Edmundo Ros
Encyclopedia
Edmundo William Ros OBE (7 December 1910 – 21 October 2011) was a Trinidad
ian musician, vocalist, arranger
and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra, had an extensive recording career and owned one of London's leading nightclubs.
, Trinidad
. His mother was a black Venezuela
n and his father was of Scottish
origins. Ros was the eldest of four children: he had two sisters, Ruby and Eleanor, followed by a half-brother, Hugo. His parents separated after Hugo was born, and after various false steps Edmundo was enrolled in a military academy. There he became interested in music and learned to play the euphonium
. From 1927 to 1937 his family lived in Caracas
, Venezuela
. He played in the Venezuelan Military Academy Band as well as being a tympanist in the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra
. Later he received a music scholarship from the government, under which from 1937 to 1942 he studied harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music
, London
. At the same time he was the vocalist and percussionist in Don Marino Baretto’s band at the Embassy Club, and also recorded several sides as a sideman to Fats Waller
, who was visiting London in 1938.
In the New Year's Honours List for 2000 Ros, then aged 90, was appointed to the Order of the British Empire
. He turned 100
in December 2010.
Ros was a Freeman of the City of London
, having been admitted to the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Poulters on 5 January 1965 and subsequently clothed with the Livery of the Poulters' Company on 22 June 1965. He was a Mason, a member of Sprig of Acacia Lodge No 41, Javea, Spain
.
Ros married twice: Britt Johansen in 1950, Susan in 1971. The first marriage produced two children, Douglas and Louisa. He designed and built a large house in Page Street, Mill Hill
, London NW7, which he named Edritt House, after himself and his first wife. The house still stands, next to Copthall Girls' School.
band, performing as Edmundo Ros and His Rumba Band. In 1941 he cut his first tracks with Parlophone
, the first number being 'Los Hijos de Buda'. The band played regularly at the Coconut Grove club in Regent Street
, attracting members of high society
. Ros's bands were always based in London nightclubs or restaurants. The first was the Cosmo Club in Wardour Street
; then followed the St Regis Hotel, Cork Street, the Coconut Grove and the Bagatelle Restaurant. At the Bagatelle a visit from Princess Elizabeth
and party made his name. The future queen danced in public for the first time to Edmundo's music. In later years his orchestra was often invited to play at Buckingham Palace
.
By 1946 Ros owned a club, a dance school, a record company and an artistes' agency. His band grew to 16 musicians and was renamed Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra. His number 'The Wedding Samba', 1949, sold three million 78s. His album Rhythms of The South (1958) was one of the first high-quality LP stereo records
: it sold a million copies. He was with Decca Records
from 1944 to 1974, and altogether he made more than 800 recordings.
In 1951 Ros bought the Coconut Grove on Regent Street
and in 1964 renamed it Edmundo Ros's Dinner and Supper Club. The club became popular for its atmosphere and music, but it closed in 1965, when legalised casino gambling had drawn away many of its best customers.
During the 1950s and 1960s the Ros orchestra appeared frequently on BBC Radio
, continuing into the early 1970s on Radio Two Ballroom.
In 1975, during Ros's seventh tour of Japan
, his band's Musicians' Union
shop steward tried to usurp Ros's authority by making arrangements with venues behind his back. Upon their return to the UK Ros organised a celebratory dinner after a BBC recording session and announced the disbanding of the orchestra. He destroyed almost all the charts (arrangement sheets), which conclusively ended the orchestra's existence.
Ros retired and moved to Jávea
, Alicante
, Spain. He gave his last public performance on 8 January 1994.
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
ian musician, vocalist, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra, had an extensive recording career and owned one of London's leading nightclubs.
Life
Ros was born in Port of SpainPort of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. His mother was a black Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n and his father was of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
origins. Ros was the eldest of four children: he had two sisters, Ruby and Eleanor, followed by a half-brother, Hugo. His parents separated after Hugo was born, and after various false steps Edmundo was enrolled in a military academy. There he became interested in music and learned to play the euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
. From 1927 to 1937 his family lived in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. He played in the Venezuelan Military Academy Band as well as being a tympanist in the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra
Venezuela Symphony orchestra
The Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela was founded by a group of 26 professional musicians met at the invitation of the maestro Vicente Emilio Sojo following the dissolution on January, 1929 of the Union Filarmónica Nacional.This meeting took place January 15, 1930 in the Caracas Musical Declamation...
. Later he received a music scholarship from the government, under which from 1937 to 1942 he studied harmony, composition and orchestration at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. At the same time he was the vocalist and percussionist in Don Marino Baretto’s band at the Embassy Club, and also recorded several sides as a sideman to Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, who was visiting London in 1938.
In the New Year's Honours List for 2000 Ros, then aged 90, was appointed to the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. He turned 100
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
in December 2010.
Ros was a Freeman of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, having been admitted to the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Poulters on 5 January 1965 and subsequently clothed with the Livery of the Poulters' Company on 22 June 1965. He was a Mason, a member of Sprig of Acacia Lodge No 41, Javea, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Ros married twice: Britt Johansen in 1950, Susan in 1971. The first marriage produced two children, Douglas and Louisa. He designed and built a large house in Page Street, Mill Hill
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
, London NW7, which he named Edritt House, after himself and his first wife. The house still stands, next to Copthall Girls' School.
Orchestra
In August 1940 Ros formed his own rumbaCuban Rumba
In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Africans brought to Cuba as slaves as well as Spanish colonizers...
band, performing as Edmundo Ros and His Rumba Band. In 1941 he cut his first tracks with Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
, the first number being 'Los Hijos de Buda'. The band played regularly at the Coconut Grove club in Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, attracting members of high society
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
. Ros's bands were always based in London nightclubs or restaurants. The first was the Cosmo Club in Wardour Street
Wardour Street
Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...
; then followed the St Regis Hotel, Cork Street, the Coconut Grove and the Bagatelle Restaurant. At the Bagatelle a visit from Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and party made his name. The future queen danced in public for the first time to Edmundo's music. In later years his orchestra was often invited to play at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
.
By 1946 Ros owned a club, a dance school, a record company and an artistes' agency. His band grew to 16 musicians and was renamed Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra. His number 'The Wedding Samba', 1949, sold three million 78s. His album Rhythms of The South (1958) was one of the first high-quality LP stereo records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
: it sold a million copies. He was with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
from 1944 to 1974, and altogether he made more than 800 recordings.
In 1951 Ros bought the Coconut Grove on Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
and in 1964 renamed it Edmundo Ros's Dinner and Supper Club. The club became popular for its atmosphere and music, but it closed in 1965, when legalised casino gambling had drawn away many of its best customers.
During the 1950s and 1960s the Ros orchestra appeared frequently on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, continuing into the early 1970s on Radio Two Ballroom.
In 1975, during Ros's seventh tour of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, his band's Musicians' Union
Musicians' Union (UK)
-About the MU:The Musicians' Union is an organisation which represents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the UK music business.-Campaigns:The MU stages regular campaigns in relation to relevant musical and industrial issues...
shop steward tried to usurp Ros's authority by making arrangements with venues behind his back. Upon their return to the UK Ros organised a celebratory dinner after a BBC recording session and announced the disbanding of the orchestra. He destroyed almost all the charts (arrangement sheets), which conclusively ended the orchestra's existence.
Ros retired and moved to Jávea
Xàbia
Xàbia is a coastal town located in the comarca of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rocky headlands, the town has become a very popular small seaside resort and market town.-Geography:Xàbia is situated in...
, Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Spain. He gave his last public performance on 8 January 1994.
Harlequin CDs
This set of ten CDs includes all the known 78s recorded up to and including 1951; the source material was the 78rpm collection of Christian af Rosenborg; the notes were by Pepe Luhtala; the remastering by Charlie Crump. The series was never completed, but most of the later Ros material is available on LP or CD. Some of the Harlequin series is available on Naxos. Although the title of these CDs describes his group as 'Rumba Band', in the post-war period it expanded to 16 members, and was known as 'Edmundo Ros and his Orchestra'.- Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band 1939–1941, Harlequin CD 15. Includes about 8 minutes of Edmundo Ros discussing the early days of his career.
- Tropical Magic: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vol 2 1942–1944. Harlequin CD 50. Includes four sets of Edmundo Ros continuing his autobiographic reminiscences.
- Cuban Love Song: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vol 3 1945. Harlequin CD 73.
- Chiquita Banana: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vol 4 1946–1947. Harlequin CD 105.
- La Comparsa: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vol 5 1948. Harlequin CD 129.
- Chocolate Whisky and Vanilla Gin: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vol 6 1948–1949. Harlequin CD 147.
- Mambo Jambo: Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band vols 7 & 8 1949–1950. Harlequin CD 164/165.
- Playtime in Brazil: Edmundo Ros and his Orchestra vols 9 & 10 1951. Harlequin CD 180/181.
10" LPs
Decca issued an initial series of 33rpm 10-inch LPs in the early 1950s, consisting of previously issued 78rpm sides. Labels were Decca (UK and Commonwealth), and London (a subsidiary) in the USA.- Latin-American Rhythms, Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band, Decca LF 1002. Latin Rhythms, Edmundo Ros and his Orchestra, London 155, is identical in content.
- Mambo with Ros. Decca LF 1038, and London LPB 341.
- Samba with Ros. Decca LF, and London LB 367.
- Latin-American Rhythms with Ros. Decca LP 1051, and London LPB 368.
- Ros presents Calypsos. Decca LF 1067, and London LB 367.
- Dance the Samba. Decca LF, and London LB 742.
12" LPs
Three labels, all owned by Decca: Decca in UK & Commonwealth; London in USA, and Richmond, a cut-price reissue label in USA.- Latin-American Novelties. London LL 1090.
- Ros Mambos. London LL 1092. Decca 1956
- Latin Melodies. London LL 1093.
- Ros Album of Sambas. London LL 1117. Richmond B 20032 has same content, but only 10 numbers where Decca/London has 14.
- Ros Album of Calypsos. Decca LK 4102. 1956
- Ros Album of Baions. Decca LK 4111. One side baiãoBaiãoThe baião is a Northeast Brazilian rhythmic formula that became the basis of a wide range of music. Forró, côco, and embolada are clear examples...
s; the other boleroBoleroBolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s. - Latin Carnival. Richmond B 20023.
- Rhythms Of the South (Decca 1958),
- Calypso Man (Decca 1958),
- Perfect for Dancing (Decca 1958),
- Ros on Broadway (Decca 1959),
- Hollywood Cha Cha Cha (Decca 1959),
- Bongos From the South (Decca 1961),
- Dance Again (Decca 1962),
- Sing and Dance with Edmundo Ros (Decca 1963),
- Heath versus Ros (Decca Phase 4 1964),
- Heath versus Ros, Round Two (Decca Phase 4 1967),
- This is My World (Decca 1972),
- Ros Remembers (Decca 1974),
- Edmundo Ros Today (Decca 1978),
- Show Boat/Porgy & Bess, LP
- Ros at the Opera
- Broadway goes Latin
- New Rhythms of the South
- Latin Boss...Señor Ros
- Arriba
- Latin Hits I Missed
- Hair Goes Latin
- Heading South of the Border
- The Latin King
- This is My World
- Caribbean Ros
- Sunshine and Olé!
- Give My Regards to Broadway
- That Latin Sound
- Latin Favourites (Gold Crown 1979),
- Latin Song and Dance Men (Pye 1980),
- Music For the Millions (Decca 1983),
- Strings Latino (London 1985),
- Latin Magic (London 1987),
- That Latin Sound (Pulse 1997)
- Doin' the Samba, CD
- Rhythms of the South/New Rhythms of the South, CD
- Good! Good! Good! CD
- Strings Latino/Latin Hits I Missed CD
External links
- http://www.edmundoros.com
- http://www.rfsoc.org.uk/eros.shtml