Tony Crombie

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Tony Crombie

Background information
Birth name Anthony John Crombie
Born 27 August 1925
Origin London, England
Died 18 October 1999
Genre(s) Bop[1]
Hard bop [2]
Occupation(s) Drummer
Instrument(s) drums

Anthony John "Tony" Crombie (27 August 1925 - 18 October 1999) was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene across six decades [1].

Contents

[edit] Career

Born in London, England, he took up drums in his teens. He began to work regularly in London clubs, and joined vibes player Carlo Krahmer's band in 1943, before forming his own band for an Irish tour in 1947. In the following year he was part of a trio which accompanied Duke Ellington on the first official post-war tour of Britain by an American jazz artist. In December 1948, he helped start the short-lived Club Eleven in London, which became a crucial focal point for the emerging bebop scene, and worked closely with Ronnie Scott, Johnny Dankworth and others, as well as forming his own Septet at the club. He was the drummer in the Victor Feldman Trio in 1954-5, prior to Feldman's move to the USA.

He also led his own bands, including an Orchestra featuring Dizzy Reece, Les Condon (tp), Joe Temperley, Sammy Walker (ts), Lennie Dawes (bs), Harry South (p), Ashley Kozak (b) which made two recordings for Decca Records in 1954, one of which also featured vocalist Annie Ross and a track with Bobby Breen.

In 1956, Crombie set up a rock and roll band he called The Rockets, which at one point included future Shadows bassist Jet Harris. The group was modelled after Bill Haley's Comets. Tony Crombie and his Rockets released several singles for Decca Records and Columbia Records, including "Teach You To Rock" produced by Norrie Paramor, which is regarded as the first British rock and roll record and which made the UK top 30 in October 1956. He is credited with introducing rock and roll music to Iceland, performing there in May 1957. By 1958 The Rockets had become a jazz group, including Scott and Tubby Hayes.

The following year Crombie started another group, Jazz Inc., featuring pianist Stan Tracey. In 1960 Crombie established a residency at a hotel in Monte Carlo. On his return to England, he became the house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, where he accompanied visiting American stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Jimmy Witherspoon. He also performed in Israel and the USA, and began writing for films and television. He also toured with artists like Lena Horne, Carmen McRae, Tony Bennett, and Jack Jones, and played piano on the Annie Ross album Skylark.

Crombie continued to lead his own bands throughout the 1960s and 1970s, while also working with Scott, Tracey, pianist Alan Clare, Mike Carr (as a duo in 1968 and again in 1970-1), and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

Crombie died in 1999, aged 74.

[edit] Compositions

In 1963, Miles Davis recorded his composition "So Near, So Far" for his Seven Steps to Heaven album, and Joe Henderson would make it the title track for his 1992 tribute album to Davis. Several more of his tunes were taken up by major jazz artists, including "That Tune" and "Restless Girl" by Stephane Grappelli, with whom he often worked, and saxophonist Paul Gonsalves recorded a version of "Deb's Delight".

[edit] Discography

  • Tony Crombie And His Orchestra - October 30th, 1954 (Decca LK4087) (JMC9) - featuring Dizzy Reece, Les Condon (tp), Joe Temperley, Sammy Walker (ts), Lennie Dawes (bs), Harry South (p), Ashley Kozak (b), Tony Crombie (d). (Re-released as Jasmine CD - Modern Jazz At The Festival Hall - 1954)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tony Crombie: 1925-1999

[edit] External links

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