John (Jack) Alexander Brymer OBE (27 January 1915 – 15 September 2003) was an English clarinettist. The Times called him "the leading clarinettist of his generation, perhaps of the century". He was largely self-taught as a player, and he performed as an amateur before being invited by Sir Thomas Beecham to join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1947. He remained with the orchestra until 1963, two years after Beecham's death.
Brymer later played in the BBC Symphony and London Symphony Orchestras. He was also associated with several chamber music ensembles, maintained a lifelong pleasure in playing jazz. He held professorships during most of the period from 1950 to 1993, first at the Royal Academy of Music, then at the Royal Military School of Music, and finally at the Guildhall School of Music. He was a frequent broadcaster, both as a player and a presenter, and made recordings of solo works and with orchestras and smaller ensembles, notably of Mozart pieces. In 1976, as part of the Yehudi Menuhin Music Guide seried, he wrote a book on the clarinet which was published in the UK, the US and in translation in France and Germany.
Famous quotes containing the word jack:
“Wild Bill was indulging in his favorite pastime of a friendly game of cards in the old No. 10 saloon. For the second time in his career, he was sitting with his back to an open door. Jack McCall walked in, shot him through the back of the head, and rushed from the place, only to be captured shortly afterward. Wild Bill’s dead hand held aces and eights, and from that time on this has been known in the West as “the dead man’s hand.””
—State of South Dakota, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)