About John Altman (composer)
John Altman (born 5 December 1949) is an English film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor. == Music career == Altman was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s at an early age by his uncles, bandleaders Woolf and Sid Phillips. Woolf Phillips was the bandleader and MC at the London Palladium during the Golden Age of Variety and arranged and conducted for Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Danny Kaye and Dean Martin, among others, while Sid Phillips wrote for the Bert Ambrose Orchestra, played in Louis Armstrong's British All Stars, and led Britain's best known Dixieland Band. John Altman's cousin, Simon Phillips, was for many years the drummer of the world-famous rock band Toto and now leads the Grammy nominated Protocol. Altman's only formal musical training was piano lessons as a child. While enrolled at the University of Sussex he was involved in session work and gigs with Peter Green, members of Fleetwood Mac, Kevin Ayers, and John Martyn. His later studies at Birkbeck College were interrupted when he left to work with Hot Chocolate as musical director for their concert tour for two years. He also played saxophone with such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Little Richard, and Van Morrison for whom he functioned as arranger and musical director as well as reed player. Among the many other artists Altman has played with over the years are Muddy Waters, Nick Drake, Jimmy Page, The Comets, Spencer Davis. In the mid-1970s, Altman began arranging and conducting.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.