

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 June 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

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 Harry Hayes. In 1946 he joined

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 ...

's band, playing with him until 1952 when he moved on to play in

Tony Kinsey Cyril Anthony Kinsey (born 11 October 1927) is an English jazz drummer and composer. Early life Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. He held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, studying while at port with Bill West i ...

's small group at the 51 Club in London. Later in the 1950s he joined

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's BBC Show Band where he became featured as a soloist in nationwide broadcasts. In April 1954 he formed his a quintet with

Harry Klein Harold "Harry" Klein (25 December 1928 – 30 June 2010) was an English jazz saxophonist. As a session musician, he played on recordings by the Beatles. Early in his career, Klein played with Nat Gonella in the late 1940s. He then played with Bi ...

and

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, later touring with a ten-piece band for 14 months. He then led small groups and performed in clubs. In 1955 he was voted Britain's top tenor-sax player in the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' poll and topped the ''

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'' poll the following year. During the 1950s his sextet visited France and the United States. In 1956 he took a quartet (with Eddie Thompson, Brian Brocklehurst and

Jackie Dougan Jackie Dougan (1930, Greenock, Scotland – 27 January 1973, New South Wales, Australia) was a British jazz drummer. A member of Tommy Whittle's and Eddie Thompson's groups in the 1950s, he joined the Dick Morrissey Quartet in the early 1960 ...

) to the US in exchange for a visit by

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

. He also briefly deputized in the

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Band, which was touring the UK. In 1958 he was hired as bandleader at the

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in London, where he stayed until early 1961. Then followed a period of 12 years with the

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ATV Orchestra, which accompanied

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, and

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. He ran a weekly club at the Hopbine pub in Wembley, which became a showcase for British jazz, an appearance there being a mark of distinction. Later he worked with

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's London Big Band and recorded with

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. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was in demand as a session musician and appeared in the Ted Heath Band led by trombonist

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. Through the 1990s and 2000s he continued to lead his quartet and accompanied the

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 ...

Songbook, a show devised by singer

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(his wife). Also during this period he became a member and then leader of the

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Jazz Band. In July 2005, Whittle was given the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

award for lifetime achievement in British jazz. His last performances included the

Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...

in Manchester (October 2012) and Ray McVay's tribute Glenn Miller Orchestra at the

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, commonly known as The Grand, is a theatre located on Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, UK, designed in 1894 by Architect Charles J. Phipps. It is a Grade II Listed Building with a seating capacity of 1200. 1894 ...

(January 2013). Whittle died on his 87th birthday after contracting pneumonia while on holiday in Spain.

Discography

As leader

* ''Tommy Whittle Quartet'' (Melodisc, 1951) * ''Tommy Whittle Septet'' (Melodisc, 1951) * ''Tommy Whittle with the Tony Kinsey Trio'' (Esquire, 1953) * ''Tommy Whittle Quintet'' (Esquire, 1954) * ''Tommy Whittle Quintet'' (Esquire, 1955) * ''Tommy Whittle Orchestra'' (Esquire, 1956) * ''Tommy Whittle Quartet'' (HMV, 1957) * ''A Touch of Latin'' (Saga, 1958) * ''Tommy Whittle Quintet'' (Tempo and Ember, 1959) * ''Sax for Dreamers'' (Masquerade, 1967) * ''Tommy Whittle Quartet'' (HMV, 1957) * ''Why Not?'' (Jam, 1977) * ''Jigsaw'' (Alamo, 1977) * ''The Nearness of You'' (Tee-Jay, 1982) * ''Straight Eight'' with Alan Barnes (Miles Music, 1985) * ''The Pizza Express All Star Band'' (The Poll Winners, 1990) * ''Warm Glow'' (TeeJay, 1992) * ''Encore!'' with the Bob Hudson Trio (Sine, 1997) * ''Grace Notes'' (Spotlight, 2003) * ''Tommy Whittle and the Tenor Connection'' (Spotlight, 2009)

As sideman

* ''Live at the Hopbine'', Tubby Hayes (1965) * ''Memories of You'',

(Tee-Jay, 1988) * ''Bean: Bob Wilber's Tribute to Coleman Hawkins'', Bob Wilber (Arbors, 1995) * ''The Don Lusher Big Band Vol. 2'', Don Lusher (Horatio Nelson) * ''Laurie Johnson's London Big Band Vol. 3'', Laurie Johnson (Horatio Nelson, 2000) * ''Ella Fitzgerald Songbook Revisited'', Barbara Jay, Tina May, Lee Gibson (Spotlite, 2000) * ''The Farewell Concert'', Ted Heath (Avid, 2002) * ''The Musical Worlds of Laurie Johnson'', Laurie Johnson (Avid, 2003)

References

External links

*
British modern Jazz from the 1940s onwards. Includes a comprehensive discography for Tommy Whittle
*

Tommy Whittle Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist. Biography Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by A ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittle, Tommy 1926 births 2013 deaths Scottish jazz saxophonists British jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists People from Grangemouth British male jazz musicians 20th-century saxophonists