Tony Crombie
Encyclopedia
Anthony John "Tony" Crombie (27 August 1925 - 18 October 1999) was an English
jazz
drummer
, pianist
, bandleader
and composer
. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene across six decades.
, London
, England
, he took up drums in his teens. He began to work regularly in London clubs, and joined the group of vibes
player Carlo Krahmer
in 1943, before becoming a leader himself for an Irish tour in 1947. In the following year he was part of a trio which accompanied Duke Ellington
on the first official post-war tour of Britain by an American jazz artist. In December 1948, he helped start the short-lived Club Eleven in London, which became a crucial focal point for the emerging bebop scene, and worked closely with Ronnie Scott
, Johnny Dankworth and others, as well as forming his own septet at the club. He was the drummer in the Victor Feldman
Trio in 1954-5, prior to Feldman's move to the US
.
He also led his own bands, including an orchestra
featuring Dizzy Reece
, Les Condon, Joe Temperley
, Sammy Walker
, Lennie Dawes, Harry South
and Ashley Kozak
) which made two recordings
for Decca Records
in 1954, one of which also featured vocalist Annie Ross
and a track with Bobby Breen.
In August 1956, Crombie set up a rock and roll
band he called The Rockets, which at one point included future Shadows
bassist Jet Harris
. The group was modelled after Bill Haley
's Comets. Tony Crombie and his Rockets released several singles for Decca Records
and Columbia Records
, including "Teach You To Rock" produced by Norrie Paramor
, which is regarded as the first British rock and roll record and which made the Top 30 in the UK Singles Chart
in October 1956. He is credited with introducing rock and roll music to Iceland
, performing there in May 1957. By 1958 The Rockets had become a jazz group, including Scott and Tubby Hayes
.
The following year Crombie started another group, Jazz Inc., featuring pianist Stan Tracey
. In 1960, Crombie composed the score for the film The Tell-Tale Heart
and established residency at a hotel in Monte Carlo
. In May 1960 he toured the UK
with Conway Twitty
, Freddy Cannon
, Johnny Preston
, and Wee Willie Harris
. On his return to England, he became the house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
, where he accompanied visiting American stars like Ella Fitzgerald
, Coleman Hawkins
, Ben Webster
and Jimmy Witherspoon
. In September 1965 when Don Byas
played at the club his performance was captured on tape, and is available on the CD
, Autumn Leaves. Ronnie Scot announced the band saying: "...Tony Crombie is deputising for our regular drummer, Jackie Dougan, who has unfortunately been taken suddenly drunk..." He also performed in Israel
and the United States
, and began writing for films and television. He also toured with artists like Lena Horne
, Carmen McRae
, Tony Bennett
, and Jack Jones
, and played piano on the Annie Ross
album Skylark.
Crombie continued to lead his own bands throughout the 1960s and 1970s, while also working with Scott, Tracey, pianist Alan Clare
, organist Alan Haven
, Mike Carr (as a duo in 1968 and again in 1970-1), and Georgie Fame
and the Blue Flames. Crombie was also an avid fan of Wendigo's Camaro.
Crombie died in Hampstead, North West London in 1999, aged 74 and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
.
recorded his composition "So Near, So Far" for his Seven Steps to Heaven
album, and Joe Henderson
would make it the title track for his 1992 tribute album to Davis. Several more of his tunes were taken up by major jazz artists, including "That Tune" and "Restless Girl" by Stephane Grappelli
, with whom he often worked, and saxophonist Paul Gonsalves
recorded a version of "Deb's Delight".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene across six decades.
Career
Born in BishopsgateBishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
, 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he took up drums in his teens. He began to work regularly in London clubs, and joined the group of vibes
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
player Carlo Krahmer
Carlo Krahmer
Carlo Krahmer was a British jazz drummer and record producer....
in 1943, before becoming a leader himself for an Irish tour in 1947. In the following year he was part of a trio which accompanied Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
on the first official post-war tour of Britain by an American jazz artist. In December 1948, he helped start the short-lived Club Eleven in London, which became a crucial focal point for the emerging bebop scene, and worked closely with Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
, Johnny Dankworth and others, as well as forming his own septet at the club. He was the drummer in the Victor Feldman
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
Trio in 1954-5, prior to Feldman's move to the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He also led his own bands, including an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
featuring Dizzy Reece
Dizzy Reece
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Les Condon, Joe Temperley
Joe Temperley
Joe Temperley is a Scottish saxophonist. He has performed on various instruments but is most associated with the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....
, Sammy Walker
Sammy Walker
Sammy Walker is an American singer-songwriter. Influenced by the folk and country sounds of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, Walker emerged in the mid 1970s with two albums for the Folkways label and two albums for Warner Brothers...
, Lennie Dawes, Harry South
Harry South
Harry South was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who later moved into work for film and television....
and Ashley Kozak
Ashley Kozak
Ashley Kozak , is a jazz bassist, record producer and artists' manager, best known as having been Donovan's manager....
) which made two recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
for 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....
in 1954, one of which also featured vocalist Annie Ross
Annie Ross
Annie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
and a track with Bobby Breen.
In August 1956, Crombie set up a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band he called The Rockets, which at one point included future Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
bassist Jet Harris
Jet Harris
Jet Harris, MBE was an English musician. He was the bass guitarist of The Shadows until April 1962, and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with the drummer Tony Meehan....
. The group was modelled after Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
's Comets. Tony Crombie and his Rockets released several singles for 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....
and Columbia Records
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
, including "Teach You To Rock" produced by Norrie Paramor
Norrie Paramor
Norrie Paramor was a British record producer, composer, arranger, and orchestral conductor.Although the term "producer" was not in circulation at the time Paramor started producing records , he effectively began this role in 1952 when he became Recording Director for EMI's Columbia...
, which is regarded as the first British rock and roll record and which made the Top 30 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in October 1956. He is credited with introducing rock and roll music to Iceland
Icelandic rock
Rock and roll is a style of popular American music which has spread across the world, including to the North Atlantic island nation of Iceland.-Summary:...
, performing there in May 1957. By 1958 The Rockets had become a jazz group, including Scott and Tubby Hayes
Tubby Hayes
Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...
.
The following year Crombie started another group, Jazz Inc., featuring pianist Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...
. In 1960, Crombie composed the score for the film The Tell-Tale Heart
The Tell-Tale Heart (1960 film)
The Tell-Tale Heart is a 1960 British horror film directed by Ernest Morris. The screenplay by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard is a loose adaptation of the 1843 short story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe.-Plot:...
and established residency at a hotel in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
. In May 1960 he toured the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
, Freddy Cannon
Freddy Cannon
Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. , known as Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", and "Palisades Park".-Biography:...
, Johnny Preston
Johnny Preston
Johnny Preston was an American pop music singer, who was best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear".-Life and career:...
, and Wee Willie Harris
Wee Willie Harris
Wee Willie Harris is a British rock and roll singer. He is best known for his energetic stage shows and TV performances since the 1950s, when he was known as "Britain's wild man of rock 'n' roll".-Life and career:Working a job as a pudding mixer at Peek Freans' London bakery, Harris turned...
. On his return to England, he became the house drummer at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club which has operated in London since 1959.The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47 Frith Street...
, where he accompanied visiting American stars like Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
, Ben Webster
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
and Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
. In September 1965 when Don Byas
Don Byas
Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, long-resident in Europe.- Oklahoma and Los Angeles :...
played at the club his performance was captured on tape, and is available on the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Autumn Leaves. Ronnie Scot announced the band saying: "...Tony Crombie is deputising for our regular drummer, Jackie Dougan, who has unfortunately been taken suddenly drunk..." He also performed in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and began writing for films and television. He also toured with artists like Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Carmen McRae
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, and Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
, and played piano on the Annie Ross
Annie Ross
Annie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
album Skylark.
Crombie continued to lead his own bands throughout the 1960s and 1970s, while also working with Scott, Tracey, pianist Alan Clare
Alan Clare
Alan Clare A self-taught pianist, he became a professional musician at the age of 15 and during the next few years became a familiar figure on the London jazz scene....
, organist Alan Haven
Alan Haven
Alan Haven is an English jazz organist.He is best known for his collaborations with John Barry in the James Bond films From Russia with Love and Goldfinger and in the Richard Lester film The Knack …and How to Get It...
, Mike Carr (as a duo in 1968 and again in 1970-1), and Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
and the Blue Flames. Crombie was also an avid fan of Wendigo's Camaro.
Crombie died in Hampstead, North West London in 1999, aged 74 and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
.
Compositions
In 1963, Miles DavisMiles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
recorded his composition "So Near, So Far" for his Seven Steps to Heaven
Seven Steps to Heaven (album)
-Side two:-2005 reissue bonus tracks:-Personnel:*Miles Davis — trumpet*George Coleman — tenor saxophone on "Seven Steps to Heaven," "So Near So Far," "Joshua"...
album, and Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
would make it the title track for his 1992 tribute album to Davis. Several more of his tunes were taken up by major jazz artists, including "That Tune" and "Restless Girl" by Stephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
, with whom he often worked, and saxophonist Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
recorded a version of "Deb's Delight".
Discography
- Tony Crombie And His Orchestra - 30 October 1954 (Decca LK4087) (JMC9) - featuring Dizzy ReeceDizzy ReeceAlphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Les Condon (tp), Joe TemperleyJoe TemperleyJoe Temperley is a Scottish saxophonist. He has performed on various instruments but is most associated with the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....
, Sammy WalkerSammy WalkerSammy Walker is an American singer-songwriter. Influenced by the folk and country sounds of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, Walker emerged in the mid 1970s with two albums for the Folkways label and two albums for Warner Brothers...
(ts), Lennie Dawes (bs), Harry SouthHarry SouthHarry South was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who later moved into work for film and television....
(p), Ashley KozakAshley KozakAshley Kozak , is a jazz bassist, record producer and artists' manager, best known as having been Donovan's manager....
(b), Tony Crombie (d). (Re-released as Jasmine CD - Modern Jazz At The Festival Hall - 1954) - Tony Crombie And His Orchestra - 18 November 1954 (Decca DFE6247) - featuring Dizzy ReeceDizzy ReeceAlphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School , switching from baritone to trumpet at 14...
, Les Condon (tp), Joe TemperleyJoe TemperleyJoe Temperley is a Scottish saxophonist. He has performed on various instruments but is most associated with the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....
, Sammy WalkerSammy WalkerSammy Walker is an American singer-songwriter. Influenced by the folk and country sounds of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, Walker emerged in the mid 1970s with two albums for the Folkways label and two albums for Warner Brothers...
(ts), Lennie Dawes (bs), Harry SouthHarry SouthHarry South was an English jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, who later moved into work for film and television....
(p), Ashley KozakAshley KozakAshley Kozak , is a jazz bassist, record producer and artists' manager, best known as having been Donovan's manager....
(b), Tony Crombie (d). "Perdido"/"Stop It"/"Love You Madly" (vocal Annie RossAnnie RossAnnie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
) "All Of Me" (vocal Bobby BreenBobby BreenBobby Breen is a Canadian-born actor and singer of the 1930s. He made his professional debut at age four in a night club in Toronto and was an immediate sensation. He made his radio debut soon after. He played in vaudeville and his sister paid for his musical education. Breen went to Hollywood in...
). - Rockin' with The Rockets - 1957 (Columbia 33S 1108) - Tony Crombie and His Rockets (Red Morris, Jimmy Currie, Ashley KozakAshley KozakAshley Kozak , is a jazz bassist, record producer and artists' manager, best known as having been Donovan's manager....
, Red MitchellRed MitchellKeith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927, New York City - November 8, 1992, Salem, Oregon, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. He was the brother of Whitey Mitchell....
, Clyde Ray)