- Ian Hamer
Ian Hamer, born Liverpool 11 September 1932 - died Brighton, 3 September 2006, was a leading British jazz trumpeter.
The son of a successful Merseyside dance band leader, together with his two brothers, also professional musicians, he played in the band run by his mother until moving to London in 1953 to work for clarinettist
Carl Barriteau and a brief period with theOscar Rabin Band . In 1955 he joined the octet put together briefly byTubby Hayes , a band which recorded at the Festival Hall in 1956. In 1958 he played in theVic Ash Quintet.In 1963, together with
Harry South , he led a band called The Six Sounds, featuringKen Wray andDick Morrissey , and which by 1966 had developed into his own band, the Ian Hamer Sextet. The Sextet featured variously South, Dick Morrissey,Keith Christie ,Kenny Napper ,Bill Eyden , Tubby Hayes,Alan Skidmore , Spike Wells,Daryl Runswick ,Alan Branscombe andRon Mathewson .Hamer also played in big bands led by Tubby Hayes,
Ted Heath ,Mike Gibbs ,Jack Parnell and Harry South. He also played withKenny Wheeler ,Dizzy Gillespie ,Ella Fitzgerald , as well as smaller bands withStan Tracey ,Benny Golson ,Lalo Schifrin ,Gary McFarland ,Woody Herman 's Anglo-American Herd,Barbara Thompson , theThad Jones -Mel Lewis band,Eric Delaney ,John Dankworth andJoe Harriott . As a session musician, he played on recordings byThe Beatles ("Got to Get You into My Life " ) andBing Crosby , Tom Jones,Dusty Springfield ,Shirley Bassey ,Barbra Streisand ,James Last andMatt Munro .He was a member of the
Top of the Pops studio band for nearly 20 years, and played regularly in German trombonistPeter Herbolzheimer 's radio bands.External links
* [http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/ian_hamer.htm Interview by Ron Simmonds for Jazz Professional]
Obituaries
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ian-hamer-414899.html The Independent]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/sep/12/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries The Guardian]
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