Sounds Beautiful!

“As a comedian, Dudley Moore was well known for his fine acting style. It is not so widely known that he was also an accomplished musician and composer. Born in the famous Charing Cross Hospital of London in April 1935, Dudley Moore had significant health problems from the time of his birth. He was born with club feet and while extensive surgery was able to correct his right foot, his left foot remained permanently twisted and eventually became withered.

By the age of six, he was learning both piano and violin as a means of escaping the childhood that his health problems were making increasingly difficult. He displayed exception talent on keyboard instruments and by the age of 14 he was playing the local church pipe organ at weddings.

He went on to win an organ scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford and developed a great interest in jazz, quickly becoming an accomplished jazz pianist and composer. He formed the Dudley Moore Trio in 1960 along with drummer Chris Karan and bassists Pete McGurk (McGurk was later replaced by Peter Morgan). Heavily influenced by the playing style of musical greats Oscar Peterson and Errol Garner, Moore made several recordings and his trio performed regularly on British television. His trio also was a long term resident at Peter Cook’s London nightclub.

During his years in Hollywood, Dudley Moore continued working as a composer, finding time to write the musical scores for a number of files. He also gave many piano concerts, the highlight of which was when Moore parodied popular classical favorites. Moore’s musical expertise stood him in good stead as he collaborated with two well-known conductors, Sir Georg Solti and Michael Tilson Thomas to create television series that were intended to introduce audiences to classical music in an informal and fun fashion.”