Jazz star dies hours af ter 88th birthday concert
SCOTS jazz legend Duncan Lamont, who wrote the title music for the TV detective show The Sweeney, has died at the age of 88. The Grammy-nominated musician passed away on Wednesday, only hours after playing in a concert to celebrate his birthday.
He had appeared at the famous 606 Club in London alongside favourite singers Tina May and Esther Bennett before a capacity audience.
His sudden death comes less than a month after he performed an emotional concert in his home town of Greenock following an absence of nearly 60 years.
Mr Lamont left his job in the Clydeside shipyards at 16 to pursue his dream of playing jazz music at the highest level. He went on to work with some of the biggest names in the music industry.
During his outstanding career he performed with Frank Sinatra as a member of his band, as well as Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby and Count Basie, and even featured alongside Sir Paul McCartney.
A highly accomplished saxophonist, the Scot displayed a remarkable talent for songwriting and swiftly became known within the music industry as the man with the golden touch.
Many of the musical greats, including Henry Mancini and Sammy Davis Jnr, were regularly in contact with the musician.
Lamont’s love of music began at the age of 13 when he started playing trumpet at house parties in his home town.
His talent was quickly recognised after he won a national competition. This convinced him to quit the shipyards and head for the bright lights of London.
Having established himself as a popular studio musician, his skills found their way on to the small screen, and he played for Cilla Black, Norman Wisdom and ITV game show The Golden Shot.
Besides his work for The Sweeney during the 1970s he also wrote the
Remarkable talent for songwriting
theme music for BBC children’s programme Mr Benn.
One of Lamont’s most treasured possessions was a letter from dancer and actor Fred Astaire, who wrote to the Scot expressing his delight at a song Lamont had written for him.
His long and varied career saw him spend more than a decade leading a big band in order to raise money for cancer reseach.
In 1999, he received the John Dankworth Jazz Award for long-standing talent.
Speaking last month before his concert at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock, he said: ‘About 25 years ago I was supposed to have a concert in Greenock and I was in New York and got viral pneumonia, so that was the only time I was invited to Greenock.
‘It’s really nice to be able to come back.’