Roger Webb (7 April 1934 – 19 December 2002) was a British jazz pianist and composer best known for leading the Roger Webb Trio (1963–1965) and for the Roger Webb Orchestra. From the early 1970s he became a prolific composer of film scores as well as much library music for

De Wolfe Music De Wolfe Limited (previously known as Music de Wolfe, often referred to as De Wolfe Music) is a British music production company, recognised as the originator of what has become known as library music. De Wolfe Music was established by Meyer de Wo ...

and others, and his music has been used for television and theatre productions.

Early career

Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Webb was self-taught as a pianist, and first began performing during his national service with 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 ...

in Egypt.Biography, De Wolfe Music
/ref> On his return to Britain he established himself as a jazz pianist and soon bandleader, initially in the clubs of Liverpool. The Roger Webb Trio was heard regularly on the Light Programme, and appeared regularly (1963–1965) at Harrison and Gibson's Trojan Room restaurant in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, Kent. The band included Ken Baldock (bass), Roy Antis (drums) and

Johnny Fourie Jan Carel FourieMojapelo, Max. Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music', p. 290 (African Minds, 2008). (1937 – 2007) was a South African jazz guitarist born in Postmas in the Northern Cape province. Biog ...

(guitar).Richard Morton Jack. ''Labyrinth: British Jazz on Record, 1960-75'' (2024), pp. 50-51 A Spanish waiter, Manuel Linares Alvaro, was often invited by Roger to sing with the trio. At the same time Webb was working as a music director for West End theatres and was involved in the hit London production ''The Lord Chamberlain Regrets'' (1961) among other shows. He worked with

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

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, Danny Williams and others.

Recordings

The LP ''John, Paul and all that jazz'', featuring jazz arrangements of 12

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

songs and produced by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

, was issued in the US in July 1964, and in the UK in September 1964. Webb's first two LPs for the De Wolfe Music library - ''Vocal Patterns: The Roger Webb Sound'' and ''Moonshade'' were issued in 1971, featuring the vocals of Barbara Moore, and jazz-soul-funk instrumental arrangements that set the tone for many subsequent albums of library music. Webb continued to record for De Wolfe into the 1990s. ''Moonshade'' was reissued by Be With Records in 2023.

Film and TV

His film work included music for movies such as ''

One Brief Summer ''One Brief Summer'' is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Mackenzie, the first feature film he directed. It stars Felicity Gibson and Clifford Evans. The British Film Institute called it "one of many '60s films to explore a relations ...

'' (1970), ''

Bartleby "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of ''Putnam's Magazine'' and reprinted with minor textual ...

'' (1970), '' Burke & Hare'' (1971), ''

Au Pair Girls ''Au Pair Girls'' is a 1972 British sex comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Gabrielle Drake, Astrid Frank, Me Me Lai and Nancie Wait. Part of the British 1970s softcore sex comedy genre, the film also includes appearances by mains ...

'' (1972), '' Bedtime with Rosie'' (1974), '' The Amorous Milkman'' (1975), '' Intimate Games'' (1976), ''

What's Up Nurse! ''What's Up Nurse!'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed and written by Derek Ford and starring Nicholas Field, Felicity Devonshire and John Le Mesurier. It tells the story of the adventures of a young doctor in a hospital. The sequ ...

'' (1977), '' The Godsend'' (1980), '' Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story'' (1981), '' The Boy in Blue'' (1986), '' He's My Girl'' (1987), and '' Riders'' (1993). His TV work includes the opening themes of ''

Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Ja ...

'', '' Miss Jones and Son'', ''

Hammer House of Horror ''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British horror anthology television series produced in Britain in 1980. Created by Hammer Films in association with Cinema Arts International and ITC Entertainment, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, origin ...

'', ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' and ''

Paradise Postponed ''Paradise Postponed'' (1986) is a British 11-episode TV serial based on the 1985 novel by writer John Mortimer. The series covered a span of 30 years of postwar British history, set in a small village. Plot The series explores the mystery of ...

'', and the opening theme used from series 2 onwards of ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from ''Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple Geo ...

'', as well as incidental music for ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...

'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' and ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

''. With

Geoff Love Geoffrey Love (4 September 1917 – 8 July 1991) was a prolific British arranger and composer of easy listening and pop versions of film themes, famous in the late 1950s under the stage name Manuel and the Music of the Mountains. Early years ...

he provided orchestral arrangements for '' The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray''. He also worked with Dee Shipman on various songs and the music and lyrics for three musical concepts: ''A Kid For Two Farthings'' (based on the 1955 film of the Wolf Mankowitz modern classic story); ''The Last Touring Love Show''; and ''Emma'' (based on the life of

Emma Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becom ...

Awards

His awards include the UNICEF Danny Kaye Award at the International Song Contest for his song ''Make Your Own Rainbow'', with lyrics by

Norman Newell Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer and lyricist, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicia ...

, and first prize in the Paris International Film Festival for his score for the 1980 film ''The Godsend''. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for the television production ''Death of a Centrefold'' (1981).'Roger Webb', obituary, ''The Times'', 8 February 2003, p. 40

Personal life

Webb married the actress Margot Ley in September 1968. He had partially written a musical, ''Beloved Emma'', when he was taken ill with a brain tumour. He died in December 2002 in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

at the age of 68, survived by his wife and daughter.

Discography

* ''John, Paul and all that Jazz'', The Roger Webb Trio. Parlophone, PMC 1233 (1964) *"A-side", 1965 single produced by

* ''Vocal Patterns'', The Roger Webb Sound. De Wolfe DWLP 3182 (1970) * ''Moonshade''. De Wolfe DWLP 3212 (1971) * ''Before or After'', (with

Johnny Hawksworth Johnny Hawksworth (2 February 1924 – 13 February 2009) was a British jazz bass player and composer of library music widely used for television. He lived and worked in Australia from 1984. Biography Born in London in 1924, Hawksworth in ...

). Sylvestor SMCLP 532 (1971) * ''Free as Air''. De Wolfe DWLP 3229 (1972) * ''Roger Webb Plays Gershwin'', The Roger Webb Trio. Music for Pleasure MFP 50099 (1973) * ''Music by Roger Webb'', Paul Dupont and his Orchestra. Chappell Recorded Music LPC 1062 (1974) * ''Awakening''. De Wolfe DWLP 3302 (1975) * ''Like a Friend''. De Wolfe DWLP 3312 (1975) * ''Moments''. De Wolfe DWLP 3294 (1975) * ''Friday Girl''. Rouge RMSLP 121 (1979) * ''Natural Beauty''. De Wolfe DWLP 3462 (1981) * ''The Magic Of Cole Porter'', Roger Webb Quartet. Warwick Records WW 5134 (1982) * ''Midnight Magic'', Roger Webb and his Orchestra. Warwick Records WW 5133 (1982) * ''Remember''. Rouge RMSLP 144 (1982) * ''Who's Counting'', with the Soul City Orchestra. De Wolfe DWLP 3480 (1982) * ''Changing Seasons''. Rouge RMSLP 175 (1987) * ''Always and Forever'', music for orchestra. De Wolfe DWCD 065 (1989) * ''Off the Cuff'', music for piano. De Wolfe DWCD 081 (1990)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Roger 1934 births 2002 deaths English jazz pianists English male jazz musicians Musicians from Bristol