Dee Palmer

Dee Palmer
Origin Wolverhampton, England
Genres Rock, soundtrack, modern classical
Occupation(s) Arranger, musician
Years active 1967–present
Labels Chrysalis
Associated acts Jethro Tull, Bert Jansch, Maddy Prior
Website http://missdeepalmer.com/

Dee Palmer (formerly David Palmer) is an English composer, arranger,[1] and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull from 1977 to 1980.[2]

Early career

Palmer studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music[3] with Richard Rodney Bennett, winning the Eric Coates Prize and The Boosey and Hawkes Prize. She was appointed a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in 1994.[4]

Jethro Tull and other works

Going about her early career as a jobbing arranger and conductor of recording sessions, Palmer recorded her first album project, Nicola, in 1967 with Bert Jansch. She was then referred to Terry Ellis, then manager of the early Jethro Tull, which was making its first album at Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea, London. At short notice, Palmer came up with arrangements for the horns and strings on the Mick Abrahams composition, "Move on Alone" from the This Was album. This work and professional performance endeared her to the band[5] and she was soon to visit them again, with a string quartet arrangement to "A Christmas Song". Palmer arranged string, brass, and woodwind parts for Jethro Tull songs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before formally joining the group in 1976 and primarily playing electronic keyboard instruments. In 1980, leader Ian Anderson intended to release the album A with other musicians as a solo project (under the name 'Ian Anderson') but was persuaded by his record label to release it instead under the 'Jethro Tull' name. This resulted in every member of the group, including Palmer, leaving except guitarist Martin Barre and Anderson himself. Palmer formed a new group, Tallis, with former Jethro Tull pianist and organist John Evan. The new group was not commercially successful, and Palmer returned to film scoring and sessions.

Beginning in the 1980s, Palmer produced several albums of orchestral arrangements of the music of various rock groups, including Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, the Beatles and Queen.[6]

Gender transition

In 2003, Palmer came out as transsexual and intersex, changing her name to Dee. Palmer was born with genital ambiguity, assigned female at birth, and underwent several surgeries, the last in her late twenties. Palmer said her gender dysphoria had been a part of her life since she'd been young, and that the dysphoria "started to reassert itself again" in the year following the death of her wife Maggie in 1995.[7][8][9]

Discography

With Jethro Tull

Providing orchestral arrangements
As a full-time member

Symphonic arrangements

References

  1. ↑ Nollen, Scott Allen (2002). Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968–2001. McFarland. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-0-7864-1101-6. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Buckley, Peter (1 November 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. pp. 551–. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Harper, Colin; Marr, Johnny (21 August 2006). Dazzling Stranger. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 210–. ISBN 978-0-7475-8725-5. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM)". Royal Academy of Music. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Eder, Bruce. "David Palmer". VH1. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  6. ↑ Thompson, Dave (1 November 2004). Turn It On Again: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins & Genesis. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 260–. ISBN 9780879308100. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "Dee Palmer Interview with David Rees". Official Jethro Tull website. 29 June 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Out. Here Publishing. December 2004. pp. 113–. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Wright, Jeb (October 2004). "Dee Palmer Interview". Classic Rock Revisited. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2012.

External links