Jack Fallon

Jack Patrick Fallon (October 13, 1915 – May 22, 2006) was a British jazz bassist born in Canada.

Jack Fallon
Birth nameJack Patrick Fallon
Born(1915-10-13)October 13, 1915
London, Ontario, Canada
DiedMay 22, 2006(2006-05-22) (aged 90)
London, England
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsDouble bass, violin
Years active1940–1998

Fallon played violin and studied with London Symphony Orchestra founder Bruce Sharpe[1] before making double-bass his primary instrument in 1935[2] when we was 20 years old.[3] Fallon During World War II he played in a dance band in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and settled in Britain after his discharge. He joined the band of Ted Heath in 1946, and played bebop in London clubs in his spare time. In 1947 he played with Ronnie Scott and Tommy Whittle at the Melody Maker/Columbia Jazz Rally, and following this worked with Jack Jackson (1947), George Shearing (1948), Duke Ellington (1948),[4] and Django Reinhardt (1949). Soon after playing with Reinhardt, he played in a Count Basie ensemble which also included Malcolm Mitchell and Tony Crombie; he played with both of them after leaving Basie, working together with Hoagy Carmichael and Maxine Sullivan and touring in Sweden together with Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.

Fallon worked in the 1950s as an accompanist to Mary Lou Williams, Sarah Vaughan, and Lena Horne, and also served as a sideman in the ensembles of Humphrey Lyttelton, Kenny Baker, and Ralph Sharon. Additionally, he was house bassist at Lansdowne Studios. He worked outside of jazz with blues musicians such as Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White,[5] and played with Johnny Duncan's Blue Grass Boys. As the bass guitar became more popular, Fallon became a champion of its use, and played both instruments in the latter part of his career.

Fallon was also involved in the industry as a booker/promoter, having established the booking agency Cana Variety in 1952. Cana booked primarily jazz artists in its early stages but expanded to rock acts in the 1960s, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Because of this connection, Fallon was asked by the Beatles to play violin fiddle style on the song "Don't Pass Me By" (from The Beatles) in 1968.[6][7]

In 1957, Fallon married Jean Lovell and they had three children.[6] Fallon continued to play jazz locally in London and in the studios into the 1990s. He retired from performing in 1998 due to ill health.[4] In 2002, he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.[1] He published a memoir entitled From the Top in 2005, and died the following year at age 90. His funeral was held on June 7, 2006 in London.[8] In 2015, he was posthumously inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame.[9]

References
  1. "Inductees". JRLMA. Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  2. "Django's Bassists". Gypsy Jazz UK. 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  3. Ankeney, Jason. "Jack Fallon | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  4. Vacher, Peter (2006-06-12). "Obituary: Jack Fallon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  5. Frame, Pete (2011). The Restless Generation: How rock music changed the face of 1950s Britain. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127136.
  6. "Jack Fallon". The Independent. 2006-05-26. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  7. John, Kruth (2015). This bird has flown: the enduring beauty of Rubber soul fifty years on. hoopla digital. [United States]: Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781617136429. OCLC 974233703.
  8. "Jazz bassist Fallon dies aged 90". BBC News. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  9. Reaney, James Stewart (2015-03-26). "Jack Fallon, Denise Pelley named as 2015 inductees into London Music Hall of Fame". London Free Press. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
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