Paul Hart

b. 1954, England. In the early 70s Hart played electric bass with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), bass and violin with John Dankworth, and violin and keyboards with Cleo Laine. In the late 70s and early 80s Hart was again with NYJO, including playing violin and synthesizer on his ‘The Sherwood Forest Suite’, in addition to playing keyboards with Dankworth, violin with Rod Argent, and keyboards with Bill Russo. Hart also played violin with the Frank Ricotti All Stars on the 1986 album The Beiderbecke Collection, which stemmed from Alan Plater’s popular television series.



Strikingly prolific as a composer and arranger, Hart has worked extensively in films and television, ranging from advertising jingles through to full-length feature film scores by way of television themes, in some of which endeavours he has collaborated with Joe Campbell. Additionally, Hart has established an enviable reputation as a leading composer of contemporary classical music, among which is his guitar concerto written for John Williams, who recorded the work with NYJO. Hart also played piano on recordings under Williams’ name that same year. He has also written for wind bands, symphony orchestras and jazz groups. Apart from NYJO, his works have been recorded by North Texas Wind Symphony (NTWS), among many. In the early 80s, Hart wrote a suite, ‘Theme And Deviations’, structured loosely in the manner of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’, which was recorded by NYJO midway through the decade. One of his works, ‘Cartoon’, composed in 1991 for the Royal Tournament at London’s Earls Court, was later recorded by NTWS. In 2000, he was commissioned by the BBC to write a suite, ‘Out Of Hamelin’, for that year’s Millennium Prom. In 2006 NYJO released an album, Two Suites By Paul Hart, consisting of ‘Out Of Hamelin’ and ‘Theme And Deviations’.



Among Hart’s arrangements are many that are very familiar to radio and television audiences, notably his crafting of Paul McCartney’s ‘Here, There And Everywhere’, which has often been performed by the King’s Singers, who also performed with great success Hart’s arrangement of Wayne Shanklin’s ‘Chanson D’Amour’. Inventive and adventurous, Hart’s writing displays elements of musical wit that helps give his work wide appeal.