Dick Charlesworth

Clarinetist and saxophonist Dick Charlesworth remains to be perhaps one of the most popular and enduring exponents of the original jazz renaissance that captivated United kingdom viewers in the pre-Beatles period. Blessed in Sheffield on January 8, 1932, Charlesworth arrived a job being a clerk using the Ministry of Labour in 1948. The positioning relocated him to Hull and finally to London, where in 1952 he obtained his initial clarinet, afterwards doubling on alto saxophone in an area dance music group. After a calendar year moonlighting with Jim Wheeler’s Jazzmen, Charlesworth founded his very own group in 1957 — upon declaring best honors in the South London Jazz Music group Competition and vying for ITV’s Country wide Jiving Tournament, the band agreed upon to the Melodisc label, which renamed them Dick Charlesworth’s Town Gents and equipped each member within a pinstriped fit and bowler head wear. THE TOWN Gents’ raucous, flamboyant revise of the traditional Dixieland sound suit perfectly using their Latin motto “Dum vivimus vivamus” — i.e, “Even though we live, why don’t we take it easy” — even though they hardly ever achieved the same business peaks while contemporaries like Acker Bilk or Chris Barber, in 1961 they finished third in Jazz Information’ annual visitors’ poll keeping track of down Britain’s best acts. Charlesworth’s very clear tone and elegant phrasing weren’t the town Gents’ sole power — trumpeter Bob Experts (who later on founded the Robert Experts Artists’ Company) and trombonist Dave Keir had been also much adored by viewers and critics as well, as well as the group also gained acclaim for the range of its repertoire, which spanned from familiar swing-era specifications to long-forgotten New Orleans staples. When Beatlemania spelled the finish from the trad jazz revival, Charlesworth dissolved the town Gents and spent the rest from the 1960s fronting dance rings aboard the sea liners Canberra and Orsova. After spending a lot of the following 10 years operating a pub in Spain, he came back to London in 1977, collaborating with trumpeter Keith Smith for 3 years before partnering with trumpeter Pole Mason. Charlesworth was later on a fixture from the Legends of English Trad package trips structured by drummer John Petters, and in addition enjoyed a protracted collaboration with trumpeter Alan Littlejohn — furthermore, he frequently made an appearance for the BBC Radio series Jazz Rating, and continued carrying out live well into his seventies. He passed away Apr 15, 2008.