Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, 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 ...

composer, saxophonist,

clarinettist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baer ...

and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame

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 ...

, he was a music educator and also her music director.

Biography

Early years

Dankworth 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 ...

, then in the

County Borough of West Ham West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the Rive ...

, in 1927. He grew up, within a family of musicians, in Hollywood Way, Highams Park, a suburb of

Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...

, and attended Selwyn Boys' (Junior) School in Highams Park and later Sir George Monoux Grammar School in

. He had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the

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 ...

at the age of 16, after hearing a record of the

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 ...

Quartet. Soon afterwards, inspired by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, he learned to play the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

. He made his first recording in 1944 playing the clarinet on ''Good Old Wagon Blues'' by ''Freddie Mirfield and his Garbage Men.'' He began his career on the British

scene after studying at London's

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 ...

(where his jazz interests were frowned upon) and then

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, during which he played

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E, smaller th ...

and

for RAF Music Services. In July 1947, he worked on the Queen Mary in Bobby Kevin's band, and in London with Les Ayling, later in 1947, and with Tito Burns until May 1948. He attended the Paris Jazz Festival in 1949 and played with Charlie Parker. Parker's comments about Dankworth led to the engagement of the young British jazz musician for a short tour of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, with the soprano-saxophonist

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

. In 1949, Dankworth was voted Musician of the Year.

1950s

In 1950, Dankworth formed a small group, the Dankworth Seven, as a vehicle for his writing activities as well as a showcase for several young jazz players, including himself (alto sax), Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), Eddie Harvey (trombone), Don Rendell (tenor sax), Bill Le Sage (piano), Eric Dawson (bass) and Tony Kinsey (drums). Vocalist and percussionist Frank Holder also sang and recorded with this ensemble. After three successful years, the group was wound up, although it re-formed for several reunions over the years. Dankworth formed his big band in 1953. Johnny Dankworth and His Orchestra had a top 10 novelty hit song in 1956 in the UK, "Experiments with Mice" based on "

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753. ...

", which parodied a number of jazz bands and artists, including

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet (TV series), The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad (TV series), T ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

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 ...

, Sauter-Finegan, and others. By now,

's singing was a regular feature of Dankworth's recordings and public appearances. The band was earning plaudits from the critics and was invited to the 1959

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

, the first British group to receive an invite. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic said of this appearance "Mr. Dankworth's group ... showed the underlying merit that made big bands successful many years ago – the swinging drive, the harmonic colour and the support in depth for soloists that is possible when a disciplined, imaginatively directed band has worked together for a long time. This English group has a flowing, unforced, rhythmic drive that has virtually disappeared from American bands". More succinctly, Gerard Lascelles of '' The Tatler'', noted that 'The Dankworth orchestra blew magnificently'. The band performed at the Birdland jazz club in New York City, and shortly afterwards shared the stage with the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Orchestra for a number of concerts. Dankworth's band also performed at a jazz event at New York's Lewisohn stadium where

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

joined them for a set. In 1959, Dankworth became chair of the Stars Campaign for Inter-Racial Friendship, set up to combat the fascist White Defence League. Around this time, he had also refused to travel to

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 ...

to perform to all-white audiences during

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

1960s

In 1961, Dankworth's recording of

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most successful musicals were ''Hair ...

's "African Waltz" reached the UK Singles Chart, peaked at No. 9, and remained in the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

for 21 weeks. American altoist

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

sought and received Dankworth's permission to record the arrangement and had a minor hit in the US as a result. The piece was also covered by many other groups. In 1967, drummer Ronnie Stephenson's part on "African Waltz" was adapted by

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

's Mitch Mitchell, to form the basis of the drum part on "Manic Depression". Dankworth's friendship with trumpeter

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

led to Terry's being a featured soloist on Dankworth's 1964 album ''The Zodiac Variations'', together with

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombone, valve trombonist, Jazz piano, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public ...

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

, Lucky Thompson and other guests. Other Dankworth recordings during this period featured many other respected jazz names. Some were full-time members of the Dankworth band at one time or another, like Tony Coe, Mike Gibbs, Peter King,

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-perf ...

, George Tyndale, Daryl Runswick, John Taylor, Dick Hawdon and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

, while others such as

Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to: *Dave Holland (bassist) David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...

, John McLaughlin,

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...

and Dick Morrissey were occasional participants. Dankworth began a second career as a composer of film and television scores (often credited as "Johnny Dankworth"). Among his best-known credits are the original themes for two British TV programmes, '' The Avengers'' (used from 1961 to 1964) and ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First broadcast on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorrow's World' ...

'' (included on the 1972 LP ''Lifeline''). He also wrote the scores for the films '' Darling'' (1965) and ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...

'' and '' Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment'' (both 1966). He appeared in the film '' All Night Long'' (1962) with

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

– playing himself – and played on the theme to the satirical

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show '' The Frost Report'' in 1966. Dankworth was commissioned to write a piece for the 1967 Farnham Festival; and produced "Tom Sawyer's Saturday"; written for full orchestra and narrator: "a sort of 'Peter and the Wolf' which could be played by most reasonably competent youth orchestras". During this active period of recording, the Dankworth band nevertheless found time for frequent live appearances and radio shows, including tours in Britain and Europe with

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

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 ...

, and concerts and radio performances with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

1970s and 1980s

Dankworth's friendship with Duke Ellington continued until the latter's death in 1974. He recorded an album of symphonic arrangements of many Ellington tunes featuring another Ellingtonian trumpet soloist Barry Lee Hall. Dankworth also retained his Ellington links by performing with the Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Duke's son,

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Elli ...

. Dankworth recorded various symphonic albums with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

and the

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Compan ...

and others. Other jazz musicians with whom Dankworth performed include

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

, Slam Stewart and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

. He always had an enthusiasm for jazz education, for many years running the Allmusic summer schools at the Stables in Wavendon near

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, a theatre that Laine and he created in January 1970 in their back garden. From 1984 to 1986, Dankworth was professor of music at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

, London, giving free public lectures. In 1982, Dankworth was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Later work

He appeared with

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

on '' Later with Jools Holland'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. He set up his own record label, Qnotes, in 2003, to reissue some of his old recordings as well as new ones. They include a number with

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julia ...

and members of his family. Dankworth and Laine's two children are both jazz musicians: Alec Dankworth is a

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

who was also a member of his father's band, and

Jacqui Dankworth Jacqueline Caryl Dankworth (born 5 February 1963) is a British jazz singer. She is the daughter of jazz singer Cleo Laine and musician John Dankworth. Career Dankworth was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. She attended St. Chris ...

is a singer. Dankworth was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 2006 New Year's Honours List. He and Dame Cleo Laine were one of the few married couples where both partners held titles in their own right. He remained an active composer into later life, and he wrote a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian Garrick to play. This work had its world premiere at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on 3 March 2008, in partnership with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra. In October 2009, at the end of a US tour with his wife, Dankworth was taken ill. The couple cancelled a number of UK concert dates for the following month. Dankworth did return to the concert stage for just one solo at the London Jazz Festival at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

, London, in December 2009. He played his sax from a wheelchair. He also played in ''John & Cleo's Christmas Show'' from 17 to 20 December 2009 at The Stables in Wavendon.

Personal life and death

After her divorce from George Langridge became final, in 1957, a year later in 1958 Dankworth married jazz singer Cleo Laine in secret at Hampstead Registry Office. The only witnesses at their wedding were Dankworth's friend, pianist Ken Moule, and arranger David Lindup. The couple had two children, bassist Alec Dankworth and singer

. On 6 February 2010, Dankworth died at

King Edward VII's Hospital King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the h ...

in London, from complications of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

and

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

; he was 82. His death occurred on the afternoon before a show celebrating the 40th anniversary of the foundation of The Stables. His funeral took place on 1 March 2010 at

Crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

, followed by a memorial service held at The Stables the same day.

Discography

As leader

* ''Experiments with Mice'' (Parlophone, 1956) * ''5 Steps to Dankworth'' (Verve, 1957) * ''London to Newport'' (Top Rank, 1959) * ''Itinerary of an Orchestra'' (Parlophone, 1960) * ''England's Ambassador of Jazz'' (Roulette, 1960) * ''Collaboration'' (Roulette, 1962) * ''Jazz from Abroad'' (Roulette, 1963) * '' What the Dickens!'' (Fontana, 1963) * ''The Zodiac Variations'' (Fontana, 1965) * ''Modesty Blaise'' (20th Century Fox, 1966) * ''The $1,000,000,000 Collection'' (Fontana, 1967) * ''Off Duty'' (Fontana, 1969) * ''John Dankworth and His Music'' (Fontana, 1970) * ''Full Circle'' (Philips, 1972) * ''Lifeline'' (Philips, 1973) * ''Echoes of Harlem'' (Compendia, 1988) * ''In a Mellow Tone: Tribute to Duke Ellington'' (Absolute, 2005) * ''Spread a Little Happiness'' with Cleo Laine (Avid, 2006) * ''About 42 Years Later'' with Danny Moss (Avid, 2007) * ''Jady Aide'' with Alec Dankworth (Absolute, 2008)

As sideman or guest

With Alec Dankworth * ''Nebuchadnezzar'' (1994) * ''Rhythm Changes'' (1996) With

* ''Best Friends'' (1976) * ''Born on a Friday'' (1976) * ''Wordsongs'' (1978) * ''Woman to Woman'' (1989) * ''Live in Manhattan'' (2001) * ''Once Upon a Time'' (2005) With others *

, '' Windmill Tilter'' (Fontana, 1969) *

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

, ''Love Is a Five Letter Word'' (1975) *

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the ba ...

, ''Metro'' (1984) *

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, ''Crossing Over the Bridge'' (1987) *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...

, ''Jazzin' at the Pops'' (1989) *

, ''It Happens Quietly'' (2011)

Soundtracks

Film

* 1959 '' We Are the Lambeth Boys'' * 1960 '' The Criminal'' * 1960 '' Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' * 1963 '' The Servant'' * 1965 '' Darling'' * 1965 '' Return from the Ashes'' * 1965 '' Sands of the Kalahari'' * 1966 '' Morgan!'' * 1966 ''

'' * 1966 '' The Idol'' * 1967 ''

Accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by Risk assessment, unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers ...

'' * 1967 '' The Last Safari'' (French "Le Dernier safari") * 1967 ''

Fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. H ...

'' * 1968 '' Salt and Pepper'' * 1968 '' Sleep Is Lovely'' * 1968 '' The Magus'' * 1970 '' The Last Grenade'' * 1970 '' Perfect Friday'' * 1971 '' 10 Rillington Place'' * 1975 '' The Kingfisher Caper'' * 2000 '' Gangster No. 1'' * 2001 '' Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)''

Television and radio

* 1959 '' The Voodoo Factor'' * 1961 ''

Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

'' * 1961 '' The Avengers'' * 1964

Rediffusion London Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

startup theme and callsign. * 1964 "Beefeaters" (theme tune for the ITV series ''Search for a Star'') * 1965 ''

'' * 1979 '' Telford's Change'' * 1983 ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' (

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

) * 1989 '' No Strings'' * 1993 ''Money for Nothing'' (by Mike Ockrent) * 2010 '' ZingZillas'' (posthumous appearance)

References

External links

* * * * in performance with

''Beethoven with a Bass Guitar? Fine!''
John Fordham interviews Cleo Laine and John Dankworth in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 15 November 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dankworth, Johnny 1927 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Academics of Gresham College Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British male jazz composers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Composers awarded knighthoods Deaths from kidney failure in the United Kingdom Deaths from liver failure English film score composers English jazz alto saxophonists English jazz clarinetists English jazz composers English male composers English male film score composers Fontana Records artists Ivor Novello Award winners Knights Bachelor Military personnel from the London Borough of Redbridge Musicians awarded knighthoods People educated at Sir George Monoux College People from Highams Park People from Walthamstow Royal Air Force airmen