Roger Rae
Encyclopedia
Roger Hughes Rae was a Scottish trombonist (especially jazz and big band), a composer, an arranger and a musical director.
Roger started playing trombone in the Coatbridge
Brass Band and spent much of his time as a student at Glasgow University playing jazz and fixing gigs. (George Penman was one of his early associates and Penman's band celebrated 50 years in the business in July 2009. Unfortunately Roger was too ill to attend the celebrations and George himself died shortly afterwards.)
He held a Diploma from Lille and while it is certain that he spent some time in France as a student (and was impressively fluent in both French and German) there have been many stories about his time there... Spending his 21st birthday in a country farmhouse where the inhabitants gave him their bread and wine while they went hungry... Jumping a train and going AWOL after being mistakenly conscripted into the French Army and narrowly missing being sent to the war in Algeria... and that's just a start...
When Roger came back from France he joined the great sixties jazz revival down in London and played for Monty Sunshine
and Terry Lightfoot
's bands and for Dick Charlesworth
's City Gents, before returning to Glasgow as Principal Trombone in the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra.
Leaving his young family in Scotland he came south in 1974 and joined the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, touring with them for several years before becoming director of the 'Night Out Theatre Restaurant' in Birmingham - during this time he was proud to direct a Royal Command Performance before HRH Princess Anne. The lure of disco finally finished the club off in 1985 and Roger returned to life on the road with the SLO, and depping with many other bands - including the BBC Big Band
.
His association with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra finally ended in 2005 but he continued playing trombone in the Nick Ross Orchestra - where some of his former SLO colleagues still keep their chops in excellent professional playing order...
Roger had an association with school music teaching for many years and most trombone players in the Midlands will have been taught by, helped by or inspired by him. While all musicians have to think seriously about making money to pay the bills, he turned out on a regular basis for local bands and projects for nothing or for the price of the petrol if he thought it was the right thing to do.
He died at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley after undergoing treatment for leukemia.
Roger started playing trombone in the Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
Brass Band and spent much of his time as a student at Glasgow University playing jazz and fixing gigs. (George Penman was one of his early associates and Penman's band celebrated 50 years in the business in July 2009. Unfortunately Roger was too ill to attend the celebrations and George himself died shortly afterwards.)
He held a Diploma from Lille and while it is certain that he spent some time in France as a student (and was impressively fluent in both French and German) there have been many stories about his time there... Spending his 21st birthday in a country farmhouse where the inhabitants gave him their bread and wine while they went hungry... Jumping a train and going AWOL after being mistakenly conscripted into the French Army and narrowly missing being sent to the war in Algeria... and that's just a start...
When Roger came back from France he joined the great sixties jazz revival down in London and played for Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine was an English jazz clarinetist, whose main claim to fame was his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959...
and Terry Lightfoot
Terry Lightfoot
Terry Lightfoot is a British clarinettist and bandleader, and together with Chris Barber, Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball was one of the leading members of the trad jazz generation of British jazzmen.-Early life:Lightfoot started his musical career as a vocalist during school-life, singing popular songs...
's bands and for Dick Charlesworth
Dick Charlesworth
Richard Anthony "Dick" Charlesworth was an English jazz clarinettist and bandleader.-Biography:Charlesworth was born and brought up in Sheffield and attended King Edward VII School. At 16, he became a clerk in the Ministry of Labour and was in due course transferred to London. He bought a clarinet...
's City Gents, before returning to Glasgow as Principal Trombone in the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra.
Leaving his young family in Scotland he came south in 1974 and joined the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, touring with them for several years before becoming director of the 'Night Out Theatre Restaurant' in Birmingham - during this time he was proud to direct a Royal Command Performance before HRH Princess Anne. The lure of disco finally finished the club off in 1985 and Roger returned to life on the road with the SLO, and depping with many other bands - including the BBC Big Band
BBC Big Band
The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...
.
His association with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra finally ended in 2005 but he continued playing trombone in the Nick Ross Orchestra - where some of his former SLO colleagues still keep their chops in excellent professional playing order...
Roger had an association with school music teaching for many years and most trombone players in the Midlands will have been taught by, helped by or inspired by him. While all musicians have to think seriously about making money to pay the bills, he turned out on a regular basis for local bands and projects for nothing or for the price of the petrol if he thought it was the right thing to do.
He died at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley after undergoing treatment for leukemia.
External links
- http://www.nickrossorchestra.com
- http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/obituaries/george-penman-bandleader-92258
- http://nfo.net/brit/bl.html [Syd Lawrence Orchestra personnel 1997]
- http://205.209.52.72/x-2623-Swing-and-Big-Band-Examiner~y2009m8d5-NRO-Trombonist-Roger-Rae-has-died