Roger Rae

Roger Hughes Rae (5 July 1939 – 4 August 2009) was a Scottish trombonist (especially jazz and big band), a composer, an arranger and a musical director.

Roger started playing trombone in the Coatbridge Brass Band and spent much of his time as a student at Glasgow University playing jazz and fixing gigs. (George Penman was one of his early associates and Penman's band celebrated 50 years in the business in July 2009. Unfortunately Roger was too ill to attend the celebrations and George himself died shortly afterwards.) He held a Diploma from Lille and while it is certain that he spent some time in France as a student (and was impressively fluent in both French and German) there have been many stories about his time there. He spent his 21st birthday in a country farmhouse where the inhabitants gave him their bread and wine while they went hungry and Jumped a train and going AWOL after being mistakenly conscripted into the French Army and narrowly missing being sent to the war in Algeria.

Sixties jazz revival
When Roger came back from France he joined the great sixties jazz revival down in London and played for Monty Sunshine and Terry Lightfoot's bands and for Dick Charlesworth's City Gents, before returning to Glasgow as Principal Trombone in the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra.

Leaving his young family in Scotland he came south in 1974 and joined the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, touring with them for several years before becoming director of the 'Night Out Theatre Restaurant' in Birmingham - during this time he was proud to direct a Royal Command Performance before HRH Princess Anne. The lure of disco finally finished the club off in 1985 and Roger returned to life on the road with the SLO, and depping with many other bands - including the BBC Big Band.

His association with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra finally ended in 2005 but he continued playing trombone in the Nick Ross Orchestra - where some  of his former SLO colleagues still keep their chops in excellent professional playing order...

Roger had an association with school music teaching for many years and most trombone players in the Midlands will have been taught by, helped by or inspired by him. While all musicians have to think seriously about making money to pay the bills, he turned out on a regular basis for local bands and projects for nothing or for the price of the petrol if he thought it was the right thing to do.

He died at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley after undergoing treatment for leukemia.