Born: 4 September, 1914, in Maybole, Ayrshire.
Died: 20 January, 2008, in London, aged 93.
HE WAS one of the genuine characters of British jazz. Tommy McQuater brought to his trumpet playing a zest for the music that reflected his own ebullient
personality. Along with his great friend and fellow Scot the trombonist George Chisholm, McQuater played with all the great swing and dance bands of the post-war era. The two formed the Squadronaires, which became one of the regular bands heard on the BBC's Light Programme; their music is still fondly remembered by many today. McQuater's first love was jazz and he played on some classic recordings: in the 1930s with Lew Stone's Stonecrackers and, later, with the likes of Johnny Dankworth and Benny Carter.
Thomas Mossie McQuater showed musical talent from an early age. Largely self taught, he began on the cornet and by the age of 11 was a regular member of the Maybole Burgh Band – a brass band that won several competitions in the late 1920s – and played at local events and dances.
McQuater turned professional in his teens and got a regular position with Louis Freeman's Band, which played at Green's Playhouse in Glasgow.
Freeman offered McQuater the chance to play with the bands on the transatlantic liners and this gave McQuater the opportunity to hear the new jazz and swing music at first hand. McQuater cut a dashing figure in his dinner suit: his jet black hair swept back in film star fashion.
In 1934 – still only 20 – McQuater was offered a job with one of London's most renowned bands: the Jack Payne Orchestra, which played in London and Paris. The following year he joined Lew Stone's band and made the classic recording of Pardon Me, Pretty Baby. The disc was cut on the anniversary of the day McQuater and Chisholm met: it was a friendship that was to last until Chisholm's death in 1997.
After his experiences in the United States, McQuater was eager to introduce the authentic sound of swing to the UK. In 1939 he, Chisholm and eight friends formed the Heralds of Swing. The band got bookings in London, but with the outbreak of war the group disbanded. However, he and Chisholm were called up in 1940 into the RAF Dance Orchestra, which toured bases and factories, entertaining the troops and workers. Several other members of the Heralds of Swing were also in the RAF Orchestra and they reformed as the Squadronaires.
They did morale-boosting concerts and the BBC offered them regular spots on evenings devoted to dance bands. They also picked up valuable recording sessions; one was for There's Something in the Air, which became particularly popular. One critic enthused: "It is one of the greatest dance band performances that has ever been broadcast."
With the arrival of the US troops and numerous brassy swing bands – especially such star attractions as the Glenn Miller Band – the competition for UK bands was immense. However, McQuater's knowledge (and love) of American music ensured that the Squadronaires were more than a match for them.
In 1944 McQuater met Victor Sylvester, the doyen of the ultra- polished ballroom dance band. He decided to form a subsidiary band to embrace the new music and called it the Victor Sylvester's Jive Band. Wisely he brought in McQuater and Chisholm as founding members and they, in turn, were joined by another Scot, the pianist Billy Munn. Their version of Melancholy Baby became a standard at all their concerts. The Jive Band was disbanded in 1945 and McQuater worked as a freelance and with the Squadronaires until, in 1952, he joined the Skyrockets, one of the most celebrated bands in the country. They were resident at the London Palladium and backed the big American stars who regularly came over for starry seasons. These included Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, Jack Benny and Danny Kaye; then in the 1960s McQuater played there at every live relay of ATV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
In 1976 McQuater joined a hand-picked band for ITV's hugely successful The Muppet Show and remained with the show for its entire run until 1981. He can be heard in many guises off screen, most memorably providing the music for Lips, the exuberant trumpeter in Electric Mayhem, the Muppet band.
In his later years he concentrated his energy and playing around the Ealing Jazz Festival. There, aged almost 90, he gave his last performance. Still full of enthusiasm and, although greying and balding, he played with all his usual gusto.
McQuater is survived by his two sons.
The full article contains 769 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
