John Dankworth was not only one of the most important British jazz musicians and composers of the post-war era but among the few of his generation to make the American musicians who inspired him sit up and take notice.
Dankworth died on February 6 at the age of 82.
He was admired by and played with Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Clark Terry, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and his band's performance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival was reviewed as one of the highlights of the event.
A notable populariser of jazz in partnership with Cleo Laine - his wife, muse and musical partner for more than half a century - Dankworth was a regular performer on television, radio and in concert.
He was also tirelessly involved in music education, largely through the summer school at the Stables Theatre, which he and Laine established in a disused stable block in the grounds of their home near Wavendon in Buckinghamshire. He was also a visiting professor at London's Gresham College, where he gave free public lectures and devoted generous energy to working with young musicians and youth orchestras.
Dankworth himself was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he played the clarinet and kept discreetly quiet about doubling on saxophone with dance bands and jazz groups.
