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Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) 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 ...
musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played
soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...
,
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, and
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
.


Career

Rendell was born in
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, England, and raised in London where he attended the
City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...
, to which he gained a choral half-scholarship. The school was evacuated during the
Second World War 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 ...
to
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...
, where Rendell heard Jazz for the first time. His father, Percy, was the musical director of the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...
; his mother Vera (née Trewin) was also a musician. His father died when Rendell was 16. Rendell had begun to play the piano aged five, but switched to saxophone in his teens. While he began his working life in the Southgate branch of
Barclay's Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
, he soon left to become a professional musician. He began his career on alto saxophone but changed to tenor saxophone in 1943. During the rest of the 1940s, he was in the bands of
George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...
and Oscar Rabin. Beginning in 1950, he spent three years in a septet led by Johnny Dankworth. He performed 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 ...
in Manchester, England, before playing in the bands of
Tony Crombie Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...
and Ted Heath. After touring in Europe with
Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...
, he played in Cyprus with Tony Kinsey. He was a member of
Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American 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 roo ...
's Anglo American Herd in 1959. During the late 1950s and early 1960s he led bands, including one with
Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus (band), Nucleus, and was an associate professor a ...
that lasted until 1969, one with Barbara Thompson in the 1970s, and as the sole leader in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, the Rendell-Carr Quintet gained an international reputation. It performed at the Antibes Festival, France and was the Band of the Year for three years in succession in the ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' poll. He performed in festivals in England and France and worked with Johnny Dankworth, Michael Garrick, and Brian Priestley. Rendell taught at the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
for three years in the early 1970s. The 1972 the Don Rendell Quintet LP ''Space Walk'' was his last to be produced by Denis Preston, and his last as a leader on a major label (EMI Columbia). It included four original compositions from Rendell. In 1976, his group called the Don Rendell Five, which featured saxophonist Barbara Thompson, issued ''Just Music'' on the small Spotlite label, showcasing Thompson. The group began touring and playing festivals while winning acclaim at home for their style of post-bop music. Rendell kept his session work up, appearing on the 1976 album ''A Lover and His Lass'' by
Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Hitching; 28 October 1927) is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec D ...
& the Johnny Dankworth Seven. Two years later, in 1978, he issued a double-A-side 12" single with the ''Don Rendell Five'' which again included Barbara Thompson as a member of "Roundabouts and Swings" b/w "Blues for Adolphe Sax." In 1979 the saxist issued his ''Ambitious live nonet'' project, Earth Music, performed at that year's Greenwich Festival. While it resonated with older fans, it became lost with the British music press's attention to the punk and post-punk music of this period. In 1984 he began tuition at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...
. He also wrote instruction books on flute and saxophone. His private pupils included the actor
Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was an English actor best known for playing bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in television, film and stage productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was a BAFTA TV A ...
, an amateur saxophonist.


Personal life and death

A
Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...
convert in 1956, Rendell said his new outlook meant he felt like an ordinary person for the first time in many years. Rendell died at the age of 89 on 20 October 2015 in London after a short illness. He was survived by his wife, Joan (née Yoxall), whom he married in 1948, his daughter, Sally, his sister, Doris, and three grandchildren.


Discography


As leader/co-leader

* ''Meet Don Rendell'' (Tempo, 1955) 0"* ''Playtime'' (Decca, 1958) * ''Roarin' '' (Jazzland, 1961) * ''Shades of Blue'' with
Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus (band), Nucleus, and was an associate professor a ...
(Columbia, 1965) – rec. 1964 * ''Dusk Fire'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1966) * ''Phase III'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1968) * ''Change Is'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1969) * ''Live'' with Ian Carr (Columbia, 1969) * ''Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises'' with Ian Carr, Neil Ardley (Columbia, 1970) * '' Space Walk'' (Columbia, 1972) * ''Live at the Avgarde Gallery Manchester'' with Joe Palin (Spotlite, 1975) – live rec. 1972 * ''Just Music'' with Barbara Thompson (Spotlite, 1976) * ''Earth Music'' (Spotlite, 1979) * ''Time Presence'' (DR, 1988) * ''If I Should Lose You'' (Spotlite, 1992) * ''What Am I Here For?'' (Spotlite, 1996) * ''Reunion'' (Spotlite, 2002) * ''Live in London'' with Ian Carr (Harkit, 2003) – live rec. 1965 * ''Phase III / Live'' with Ian Carr (BGO, 2004) – rec. 1967–68 * ''Touch Links of Gold & A Portuguese Portrait'' (Spotlite, 2004) * ''Original 1964-68 Recordings/Live from the Antibes Jazz Festival'' with Ian Carr (Spotlite, 2007) * ''Live at the Union 1966'' with Ian Carr (Reel Recordings, 2010) – live rec. 1966 * ''Live at Klooks Kleek'' (Record Collector Magazine, 2017) LP


As sideman

With
Neil Ardley Neil Richard Ardley (26 May 1937 – 23 February 2004) was a prominent English jazz composer and pianist, who also made his name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music. Early years Neil Ardley ...
* ''A Symphony of Amaranths'' (Regal Zonophone, 1972) * ''On the Radio: BBC Sessions 1971'' (Dusk Fire, 2017) With Johnny Dankworth * ''Lifeline'' (Philips, 1973) * ''Movies 'n' Me'' (RCA, 1974) * ''A Lover and His Lass'' with Cleo Laine (Esquire, 1976) With Amancio D'Silva * ''Integration'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Konkan Dance'' (Vocalion, 2006) With Michael Garrick * ''Black Marigolds'' (Argo, 1966) * ''A Jazz Cantata'' (Erase, 1969) * ''The Heart Is a Lotus'' (Argo, 1970) * ''Mr. Smith's Apocalypse'' (Argo, 1971) * ''Home Stretch Blues'' (Argo, 1972) * ''Troppo'' (Argo, 1974) * ''Parting Is Such'' (Jazz Academy, 1995) * ''Prelude to Heart Is a Lotus'' (Gearbox, 2013) * ''A New Serious Music'' (Rhythm & Blues, 2021) With
Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Insp ...
* ''The Latin-American Caper'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''We Love You Madly'' (Columbia, 1969) With others * Kenny Graham, ''Presenting Kenny Graham'' (Vocalion, 2008) *
Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. According to George McKay in ''Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britai ...
, ''Genius'' (Jazz Academy, 2000) * Ted Heath, ''Our Kind of Jazz'' (Decca, 1959) * Richard Hewson, ''Love Is...'' (Splash, 1978) * Mike Nevard's British Jazzmen, ''Leonard Feather Presents Cool Europe'' (Verve, 1994) –
Split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...
with
Jutta Hipp Jutta Hipp (February 4, 1925 – April 7, 2003) was a jazz pianist and composer. Born in Leipzig during the Weimar Republic, Hipp initially listened to jazz in secret, as it was not approved of by the Nazi authorities. After World War II, she be ...
* Brian Priestley, ''Love You Gladly'' (Cadillac, 1988) *
Cyril Stapleton Horace Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Horace Cyril Stapleton was born in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, He began playing violin at the age of seven, and played ...
, ''All Time Big Band Hits'' (Richmond, 1959) * Guy Warren, ''Afro-Jazz'' (Columbia, 1969)


References


External links

*
Don Rendell reminisces
— selected highlights from the British section, 1960–1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rendell, Don 1926 births 2015 deaths Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English jazz saxophonists English male saxophonists English jazz tenor saxophonists English jazz flautists English jazz clarinetists Musicians from Plymouth, Devon English male jazz musicians New Jazz Orchestra members Oscar Rabin Band members 20th-century English saxophonists 20th-century British flautists