Sir John Dankworth’s music casts a giant shadow over British jazz, and for more personal reasons over the latest release by his daughter JACQUI DANKWORTH. Andy Robson talks to Jacqui about coming to terms with her father ’s passing and making her own mark as an artist

This isn’t easy for Jacqui Dankworth. Album launches should be exciting, and it is for the singer, writer and actress. But her new release, It Happens Quietly, is so tied up with the life – and death – of her father, John Dankworth, that sadness sits gently with her even in the lary atmosphere of a hotel bar.

“It’s not easy to talk about,” explains Dankworth. “It’s only a year and a half and surprisingly it seems to get harder. You have good days and bad days. And you’re tough on yourself. You feel you should be over it, that you should be further on.”

Further on or not, Dankworth is certainly ‘tough’ on herself. She could bat away this interviewer’s clumsy questions about her dad, about growing up in a family that grew to be known as Jazz Royalty. But she doesn’t. She sits with patience, never averting those great pools of eyes. Just as in her performances, what you see is what you get, a woman and artist who lives in the moment, with all the vulnerability but relish for life that entails.

“I’ve never done anything consciously in my life,” she admits with a smile. “It’s all about what feels right at that moment,” and making this album with and for her father felt right.

This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #156 – to read the full article click here to subscribe and receive a FREE CD...