David Joseph Shepherd (7 February 1929 – 15 December 2016) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinettist and bandleader.

Biography

Shepherd was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to Cecilia (nee Sadgrove), a machinist, and Joseph Shepherd, a semi-professional piano player whose other job was working for the local gas company. He began on piano before switching to clarinet at age 16 in 1945. He studied under a clarinettist from the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

Orchestra while stationed in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Upon his return to England he played with Reg Rigden (1950), Joe Daniels and his 'Hotshots' (1951–53), and

Freddy Randall Frederick James 'Freddy' Randall (6 May 1921 – 18 May 1999) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Clapton, East London. Biography Born in Clapton, East London at the age of just 18 Randall led the St. Louis Four in 1939, ...

(1954–55). He played 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 made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

on their tours of Britain. He played in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1956 with Ted Kotick, then returned to England to play with Jazz Today Unit (1956–57) and with the Jazz at the Philharmonic (1957). He also played with

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

several times in the 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, he played with Randall again and with

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

, as well as at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

in 1973 and in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1975. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shepherd was heard a lot more on radio with his quartet used on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's Jimmy Young programme as well as ''Round Midnight'', ''Breakfast Special'' and ''Music While You Work''. Shepherd's career was centred in the UK, and he worked regularly with trombone player Roy Williams, Len Skeat and many more. He was a frequent guest with his line up called The Dave Shepherd Quintet on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

's ''Sounds of Jazz'', introduced by the presenter

Peter Clayton Peter James Clayton (25 June 1927 – 10 August 1991) was an English jazz presenter on BBC Radio, jazz critic, and author. From October 1968 until his death in August 1991, Clayton presented jazz recordings, interviews, studio performances, and ...

during the mid 1970s and broadcast on Sunday evenings. The sessions were recorded at the BBC's

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

earlier in the week. Shepherd based his style on

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

and was praised for his accuracy and "unfailing swing and a quality of musical elegance". He performed with Peter Boizot's Pizza Express All Stars Band at the

Pizza Express Jazz Club PizzaExpress Jazz Club is a jazz club in London, England. Based in Dean Street in Soho, it is situated in the basement of a PizzaExpress restaurant, and was opened by company founder Peter Boizot in 1969. It has played host to Norah Jones, Amy ...

from 1980 to 1999. He led several of his own bands, and has done extensive work producing music for film and television. Shepherd continued to solo and make guest appearances until shortly before his death on 15 December 2016, in the Macmillan Unit of

Christchurch Hospital Christchurch Hospital is the largest tertiary hospital in the South Island of New Zealand. The public hospital is in the centre of Christchurch city, on the edge of Hagley Park, and serves the wider Canterbury region. The Canterbury District ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Shepherd has been described by fellow jazz musician

Digby Fairweather Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather (born 25 April 1946) is a British jazz trumpeter, author and broadcaster. Biography Before becoming a professional musician, Fairweather was a librarian and has retained an interest in jazz bibliography ...

as "Britain's greatest swing clarinettist since 1948".

Personal life

Shepherd was married twice. At first to the jazz vocalist Jo Searle, with whom he had a daughter Rochelle, which ended in divorce. In 1966, aged 37, he married his second wife, Mary Evans. Both Evans and Rochelle survive him.{

References

;Footnotes ;General references *Mark Gilbert, "Dave Shepherd". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

External links

Dave Shepherd Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Dave 1929 births 2016 deaths English jazz clarinetists Black Lion Records artists People from Walthamstow