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Don Lusher sadly passed away on 5th July 2006, just over two weeks before he was due to be presented a lifetime achievement award from the International Trombone Association (ITA). This award was in recognition of the immense inspiration he has been for many thousands of players all over the world, both amateur and professional.

The presentation was to have taken place at a concert given by the BBC Big Band as part of the annual ITA festival, this year hosted by the Birmingham Conservatoire, only the second time in 35 years that it has been held in the UK. His wife, Diana, collected the award on his behalf and was clearly very touched by the warmth of feeling shown by the sell-out audience at the Adrian Boult Hall.

Don Lusher was born in Peterborough on 6 November 1923 and started playing the trombone at the age of six. He became the third generation of his family to play in the Peterborough Salvation Army Band after his father and grandfather.
During the war he served as a Gunner Signaller in the Royal Artillery and on being demobbed entered the music profession playing with the bands of Joe Daniels, Lou Preager, Maurice Winnick, The Squadronaires, Jack Parnell, Geraldo and eventually Ted Heath.

His nine years as lead trombone with Ted Heath included several coast to coast tours of America, where he took advantage of studying with Dick Nash and the late Will Bradley. He also met Tommy Dorsey and the members of his band at the Statler Hotel in New York.

As one of Britain’s top session men he worked for some of the world’s most prestigious Musical Directors and led the trombone section for Frank Sinatra’s European tours. He was also much in demand as a soloist with Brass Bands, Wind Bands, Jazz Groups and Big Bands such as Manhattan Sound Big Band. As well as fronting the Don Lusher Big Band he was a member of the Best of British Jazz. This group was founded in the 1970’s and changed its personnel several times during the long period of its life. It now features Digby Fairweather (trpt/cornet), Roy Willox (clari/alto), Brian Dee (piano), John Rees-Jones (double bass) and Pete Cater (drums). In July 2002, the group recorded a new CD at the Abbey Road Studios, called The Best of British Jazz - Abbey Road sessions. Vocalion CDSA 6805.
Don’s Première performances include Gordon Langford’s Rhapsody for Trombone, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1975 and at the same venue in 1980, Gareth Wood’s Dance Sequence. That same year he premiered Gordon Carr’s Concerto for Trombone at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and in 1990 Scot Stroman’s Concertine for Trombone, Strings and Percussion at Lichfield Cathedral.

In 1979, BBC Television’s hour long spectacular, “Don Lusher’s World of Music”, produced by Yvonne Littlewood, featured The Don Lusher Big Band with Marti Caine, The Don Lusher Quartet, The Black Dyke Mills Band, conducted by Major Peter Parkes and Michael Antrobus, a ten Trombone Ensemble and, perhaps the highest accolade of all, Nelson Riddle conducting the orchestra on his own scores including Here’s That Rainy Day, a feature for Don Lusher and strings.

As a member of the International Trombone Association, Don served on their Board of Advisors and performed on several occasions at their International Workshops, always held in America until 1989 when, at the invitation of the newly formed British Trombone Society, the ITW was held at Eton College. He has twice been President of the British Trombone Society.

Don always enjoyed leading his own Don Lusher Big Band, but he retired from this on 11th December 2005 in order to concentrate on his solo work with small groups.
On BBC Radio 2, Don has sat in for Alan Dell and presented his own band on “Big Band Special”. And for thirty years, the Don Lusher Trombone Prize was awarded annually in BBC Radio 2’s National Big Band Competition. As a member of the jury, Don selected many of today’s top young players for the award over the years, including in 1983, the current President of the British Trombone Society, Mark Nightingale.

In 2001 Don recorded an album with Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, John Chilton & the Feetwarmers, John Dankworth, Humphrey Lyttelton & George Melly called “British Jazz Legends Together”, which has been nationally acclaimed. Decca 470 271-2.

He was always interested in teaching young people and wrote several pieces for beginners such as Don Lusher’s Trombone Album for trombone and piano, suitable for varying standards, published by Boosey and Hawkes and Sweet and Sour for beginners published by Warwick Music.
During the 1950’s he won many polls for Britain’s Top Trombonist awarded by The Melody Maker and The New Musical Express. and the 1976 BBC Jazz Society Musician of the Year

The ITA Don Lusher Tribute Concert showcased many of the top trombone players in the world today, including Jiggs Whiggam (who now also directs the band), Wycliffe Gordon from New York, the incomparable Mark Nightingale, and Alistair White, Ashley Horton and John Higginbotham who completed the trombone section. Last but by no means least, leading the section was our own Gordon Campbell. Gordon took over from Don as the visiting professor of Trombone and Big Band at the Royal Marines School of Music.

This concert was a special occasion, not just because of the wealth of world class talent performing one after another show stopping number, but it seemed that the players were all pushing themselves harder than ever to create a night that will live on in the memories of all who were there for many years to come.

The Sunday morning following this amazing concert was to have begun with a joint presentation by Denis Wick and Don Lusher together, talking about their respective careers in the Orchestral and Big Band worlds. Instead, Sheila Tracy hosted a discussion attended by 50 or so of the trombone festival delegates, and led by Denis Wick, Gordon Campbell and Colin Sheen, who each talked about their memories of working with Don. There were far too many stories to include but here are just a few: Denis told of the time in his early twenties when he was to première the Gordon Jacob Concerto with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a massive occasion for the precociously talented, but still nervous, young trombonist. Unbeknownst to Denis, Don had followed his career and knew how he would be feeling. Shortly before the date of the première, and despite not knowing him personally, Don wrote a letter of encouragement to Denis. That Don would go the trouble of writing this letter to someone he hardly knew, made a great impact on the young man and sparked the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Colin Sheen told of a fellow session player who had, as brass players often do when not playing at their best, experimented with different mouthpieces, including the ‘Don Lusher’ signature model. After one, not particularly good, recording session he said to the producer, “Hang on a minute, I just need to get my ‘Don Lusher’ mouthpiece for this.” From within the band was heard the phrase, “Just get Don Lusher!”

Colin continued with the adage about the stages of a Session Musician’s career, as described in the words of recording producers everywhere: 1) ‘Who’s Joe Bloggs?’, 2) ‘Get me Joe Bloggs’, 3) ‘Get me someone who plays like Joe Bloggs’, 4) ‘Get me someone who plays like Joe Bloggs, but younger’, 5) ‘Who’s Joe Bloggs?’; ending by saying that Don quickly progressed from 1) to 2), but never really went any further through the series. As his wife Diana said the night before, he never wanted to retire and was working almost right up until the day he died.

Gordon Campbell recounted a story he had been told by one of the Royal Marine Band trainee trombonists, after taking over Don’s position as visiting professor at the RMSM in Portsmouth. Often, when they had a break between lessons, Don would say to the students, “Just a moment, I just need to pop out.” Curious as to where he was going they followed him one time and saw him going nowhere in particular, just walking up and down the many staircases between the levels of the old Naval Prison block which now houses the Royal Marines School of Music. Even in his eighties he had been diligently exercising to make sure he was still fit enough to play the trombone to the very best of his ability. It was this consummately professional attitude to everything he did which set Don apart from, and made him an inspiration to, so many other musicians.\0\0
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