John Sangster (17 November 1928 – 26 October 1995) was an Australian jazz composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as a composer although he also worked with Graeme Bell, Humphrey Lyttelton and Don Burrows. His solo albums include The Lord of the Rings-inspired works starting with The Hobbit Suite in 1973.
John Grant Sangster was born in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham as the only child of John Sangster (1896–1975), a clerk and World War II soldier, and Isabella Dunn (née Davidson, later Pringle) Sangster (1890–1946). He attended primary schools in Sandringham and Vermont, and then Box Hill High School. While at high school he taught himself to play trombone and, with a friend, Sid Bridle, formed a band.
In 1946 he started a civil engineering course at Melbourne Technical School. In September of that year Sangster was charged with the murder and manslaughter of his mother, Isabella Sangster. The incident was reported in newspapers, The Sun's correspondent described how police found her, "lying on the floor of a lounge-room. A blood-stained axe was found near the back door – and there were signs of a struggle."
He was tried at the Supreme Court of Victoria in December and was found not guilty of both charges by the jury. A reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald observed, "Accused had told the Court that when his mother locked up his clothes so that he could not go out he broke the door open with an axe. His mother swung a broom at him and he held up his arms to ward off the blow. In doing so, he knocked his mother on the head with the axe."
In 1948 Sangster performed at the third annual Australian Jazz Convention, held in Melbourne. By the following year he led his own ensemble, John Sangster's Jazz Six, which included Ken Evans on trombone. Sangster provided trombone for Graeme Bell and his Australian Jazz Band, later taking up the cornet and then the drums. He toured several times with Bell from 1950 to 1955, playing in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Korea.
While in London he appeared in two Royal Command Performances, and recorded his first composition while playing on the famous Humphrey Lyttleton/Graeme Bell recordings. Sangster continued to play with Bell on his return to Brisbane, and became part owner of the Celebrity Club with him for a brief period. In the late 1950s Sangster began playing the vibraphone, which he found "combined the percussive qualities of the drums with the melodic capability of the trumpet" (Bisset, 1979).
Here's "Rivendell" from above album
He also played other percussion instruments, including many of his own invention. After leaving Graeme Bell's band, Sangster played with another traditional jazz group, the Ray Price Quartet, before moving away from traditional towards modern jazz. He joined the Don Burrows Group in the early 60’s, with whom he was to record several compositions.
Sangster formed his own quartet and experimented with group improvisatory jazz, after he became interested in the music of such musicians as Sun Ra and Archie Shepp. He rejoined the Don Burrows Group briefly in 1967 when they represented Australia at Expo 1967 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
In order to learn rock drumming, Sangster took jobs playing at Whisky A Go-Go and in the musical Hair, where he came in contact with the Australian rock group Tully. He performed and recorded with Tully and their successors, Luke's Walnut, throughout the two years he played in Hair. In 1970 he re-joined the Burrows group, this time for Expo 1970 in Osaka, Japan.
Sangster always encouraged Australian musicians to compose and perform their own music and although he did not begin to compose in earnest until in his late thirties, he was one of the most prolific jazz composers in Australia. His compositions include several inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, including The Hobbit Suite (1973), Lord of the Rings (in three volumes - 1974, 1976 and 1977), Bilbo Nods Off (1977) and Landscapes of Middle Earth (1978).
Another productive area of Sangster's career was the composition of music for television documentaries, radio, and feature films. These have included scores for Peach's Australia, Harry Butler in the Wild, Dingo King, The Funky Phantom and The Gentlemen of Titipu, the latter two being animated feature films for US television. In 1988 he was entered on the Montsalvat Jazz Festival Roll of Honour.
He moved to Brisbane in 1992 where he met Berlin-born musician Petra Schnese and the two took up residency as partners. In spite of ill-health he continued performing, including at Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival, 1994. His final gig was at Noosa Jazz Party, September 1995. He died of liver cancer on 26 October 1995.
(Edited from Wikipedia, Australian Music Centre & High Res Audio)