Max Harris (15 September 1918 – 13 March 2004)
- accessed 22 May 2012 was a British film and television composer and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

. He played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

and

piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido D ...

.John Chilton ''Who's Who of British Jazz'', London: Continuum, 2004, p. 165

Biography and career

Born in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England, into a Jewish family; his father was a tailor from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, and his mother had emigrated from

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

."In Memory of Max Harris"
, Jazz Professional Harris was raised in London. He originally embarked on a career in dance bands and as a jazz musician,Spencer Leig

''The Independent'', 25 March 2004 working as a pianist for the bands of Stan Atkins and Teddy Foster in the late 1930s, although in his late teens he was a trumpeter with Lew Foster. During his war service, Harris became a captain in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and d ...

. Post-war, Harris worked aboard the ''

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...

'' on six cruises, and in groups led by clarinettist Carl Barriteau and drummer Jack Parnell. He was in the pit band for Parnell's ''Fancy Free'' review in 1951, and remained with Parnell after the show's short run working as an arranger and composer. He left in 1954 to join Cyril Stapleton BBC Show Band. An arranger for visiting American singers such as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, 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, phrasing, timing, i ...

and Frank Sinatra, he wrote jingles for commercials in the later 1950s. Harris' theme music for the

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

series ''

The Strange World of Gurney Slade ''The Strange World of Gurney Slade'' is a surreal six-part British television comedy series devised by Anthony Newley and made by ATV, first transmitted by the ITV network between 22 October and 26 November 1960. Newley devised the central con ...

'' (1960) reached number 11 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and still resurfaces in fresh contexts. Harris also provided the theme music for the

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...

(LWT) TV series ''The Gold Robbers'' (1969), the

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

science-fiction series '' Doomwatch'' (1970–72), the LWT drama anthology series ''Big Brother'' (1970), the LWT police drama series ''

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London, Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the s ...

'' (1972), the ITV comedy series ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade poli ...

'' (1977) and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

serial ''

A Horseman Riding By ''A Horseman Riding By'' is a sequence of 3 novels by R. F. Delderfield written between 1966 and 1968. It starts in 1902 at the tail end of the Boer War and is continued in the sequels to end in 1965. The first book is set in Devon in the early ...

'' (1978). Harris contributed the themes for several series featuring

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...

, such as ''

Porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

'' and ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot br ...

'', and worked on the

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), '' The Singing Detective'' (1 ...

serial ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The se ...

'' (1986), which included arranging and performing its accordion-based main theme. The Max Harris Group provided the music for the fourth series of ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The fo ...

'' (1968), and he wrote the theme tune in

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

style for Radio 4's '' The Attractive Young Rabbi'' (1999–2002). His film work included the scores to ''

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 19 ...

'' (1969), the film version of ''

On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Desp ...

'' (1971), ''

One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing ''One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing'' is a 1975 comedy film set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution ...

'' (1975), and '' Carry On England'' (1976). He was also music director on several jazz albums issued during the 1970s which partnered violinists

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fir ...

and

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Max 1918 births 2004 deaths British film score composers British male film score composers British music arrangers British television composers Musicians from Bournemouth British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Service Corps officers 20th-century British male musicians