Death of Sir John Dankworth
Dankworth died on 6 February 2010, hours before a planned concert at The Stables Theatre in Wavendon to celebrate the venue's 40th anniversary. He had been ill for several months following a concert tour in the United States. Despite her grief, Laine performed at the 40th anniversary concert, along with the John Dankworth Big Band and several members of her family - only announcing his death at the end. Laine's decision to perform featured on newspaper front pages all over the world, including a full photograph of her on the front page of The Times.
A week after Dankworth's death, Laine stepped in for her late husband and appeared again in concert at Pinner in North West London. Laine has continued to perform and give interviews in the months following Dankworth's death. She appeared as a headline act at the Music in the Garden festival at Wavendon in June and July 2010.
In March 2010, Laine and Dankworth's final musical collaboration was released on CD and for download - Jazz Matters. The recording featured the Dankworth Big Band playing new compositions written by Dankworth for the couple's performance at the 2007 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.
Read more about this topic: Cleo Laine
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