James Deuchar (26 June 1930[1] – 9 September 1993) was a Scottish jazztrumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland.[1] He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s. Deuchar was taught trumpet by John Lynch, who learned bugle playing as a boy soldier in the First World War, and who later was Director of Brass Music for Dundee.
He returned to the UK and worked again with Scott (1960–62) and with Tubby Hayes (1962–66).[1] As a highly gifted player and a leading exponent of the "modern" style, he was in some demand and achieved success as a touring player in Europe and the United States. He also "sat in" with leading American players at Ronnie Scott's club as musical exchanges were liberalised at the start of the 1960s.
He returned to work with Edelhagen in 1966. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he also worked with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band,[1] featuring leading European and expatriate American musicians. He returned to London around 1971, working freelance, and then to Dundee in the mid-1970s. He continued to arrange, play and guest in a number of settings,[1] including the BBC Big Band in London and the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra in Glasgow, until his health deteriorated.
