John Dankworth R.I.P.

On the BBC News tonight they announced the sad news that John Dankworth passed away, earlier today, aged eighty two. I've just spent the last couple of hours pulling out and listening to his albums from my collection, something I've never properly done before. I've always skimmed through them looking for loops or maybe just listening to the odd track, so as a sign of respect decided to take time out to give the music the full attention it deserves.

Breaks collectors might be familiar with some of his material - DJ Premier made very good use of his "Two Piece Flower" on "Above The Clouds" and also hooked up a dope piano loop from the "Off Duty" L.P. I was gonna upload those two tracks but decided to post a lovely tune off his "Life Line" album that seems far more apt - "Tomorrow's World".

This song was used as the theme tune for the British T.V. programme of the same name. Now I'm too young to remember it from the time, but I'm sure for some of the older folks it probably holds quite fond memories. It's a light, bouncy number with obvious pop appeal and features a beautiful flute solo courtesy of Stan Sulzman. Don Rendell also features on the album, as does a host of the usual high-end British Jazz session guys - Harold Fisher, Tony Hymas, Duncan Lamont, etc. If you come across it on your travels, pick it up, it's a great listen from beginning to end with plenty of sample material ("Brass Roots" is the one). Another reason I chose a cut from this record is for the liner notes on the back which give a fairly comprehensive guide to Mr. Dankworth's work up until 1973. I've scanned it super-size for anyone that's interested to have a read...



The Dankworth Big Band "Tomorrow's World" (1973 Philips U.K.)




R.I.P. John Dankworth