Denny Wright

Who was Denny Wright?

Denys Justin Wright, better known as Denny Wright, was a jazz and skiffle guitarist who performed with Stephane Grappelli, Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Duncan, Digby Fairweather, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Fapy Lafertin, Russ Conway and many other musicians, including young rising stars such as Bireli Lagrene and Nigel Kennedy.

A session musician for many years, he frequently acted as arranger and fixer for recording sessions. Wright was a prolific composer for jazz and orchestra. During his career he led many bands ranging from small jazz ensembles through night club bands to full size orchestras. In addition to jazz and skiffle, he worked with Latin American and Jamaican bands, including Kenny Graham's Afro-Cubists. He enthusiastically contributed to some of the leading swing bands and orchestras of the period, frequently playing with the Carl Barriteau orchestra, the Decca Records house band under Phil Green, and, on occasion, the Glenn Miller band. Denny Wright was voted the BBC Jazz Society Musician of the Year in 1980.

Although best known as a guitarist, his favourite instrument was the piano, an appreciation partly inspired by his friend George Shearing.