Elaine Delmar

born trumpeter Leslie Jiver Hutchinson and mother, Phyllis,

came to Britain in the mid-30s and Leslie became a much-loved

musical influence in the 40s and 50 as a jazz soloist and

band leader. Elaine was undoubtedly influenced by her musical

surroundings and remembers warmly a household bustling with

visiting musicians playing, rehearsing and talking about music

or simply listening to the sounds of Basie, Ellington, Sarah

Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald or Nat King Cole from her fathers

record collection. Her mother Phyllis was renowned for her

hospitality and for keeping a warm and stable household which

Elaine feels has grounded her to this day.

Brought up in North London, the eldest of three children,

brother lvor and sister Maria, Elaine was educated at Rhodes

Avenue Junior School and then Trinity Grammar School, Wood

Green. She studied classical piano privately from the age of 6,

completing the Associated Board Exams and becoming a well-

recognized face on the North London Music Festival circuit.

Elaine actually made her first broadcast at 13 on BBC radios

Childrens Hour. Whilst still at school at the age of 16, she

became a singer with her fathers band at functions and at US

Air Force Bases around Britain until his untimely death in a

car accident in 1959.

Elaines first legitimate stage appearance was in a revival of

Finians Rainbow in the late 50s at the New Shakespeare

Theatre, Liverpool. She then became a member of a group called

The Dominoes before starting her solo career on the working

mens club circuit, mainly in the north of England and touring

overseas in cabaret. From the early 60s, Elaine made several

appearances on the London stage in such musicals as No Strings,

Cowardly Custard and Bubbling Brown Sugar (with Billy Daniels),

The Wiz and Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood (1985) which marked

the centenary of the composers birth. This show ran both in

London and on Broadway after which Elaine made her New York

cabaret debut at the Ballroom in New York.

In the 80s Elaine toured Britain in a series of composer

tribute concerts: Swinging on 10th Avenue (Gershwin Tribute

with Georgie Fame) Lets Do It (Cole Porter Tribute with Paul

Jones) Hooray For Hollywood (Berlin, Porter and Gershwin with

Paul Jones) and Thank You Mr. Gershwin (Gershwin Tribute). By

George, Its Gershwin, another Gershwin tribute, took Elaine on

a tour of New Zealand in 1984, this being the first of many

successful trips to the land of Kiwis.

Elaines recording career began in the early 60s when she

recorded various albums for one of her early champions,

producer Denis Preston of Lansdowne Records. The first was an

EP titled A Swinging Chick featuring the wonderful talent of

Victor Feldman. Amongst her other albums, Elaine has also

released the highly-acclaimed Elaine Sings Wilder, a tribute to

one Americas lesser known composers, Alec Wilder. This album

has become something of a collectors item. The pianist and

musical director on this record was Colin Beaton, one of

Elaines mentors and early musical influences. She later went

on to make a double album for Denis Preston entitled Elaine

Delmar and Friends featuring Tony Coe, Alan Branscombe, Eddie

Thompson and Pat Smythe, another great influence on Elaines

musical life.

Elaines more recent recordings SWonderful, Nobody Else But Me

and But Beautiful have all featured Brian Dee, the much-

respected jazz pianist and accompanist with whom Elaine has

been working for the past 20 years. Strangely enough Elaine and

Brian first met when Elaine was still a teenager and he would

visit Elaines home with his father. In the late 70s Elaine

played the part of the Bohemian Princess in Ken Russells film

Mahler, the film biography of Gustav Mahler. In 1983 she

appeared at Londons National Theatre in David Hares highly

acclaimed play, Map of the World.

Elaines musical path has taken her in many directions. She has

made numerous radio and television broadcasts and concerts

singing with small groups, big bands and symphony orchestras

around the world, starring with Michel Legrand, Stephane

Grappelli, Andy Williams, Benny Carter and Herb Ellis to

mention but a few. Equally at home in a concert hall, night

club or theatre, Elaine thrives on communicating with her

audience

A great deal of Elaines working year these days is spent

touring the world, quite often working aboard some of the

worlds top luxury cruise ships. She believes these ships have

become the new vaudeville. One of the high points of Elaines

working year is her annual engagement at Ronnie Scotts Jazz

Club in London. Having worked there once a year for the past

sixteen years, Elaine still finds it one of the most

challenging and stimulating of all the venues to work.

Elaine has a daughter, Sarah who is currently living in Los

Angeles, California. She is a talented young woman with a

fabulous voice and hopes to one day follow a career in the

music business. After all, its in the blood isnt it? Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.