John “Johnny” Dankworth was a musician from England (born September 20, 1927) who played saxophone and clarinet as well as composed Jazz, serving as a music director for his wife, Dame Cleo Laine, who was a jazz singer. He worked on over 50 different albums, LPs, and film, TV, and radio soundtracks. While he started playing the clarinet at age 16, his professional career didn’t start until 1949 (age 22). He started his career strong, being voted musician of the year in 1949. He and his group released their first album in 1957 and he worked on projects, both solo and collaborative, until his final releases shortly after his death on February 6, 2010 at age 82.