Bobby Lamb (trombonist)


Robert Lamb is an Irish jazz trombonist, composer, and conductor. A native of Cork, Lamb lived in London for much of his career. In the 1950s, he played trombone for notable US and UK bandleaders including Jack Parnell, Woody Herman, and Geraldo. After playing for the BBC Radio Orchestra for much of the 1960s, Lamb began co-leading an orchestra with Ray Premru and accompanying recording artists such as Frank Sinatra.
Beginning in the 1980s, Lamb taught music at the Trinity College of Music and conducted national level orchestras including the European Community Youth Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland

Music career

Born in 1931 in Cork, then in the Irish Free State, Lamb started on euphonium as a teenager before settling on trombone. In 1951, Lamb moved to Dublin to perform with Neil Kearn's band for six months and later Johnny Devlin's Downbeaters group.
The following year in 1952, Lamb moved to London, England, where he played with Teddy Foster. Next, from late 1953 to August 1955, Lamb joined Jack Parnell's band. After working with Parnell, Lamb relocated to the U.S., working with Charlie Barnet, Stan Kenton, and Woody Herman. During his three-year stint with Herman, Lamb played in a tour where Herman shared billing with Louis Armstrong's All Stars.
In 1958, Lamb returned to London to join the BBC Show Band with Cyril Stapleton. From 1958 to 1959, Lamb was part of Geraldo's orchestra that regularly performed at the Hippodrome before freelancing with various other theatre orchestras. From 1960 to 1968, Lamb played for the BBC Radio Orchestra.
He and Ray Premru co-led an orchestra starting in the late 1960s, in which they worked with Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, and Kenny Clare, among others. Lamb made his first recording as a composer in 1970, The Children Of Lir, for which he won an Ivor Novello Award. During the 1970s, Lamb also played in the Top of the Pops orchestra conducted by Johnny Pearson.
He toured with Frank Sinatra on his European tours from the 1970s into the 1980s and the Middle East concerts in 1975. During his career, Lamb performed in over 6,000 live broadcasts, 200 film soundtracks, and numerous television programmes.

Academic career

In 1982, Lamb was appointed as director of jazz studies at the Trinity College of Music in London. Lamb became professor of contemporary music studies at Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany in 1994. Lamb retired from his position at Trinity in 2007.

Discography

As sideman