Jazz Articles about John Dankworth

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John Dankworth: What The Dickens! / Off Duty!

by Duncan Heining
November 1, 2012

John DankworthWhat The Dickens! / Off Duty!Dutton Vocalion2012 (1963/1969)This reissue contains two very different prospects. Off Duty!is really Dankworth-lite. What The Dickens!, by contrast, is the real thing and one of four fine suites the orchestra recorded in the '60s-that's counting wife Cleo Laine's Shakespeare and All That Jazz(Fontana, 1964) here as well. Dankworth's work often invites admiration in critics first and only pleasure and deeper satisfactions later. Perhaps to some, he ...

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Farewell, Sir John

by Jack Bowers
March 4, 2010

Some of us are old enough to remember when Sir John Dankworth was simply Johnny Dankworth, and quite simply one of the finest jazz musicians Great Britain has ever produced. Johnny became Sir John in 2006 when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, nine years after his wife, the marvelous singer Cleo Laine, was made a Dame of the British Empire.

As befits a Knight of the Realm, Dankworth, who died February 6 at age 82, wore many hats during ...