Edmundo Ros, born Edmund William Ross (Port of Spain, December 7, 1910- Jávea (Alicante, Spain), October 21, 2011), was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra, had an extensive recording career and owned one of London’s leading nightclubs.
He played drums in the city’s nightclubs and in the Martial Band of Caracas as well as was soon hired by Sojo as timpanist in the new Venezuela Symphony Orchestra. In August 1940, Ros formed his own orchestra, performing as “Edmundo Ros and His Rumba Band” at style of Lecuona Cuban Boys directed by Armando Oréfiche. In 1941 he cut his first tracks with Parlophone, the first number being “Los Hijos de Buda”. The band played regularly at the “Coconut Grove club” in Regent Street (owned by Ros from 1951), attracting members of London’s high society and Royal family.
In the early 1960s, he collaborated with the Ted Heath orchestra on the album Heath versus Ros (Decca Phase 4 1964) that exploited the relatively new stereo recording process. The shift in musical tastes to rock bands as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones affected Ros’s standing but he played on into the 1970s. In 1975, during Ros’s seventh tour of Japan, his band’s Musicians’ Union shop steward tried to usurp Ros’s authority by making arrangements with venues behind his back.
Upon their return to the UK Ros organised a celebratory dinner after a BBC recording session and announced the disbanding of the orchestra. He destroyed almost all the charts (arrangement sheets), which conclusively ended the orchestra’s existence. In 1994, Edmundo conducted and sang with the BBC Big Band with Strings at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The other conductor was Stanley Black.
The concert was broadcast over BBC Radio 2 and it was such a success that a Japanese recording company invited them into a recording studio in London to make yet another Edmundo Ros CD.
107 recordings by Edmundo Ros you can hear at Instrumentals Forever:
Ain’t Got No (from “Hair) • Al Di La • Amazing Grace • America • Aquarius (from “Hair) • Baby It’s Cold Outside • Begin The Beguine • Bengawan Solo • Brazil • Bye Bye Blues • Carnival • Cavaquinho • Chanson d’amour • Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White • Cielito Lindo • Come Rain Or Come Shine • Cumana • Daddy • Dancing Queen • Dark Eyes • Defune • Delicado • Desafinado • Doki No Sakura • Donna (from “Hair) • Drinking Song • Easy To Be Hard (from “Hair) • España Cañi • Fly Me To The Moon • Flying Down To Rio • Frank Mills (from “Hair) • Friendship • Good Morning Starshine (from “Hair) • Granada • Green Eyes • Hair • Hamabe No Uta • Hana • Hare Krishna (Be In) • Heat Wave • I Came I Saw I Conga’d • I Got Life (from “Hair) • I Will Wait For You • Il Silenzio • It Ain’t Necessarily So • Jogashima No Ame • Jungle Drums • Kiso-Bushi • Kon-Nichi Wa Akachan • La Bamba • La Cucaracha • La Cumparsita • La Golondriina • La Macarena • La Paloma • Let The Sunshine In (from “Hair) (from “Hair) • Love Thy Neighbour • Malagueña • Malagueña • Mambo No. 5 • Manchester, England • Más Que Nada • Meditation • Mexicali Rose • Mexico • Misirlou • Muss i denn • Natsu No Omoide • Oedo Nihonbashi • One Note Samba • Pablo The Dreamer • Portsmouth • Red River Valley • Rhumba Rhapsody • Sekai No Kuni Kara Konnichiwa • Solamente Bob Efford • Solamente Una Vez • South America Take It Away • Spanish Flea • Spanish Gypsy Dance • Speak Low • Summertime • Sunny • Tea For Two • Ted Meets Ed • Tequila • That’s A Plenty • The Cuban Love Song • The Girl From Ipanema • The Last Rose Of Summer • The Last Time I Saw Paris • The Peanut Vendor • There Once Was A Man • Tico-Tico • Tiger Rag • Toreador’s Song • Up Up And Away • Vacance de l’amour • Valencia • Vaya Con Dios • Waltzing Matilda • Wave • What A Difference A Day Made • What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life • Where Do I Go (from “Hair) • Whipped Cream • Wonderful Copenhagen •
