Roberto Inglez [aka Robert Maxtone Inglis]: “Pianist. Arranger. Orchestra leader. Songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland. He learned to play the piano when he was only five years old. Being of humble origin he came to work as a dentist by day and as a conductor by night. In 1954, he married Patricia Palma – an official of the Chilean embassy in London.” http://dicionariompb.com.br/roberto-inglez In 2013, Don Lee’s tribute to Roberto Inglez in The Journal of Melody, discusses the early career of the great pianist/orchestra leader. “Bert’s main occupation was training for dentistry but a choice had to be made: stay in Elgin with steady work or, inspired by his dedication to music and a determination to succeed, seek fame and fortune, perhaps, in London. He left Elgin and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music studying orchestration and arrangement and whilst there Bert met another enthusiastic student keen on the Latin sound then emanating from the London club scene — one Edmundo Ros. In 1940 Ros formed ‘Ros’s Rumba Romantics’ with Bert on piano — now renamed Roberto lnglez to fall in with the Latin image.” http://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/legends/roberto-inglez
Perhaps the earliest 20th century citizen of Moray to earn notoriety in the music industry, is Roberto Inglez who was born in Elgin in 1913. “Robert Maxstone Inglis was born June 29th 1913 at 7 West Road, Elgin in Moray shire and was educated at East End School, Elgin. According to Moray birth register, his mother was listed as a 20 year-old ‘clerkess’ named Jeannie Isabel Inglis though father was not listed on birth records. According to occupation records, Jeannie was a secretary and a vocalist who lived in Elgin though she spent much of her childhood in Inverness.
Jean Inglis was born in 1893 to Margaret Grant and James Hay Inglis in Portobello, Midlothian, Scotland though spent her youth in Inverness before relocating to Elgin, NE Scotland. Her son, Robert Maxtone Inglis may have lived with his grandparents as immigration records of the pianist/composer listed his parents as James and Margaret Inglis when traveling abroad.
Robert Inglis of Elgin, Scotland who was internationally known as Roberto Inglez, may not have gained the title “Sir” by British royalty, but was considered a valuable asset in the international music scene, performing with his orchestra in London, New York, and throughout Latin -America. “‘Berties’ piano lessons began at 5 years of age and by the age of 12 he had proved himself in exams. “Robert displayed early proficiency on the piano, and by the age of 15 was leading his own dance band, purportedly earning £10 a week in the process. It was hardly surprising therefore that music won out over attempts to point him towards a career as a dental technician. By the mid-thirties he was leading a semi-pro five piece band which supplied the music for dancing at a roadhouse called The Oakwood, two miles out of Elgin on the Inverness road. In 1935, they won the Melody Maker Dance Band competition for the North East of Scotland, and he took the prize for best musician. His band were called the Melodymakers…” https://fromthevaults-boppinbob.blogspot.com/2014/06/roberto-inglez-born-29-june-1913.html [with notes from Don Lee: August 2013 ‘Journal Into Melody’] http://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/legends/roberto-inglez
In the early 1950’s, EMI record producer George Martin, helped manage “novelty acts” including Roberto Inglez, “the Latin American Scot” who served as Savoy Hotel’s bandleader between 1946 and 1954. Before The Beatles found fame as a beat act, the melodic, Latin easy beat of Roberto’s orchestra brought him fame as a world class pianist. “Trips between Europe and America, and notable musical associations marked the peculiar life of pianist Robert Inglez, one of the best orchestra arrangers that in Chile was linked to popular music, and known above all for his years of collaboration with Lucho Gatica. With his real name [Robert Inglis] won the first articstic prestige in his hometown with the band The Melodymarkes and later, in London. In 1937 he met Venezuelan-born musician Edmundo Ros, a prominent arranger who had just arrived in the English capital and who immediately recruited Inglis as a pianist.” https://www.musicapopular.cl/artista/roberto-inglez/
“Roberto Inglez was born in Elgin, Morayshire, and christened Robert Inglis. He learned to play the piano at the age of five and had passed many examinations by the age of twelve. He studied music at the Royal Academy of Music, London. His initial employment was in the field of jazz and dance music. He became interested in South American and Caribbean music and joined the Edmundo Ross rumba band at the end of WWII, as a pianist.
When Bert Inglis started up his own band, he latinized his name to Roberto Inglez. From 1946 to early 1954, his band played at the Savoy Hotel, London. In 1954, after getting married, he settled in Chile: “In early 1954, with little warning, Inglez left The Savoy and emigrated to Chile to begin a new life there and the regular series of Parlophone 78s dried up. Recording activity in Chile remains scantily documented and awaits further research. However, a World Record LP of the early 70s ‘escaped’ to Britain and there were a handful of other albums released locally in South America. Roberto Inglez died in Santiago on 4 September 1977 aged 65.” Don Lee, Journal of Melody 2013.
Roberto began recording for Parlophone in 1946. His records and radio broadcasts with the Savoy Hotel dance unit, for the BBC and Radio Luxembourg were later augmented to orchestral proportions for records and broadcasts, by the addition of strings, woodwind and French horns. He frequently accompanied the orchestra with a soft, soothing one-finger piano presentation of the medely, usually in the bass clef, alternating with a dexterous South American exercise using all the fingers of both hands. His style was a mixture of authenticity, commercial considerations and innate good taste and musicianship that became popular in Latin America itself. Two leading South American singers, Chilean-born Lucho Gatica and Dalva de Oliverira of Sao Paulo, who attended London’s Savoy Hotel to record with the Roberto Inglez orchestra. Savoy [1947] takes a look at a celebrity gathering when the orchestra was a feature of the luxury hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktt5XnrnjPw http://www.todotango.com/english/artists/biography/1601/Dalva-de-Oliveira/
“”Roberto Inglez was born in Elgin, Morayshire, and christened Robert Inglis. He learned to play the piano at the age of five and had passed many examinations by the age of twelve. He studied music at the Royal Academy of music. He became interested in South American and Caribbean music and joined the Edmundo Ross rumba band at the end of World War II, as a pianist… From 1946 to 1954, his band played at the Savoy Hotel, London. In 1954 he left England to settle permanently in South America… Inglez himself toured Brazil, with an orchestra composed of the best musicians, and played to packed concert halls. -Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music: A Biographical and Discographical Sourcebook
Note: In the 1950’s, Roberto and his Romanza Orchestra performed regularly in Santiago, New York [stable band of Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan for a year], and the Spanish night circuit such as the Pasapoga club in Madrid. https://www.musicapopular.cl/artista/roberto-inglez
Articles: “INGLEZ FOR NEW RADIO SHOW: Savoy Hotel. Latin-American expert Roberto Inglez clicks for a big radio series with his full twenty-four piece orchestra when the new Saturday air-show “Follow The Sun”, kicks off next week (May 10). The series is weekly, and will be heard each Saturday at 12-1230 pm (home). In addition to leading the orchestra, Roberto will be responsible for all the arrangements. He has also composed the theme music.” Note: BBC later featured Roberto Inglez for one hour as he was becoming an international star.
“ROBERTO INGLEZ TAKING HIS BAND TO PORTUGAL: Just back from a fortnight’s visit to Portugal, the Savoy Hotel’s famous Latin-American music bandleader Roberto Inglez informs the Melody Maker that he has already paved the way for an appearance with his orchestra in Lisbon during the summer. Plans are afoot to present Roberto and his Band at the Sao Luiz Theatre, Lisbon, the engagement being fulfilled throughout Roberto’s holiday break from his resident engagement at the Savoy. While on his preliminary visit, Roberto was introduce over the Portuguese radio as “King of the Samba”, and says that he was amazed and delighted to discover that his recordings were so popular in Portugal, where he had expected to find a surfeit of Spanish-style music. Roberto brought back many Fado melodies – the national folk music of South Portugal – and intends to orchestrate and feature them as beguines.”
In 1952, Inglez and his orchestra of thirty musicians toured in Rio and Sao Paulo: “INGLEZ £1,000-A-WEEK IN BRAZIL TOPS ALL PREVIOUS CONTRACTS: Roberto Inglez will receive the highest salary ever paid to a visiting artist when he makes personal appearances in Brazil for six weeks in September and October. Brazilian impresario Florencio Contreras has tried for three years to persuade Roberto to make the trip and wanted him to stay for five years. Roberto preferred not to be away so long but finally agreed to a six week’s offer on entirely his own terms which include a personal salary of £1,000 a week, excluding all expenses and Brazilian tax. This figure tops the salaries received by the biggest American attractions, including Tommy Dorsey and Xavier Cugat. It will be paid for a half-hour radio show and a half-hour ballroom performance daily. BRAZIL’S BEST Roberto will conduct a 30 piece orchestra, which he will choose from 200 of Brazil’s best musicians. He will play at the Casablanca night-club and braodcast from Radio Nacional in Rio for four weeks starting September 11. For two weeks after that he appears at the Hotel Lord in Sao Paulo and broadcasts from radio station Mernyk Velga.”
“£1,000 A WEEK: Embarking for Rio de Janeiro last Monday, for his £1,000-a-week appearances at the Casblanca night club, Roberto will have found, on arrival, that the club has been extensively altered and redecorated in his honour. A special dais has also been installed. Roberto Inglez’s records have reached top sales in Brazil, Chile, Spain, Argentine and Portugal. Latest to be released is “Fin de Comedia, which is selling at a rate of 10,000 a day and was top of the Hit Parade within a short time of it’s release.” Compiled by Peter Wallace 2018 for this musical tribute to Robert Inglez and orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXPiODZYx-k “
Roberto Inglez
Journeys between Europe and America, and notable musical associations marked the peculiar life of the pianist Roberto Inglez, one of the best orchestral arrangers who was linked to popular music in Chile, and known above all for his years of collaboration with Lucho Gatica . As can be suspected from his curious artistic surname, Roberto Inglez became famous under a pseudonym, as it was like Robert Inglis who was born and raised in distant Scotland. With his real name he earned the first artistic prestige in his hometown (with the band The Melodymakers) and, later, in London. In 1937 he had met the musician of Venezuelan descent Edmundo Ros, a prominent arranger who had just arrived in the English capital and who immediately recruited Ingliz as a pianist.” https://www.musicapopular.cl/artista/roberto-inglez/
Tico Tico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VQTIr62W8c Banana Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8xuxeWcYq0&list=PLyyeOYR_HDoNe_ZN9_GoUlUA_iit6TnuK&index=6” Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADiw3XdwePk&list=PLyyeOYR_HDoMzQfSE6vjuxLFdnDCBOflK&index=34
SCOTBEAT and http://bonici.wordpress.com includes photos and documents from the Bonici Archives with permission from the Bonici family [PC Holding Co]. You may contact me at dillsdavid@yahoo.co.uk for consent in using images for media projects. Am currently updating http://djdills.wordpress.com with original new collages. #collageart #beatmusic #popmusic #1960smusic
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