John Gregory ( Gregori, 12 October 1924 – 23 April 2020) was a British bandleader who also recorded as Nino Rico and as Chaquito.

Life and career

Born in London on 12 October 1924, he was one of five children of Maria (née Rossi) and Frank Gregori, who was the leader of a dance band that played at the Italian restaurant

Quaglino's Quaglino's is a restaurant in central London which was founded in 1929, closed in 1977, and revived in 1993. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was popular among the British aristocracy, including the royal family, many of whom were regulars ...

. Encouraged by his parents, who realised he was exceptionally musical, John studied the violin with the virtuoso teacher

Alfredo Campoli Alfredo Campoli (20 October 1906 – 27 March 1991) was an Italian-born British violinist, often known simply as Campoli. He was noted for the beauty of the tone he produced from the violin. Campoli spent his childhood and much of his career in E ...

and went on to take lessons in counterpoint and harmony at the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

. After a brief stint as a violinist with his father's band, by the late 1940s he was performing by himself and working as a staff arranger with

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

. His first broadcast as an arranger, for the BBC Revue Orchestra, aired in 1944. He was the

BBC Radio Orchestra The BBC Radio Orchestra was a broadcasting orchestra based in London, maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1964 until 1991. The BBC Radio Orchestra was formed in 1964 as a large, flexible studio orchestra on the Nelson Riddle/H ...

’s principal guest conductor for 17 years and continued to be recognised as one of the best and most innovative orchestral composers and arrangers of his time. He also collaborated with vocalists including

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ger ...

. In the late 1950s, he recorded Latin-flavoured albums as Nino Rico, and then as Chaquito. In 1960, he began to make his own records, with The Cascading Strings, as part of the Philips record label’s

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

albums. More unusual was ''Melodies of Japan'' (1963), a reworking of the traditional folk music of the far east. He scored several films and TV shows, including '' Serena'' (1962), ''

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

'' (1963), '' The Night Caller'' (1965) and '' Don't Drink the Water'' (1974). In the mid-1970s, he regularly recorded under his own name, producing albums such as ''A Man for All Seasons'' and ''The Detectives''. He won an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

in 1976 for "Introduction and Air to a Stained Glass Window". From 1974 to 1991 he was the conductor of the BBC Radio Orchestra. He composed his last film score in 2002. Gregory died on 23 April 2020, at the age of 95.

References

External links

* 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century composers British bandleaders British male conductors (music) Easy listening musicians English film score composers English male film score composers English music arrangers English television composers Ivor Novello Award winners Musicians from London {{UK-conductor-stub