Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Leslie Priestley Carew was born on August 15, 1908 in London, England but spent his formative years in Shipley, Yorkshire. The son of theatrical parents, it wasn’t till after working in the local mills in his post-school years that he found himself drawn to music and the trombone, upon which he progressed rapidly.
Known to the music world as Les, he began playing in dance bands and eventually returned to London and caught the eye and ear of Jack Hylton. In the 1930s he became a featured trombonist in the Jack Hylton Orchestra during their international heyday performing all over Europe.
He was known for his comedic performances, as an actor and a natural comedian, Carew appeared with his Hylton bandmates in films She Shall Have Music (1935), The Playboy (1938) and Calling All Stars (1937).
Leaving Hylton in the Forties he added vocals to his performance arsenal and recorded as a member of Bert Ambrose and His Orchestra. By the time World War II ensued, military service was curtailed by health deficiencies, and during the latter part of it he led the Ambrose Octet.
After the war Carew freelanced in London with Geraldo, Eric Robinson, Mantovani, George Melachrino and many others. In 1970 his first wife, Elsie, died and he subsequently married the music lecturer Avril Dankworth – founder of the children’s music camps bearing her name – a partnership which lasted the rest of his life.
Trombonist Les Carew died of Parkinson’s disease, shortly after completing his autobiography in 1994 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
