Daily Dose Of Jazz…

George Chisholm was born on March 29, 1915 in Glasgow, Scotland and began playing trombone in his youth. His musical career started in the Glasgow Playhouse orchestra and by the late 1930s he moved to London, where he played in dance bands led by Bert Ambrose and Teddy Joyce. He later recorded with jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller and Benny Carter when they visited the U.K.

In 1940, during World War II George signed on with the Royal Air Force becoming a member of the RAF Dance Orchestra, known popularly as The Squadronaires. He followed this with freelance work and a five-year stint with the BBC Show Band and as a core member of Wally Stott’s orchestra on BBC Radio’s The Goon Show, for which he made several acting appearances.

In the 1960s, Chisholm was part of The Black and White Minstrel Show, went on to join the house band for two children’s programs Play School and Play Away, and had roles in the films The Mouse on the Moon, The Knack and Superman III.

Despite undergoing heart surgery, during the 1980s George continued to play with his band The Gentlemen of Jazz, with Keith Smith’s Hefty Jazz among others, and playing live with touring artists. He was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1984 but in the mid-1990s, trombonist George Chisholm retired from public life due to ill health and passed away on December 6, 1997, aged 82.

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