[Dixielandjazz] Bobby Orr

[Ken Mathieson]

Hi Robert et al,

Robert's right: After mastering the art of pipe-band drumming, which is one of the best schoolings anywhere in drum rudiments, Bobby Orr started out on trumpet in local big bands in the west of Scotland. Chops problems caused him to switch to kit, on which his international reputation is based, but in later life he went back to trumpet and has been a regular sitter-in on it at Merlin's Cave Jazz Club in Buckinghamshire in recent years. As a drummer, Bobby was sufficiently highly-regarded to be the favoured European first choice of Benny Goodman and Benny Carter, which confirms his ability since those guys didn't hire slouches. 

When I ran the first Glasgow International Jazz Festival in 1987, Benny Carter was the composer-in-residence and one of my tasks was book a big band to play Benny's commission piece. Obviously, this had to be done in conjunction with Benny, but he asked me to come up with suggestions and check availabilities as I was more au-fait with the UK scene. When we came to discuss the line-up, the first question he asked was "who's the drummer?" and when I said I'd like to ask Bobby, he replied "perfect, that's the rhythm section fixed then!" and I was given a free hand to pick the others as he knew he was in safe hands with a drummer who could read anything and whose time was unshakeable and swinging. Incidentally, both George Chisholm and Tommy Whittle were approached about the gig, but both were unavailable due to prior commitments (and both were kicking themselves about missing the gig). I only mention this because there was a newspaper article in Scotland suggesting that they had been slighted by not being in the band, but both would have been there had it been possible.

One of Bobby's closest pals in the business is Andy White, a contemporary of Bobby's in pipe bands, who also went to London and became a prominent session player there, even playing on one of the Beatles' early hits, having been brought in when Ringo Starr couldn't read one of producer George Martin's charts. The last I heard of Andy, he was teaching Scottish pipe-band drumming in a famous drum studio in New Jersey where the guy in the adjoining studio was the late Joe Morello, who taught jazz drumming.

Apologies to the DJML listmates who may have no interest in the arcane details of the West of Scotland jazz scene of yesteryear.

Cheers,

Ken Mathieson