Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an English

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 ...

musician and arranger. Mainly active as a

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while t ...

, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet.

Career

Rendell was born in Plymouth, England, and raised in London where he attended the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

, to which he gained a choral half-scholarship. The school was evacuated 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 opposi ...

to Marlborough College, where Rendell heard Jazz for the first time. His father, Percy, was the musical director of the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

; his mother Vera (née Trewin) was also a musician. His father died when Rendell was 16. Rendell had begun to play the piano aged five, but switched to saxophone in his teens. While he began his working life in the Southgate branch of

Barclay's Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

, he soon left to become a professional musician. He began his career on alto saxophone but changed to tenor saxophone in 1943. During the rest of the 1940s, he was in the bands of George Evans and Oscar Rabin. Beginning in 1950, he spent three years in a septet led by

Johnny Dankworth Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

. He performed with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

in Manchester, England, before playing in the bands of

Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...

and

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 ...

. After touring in Europe with

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

, he played in Cyprus with

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 ...

. He was a member of

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 in 1959. During the late 1950s and early 1960s he led bands, including one with

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

that lasted until 1969, one with Barbara Thompson in the 1970s, and as the sole leader in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, the Rendell-Carr Quintet gained an international reputation. It performed at the Antibes Festival, France and was the Band of the Year for three years in succession in the '' Melody Maker'' poll. He performed in festivals in England and France and worked with Johnny Dankworth, Michael Garrick, and

Brian Priestley Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940)Many sources list Priestley's year of birth as 1946, but this is inaccurate. See Priestley's entry in ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'' anon his revised Charlie Parker study. is an English jazz writer, pianist and a ...

. Rendell taught at the Royal Academy of Music for three years in the early 1970s. The 1972 the Don Rendell Quintet LP ''Space Walk'' was his last to be produced by

Denis Preston Sidney Denis Preston (''né'' Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiff ...

, and his last as a leader on a major label (EMI Columbia). It included four original compositions from Rendell. In 1976, his group called the Don Rendell Five, which featured saxophonist Barbara Thompson, issued ''Just Music'' on the small Spotlite label, showcasing Thompson. The group began touring and playing festivals while winning acclaim at home for their style of post-bop music. Rendell kept his session work up, appearing on the 1976 album ''A Lover and His Lass'' by Cleo Laine & the

Seven. Two years later, in 1978, he issued a double-A-side 12" single with the ''Don Rendell Five'' which again included Barbara Thompson as a member of "Roundabouts and Swings" b/w "Blues for Adolphe Sax." In 1979 the saxist issued his ''Ambitious live nonet'' project, Earth Music, performed at that year's Greenwich Festival. While it resonated with older fans, it became lost with the British music press's attention to the punk and post-punk music of this period. In 1984 he began tuition at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. He also wrote instruction books on flute and saxophone. His private pupils included the actor

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...

, an amateur saxophonist.

Personal life and death

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

convert in 1956, Rendell said his new outlook meant he felt like an ordinary person for the first time in many years. Rendell died at the age of 89 on 20 October 2015 in London after a short illness. He is survived by his wife, Joan (née Yoxall), whom he married in 1948, his daughter, Sally, his sister, Doris, and three grandchildren.

Discography

As leader

* ''Meet Don Rendell'' (Tempo, 1955) * ''Playtime'' (Decca, 1958) * ''Roarin' '' (Jazzland, 1961) * ''Shades of Blue'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1965) * ''Dusk Fire'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1966) * ''Phase III'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1968) * ''Change Is'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1969) * ''Live'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1969) * ''Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises'' with Ian Carr, Neil Ardley (Columbia, 1970) * '' Space Walk'' (Columbia, 1972) * ''Live at the Avgarde Gallery Manchester'' with Joe Palin (Spotlite, 1975) * ''Just Music'' with Barbara Thompson (Spotlite, 1976) * ''Earth Music'' (Spotlite, 1979) * ''Time Presence'' (DR, 1988) * ''If I Should Lose You'' (Spotlite, 1992) * ''What Am I Here For?'' (Spotlite, 1996) * ''Live in London'' with Ian Carr (Harkit, 2003) * ''Phase III/Live'' with Ian Carr (BGO, 2004) * ''Touch Links of Gold & A Portuguese Portrait'' (Spotlite, 2004) * ''Original 1964-68 Recordings/Live from the Antibes Jazz Festival'' with Ian Carr (Spotlite, 2007) * ''Live at the Union 1966'' with Ian Carr (Reel Recordings, 2010) * ''Live at Klooks Kleek'' (Record Collector Magazine, 2017)

As sideman

With

* ''Lifeline'' (Philips, 1973) * ''Movies 'n' Me'' (RCA, 1974) * ''A Lover and His Lass'' with Cleo Laine (Esquire, 1976) With Michael Garrick * ''A Jazz Cantata'' (Erase, 1969) * ''Black Marigolds'' (Argo, 1966) * ''The Heart Is a Lotus'' (Argo, 1970) * ''Mr. Smith's Apocalypse'' (Argo, 1971) * ''Home Stretch Blues'' (Argo, 1972) * ''Troppo'' (Argo, 1974) * ''Parting Is Such'' (Jazz Academy, 1995) * ''Prelude to Heart Is a Lotus'' (Gearbox, 2013) With others *

Neil Ardley Neil Richard Ardley (26 May 1937 – 23 February 2004) was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made his name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music. Early years Neil Ardley ...

, ''A Symphony of Amaranths'' (Regal Zonophone, 1972) * Neil Ardley, ''On the Radio: BBC Sessions 1971'' (Dusk Fire, 2017) *

Amancio D'Silva Amancio D'Silva (19 March 1936 – 17 July 1996) was an Indian jazz guitarist and composer, known for his own recordings and his collaborations with other musicians in Britain, notably Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey. Life He was born in Bombay (n ...

, ''Integration'' (Columbia, 1969) * Amancio D'Silva, ''Konkan Dance'' (Vocalion, 2006) * Kenny Graham, ''Presenting Kenny Graham'' (Vocalion, 2008) *

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 ...

, ''Genius'' (Jazz Academy, 2000) *

, ''Our Kind of Jazz'' (Decca, 1959) *

Richard Hewson Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943) is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who created the studio group RAH Band. Career Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and has worked with musicians s ...

, ''Love Is...'' (Splash, 1978) *

Jutta Hipp Jutta Hipp (February 4, 1925 – April 7, 2003) was a jazz pianist and composer. Born in Leipzig during the Weimar Republic, Hipp initially listened to jazz in secret, as it was not approved of by the Nazi authorities. After World War II, she bec ...

, ''Leonard Feather Presents Cool Europe'' (Verve, 1994) *

, ''Love You Gladly'' (Cadillac, 1988) *

Cyril Stapleton Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Born Horace Cyril Stapleton in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, Stapleton began playing violin at the age of seven, and played on loc ...

, ''All Time Big Band Hits'' (Richmond, 1959) *

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 ...

, ''The Latin-American Caper'' (Columbia, 1969) * Stan Tracey, ''We Love You Madly'' (Columbia, 1969) *

Guy Warren Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The T ...

, ''Afro-Jazz'' (Columbia, 1969)

References

External links

*
Don Rendell reminisces
— selected highlights from the British section, 1960–1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rendell, Don 1926 births 2015 deaths Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Jazz tenor saxophonists English jazz flautists English jazz clarinetists Musicians from Plymouth, Devon British male jazz musicians New Jazz Orchestra members Oscar Rabin Band members 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century flautists