My friend and former teacher Bill Davies, who has died aged 83, was a well-known south Wales trumpeter. A founder member of the Constellation Big Band, he was known for his ability with high notes and his melodious “Harry James” style.
He was born and lived in Lamb Street, Swansea, until he and his mother, Eileen Davies (nee Day), found the house flattened by bombing. His father, Arthur Davies, was a labourer but joined Ensa in the second world war as a tap dancer and mouth organ player.
As a boy his mother arranged for him to have piano lessons and he practised on the organ in St Mary’s church.
He attended Dumbarton secondary school, and on leaving he joined the British Council of Shipping. But music remained his passion. He regularly played the piano and trumpet in the clubs and bars of Swansea. It was there that he met his wife, Marlene, and they married in 1957.
Soon a regular fixture in the Top Rank dance hall band in Swansea, Bill was the go-to for trumpet for touring singers, playing for both Matt Monro and Bonnie Tyler.
In 1973, he co-founded the Constellation Big Band, playing the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and Stan Kenton.
In the late 70s he left the merchant service to study, completing a degree in psychology and economics at Swansea University. He continued performing nightly to support his family, now including two children. He went on to do his teacher training at Wolverhampton Adult College, taking up a lecturer post at Bridgend College in 1981.
It was there that his idea for a “big band with strings” developed, and in 1983 the Bridgend College Orchestra was formed. I was one of the young people lucky enough to join the band, playing the violin.
The “tech band”, as it was known locally, was soon giving regular performances. Recordings for BBC Wales followed in 1986 and 1987, and in 1990 the band came second in the Boosey and Hawkes National Concert Band festival.
Bill remained at Bridgend for his whole teaching career, becoming its head of education and management. He retired in 2000 but he continued as a visiting lecturer until 2007.
He continued performing, and gave his last concert on St David’s Day 2020 with Constellation at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales in Carmarthen.
Marlene died in 2017. Bill is survived by his two children, Bev and Paul, and grandchildren, Richard and Sophie, and by his companion and former colleague, Wendy Clarke.