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Derek “Dexter” Whitehall, left, and Robert Ellis Hawke at the Marathon Bar |
Tributes to jazz legend ‘Dexter’
Sax man who played with stars dies at 69
HUNDREDS of fans and friends are expected to attend the wake of Camden saxophone legend Derek “Dexter” Whitehall, who has died of cancer aged 69.
Jazz musicians will play his favourite tunes at the gathering on Friday afternoon at the Enterprise pub in Chalk Farm Road, next-door to his old gigging venue, Marathon Bar.
His “soul-mate” and fellow jazz musician Robert Ellis Hawke, who is also 69, and his neighbour at the Oldfield estate in Regent’s Park Road for more than 20 years, said he would be “sorely missed by all of Camden”.
Film-maker Elena Cosentino has been documenting the pair’s lives for the past four years and described their friendship as “extraordinary”.
“They found each other and saved each other,” she added. “The music and their shared love of jazz bonded them together.”
Mr Ellis Hawke said: “He wanted to play the trumpet but he ended up playing the clarinet, which meant he could play all the saxophones. His family were not well off so the army was a way out for him.”
Mr Whitehall played with jazz legends Nina Simone, Chet Baker and Geno Washington during the course of his long music career.
He met Mr Ellis-Hawke when the pair were in their forties.
“We ended up getting gigs in Phoenix and New York, the Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and in Thailand in Bangkok and Ko Chang. In Havana, we played with the Buena Vista Social Club,” said Mr Ellis-Hawke.
Nicknamed “Dexter The Insulter”, Mr Whitehall was known for his sense of humour.
“If he didn’t insult you, he didn’t love you,” Mr Ellis Hawke said.
A service will take place at Golders Green Crematorium on Friday August 22 at 4pm, followed by a wake at the Enterprise pub. |
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