Dave Lee (Jazz musician)
| David Lee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Cyril Aarons |
| Also known as | Dave Lee |
| Born |
12 August 1926 Newington, London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, music arranger |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1940–present |
| Labels | Decca Records, EMI |
| Associated acts | I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, The Dave Lee Trio |
Dave Lee (born 12 August 1926) is a jazz pianist, and a former orchestra leader, music arranger, songwriter and film composer. In a varied musical career, he wrote the hit song "Goodness Gracious Me", was the resident musician on That Was the Week That Was, wrote the score for the movie The Masque of the Red Death, had a hit jazz album in the USA, and was a resident fixture in early episodes of The Avengers. Later in life he was instrumental in founding 102.2 Jazz FM.
Pianist, orchestra leader, arranger, songwriter and film composer, David Lee was born in Newington, London on 12 August 1926 (not 1929 or 1930 as some references give). His father Joseph was a professional photographer, and during the war was transferred to the North East to work on camouflaging military equipment. The family relocated to Whitley Bay, and it was here that David started to perform in local groups. His big break came in 1942 when he won the Melody Maker poll for best new jazz pianist. Moving to South Africa in 1947 he worked as resident musician for night clubs in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, then studied at the Johannesburg Conservatory of Music gaining a Mus.Bac.
In 1954 David Lee invited Johnny Dankworth to perform in South Africa, and it was Dankworth who persuaded him to return to England as pianist/arranger for the Johnny Dankworth band. From 1955 to 1959 Dave Lee played on all of the recordings made by the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra. David also performed with Terry and McGhee, the Buddy Tate Quartet and Jack Parnell. He also arranged for many big show business names, including Norman Wisdom, Benny Hill, Cleo Laine and Judy Garland. From 1959 he led the Dave Lee Trio who recorded a number of successful albums, including A Big New Band from Britain, which was in The Cashbox Top Ten for six weeks.
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