Copestake, Roy (1912-1979)

He was a trumpeter born in England and was the uncle of the trumpeter, Philip Jones .

In 1951 his nephew, who was the first trumpet of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, established the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble , and he became his second trumpet. He stayed with them and they gave their first broadcast in 1952 for the BBC, which included two world premieres of works by John Gardiner and Gordon Jacob.

He would appear on many of their recordings that include The Glory of Venice, The 20^thCentury Album and their Greatest Hits. Also in the 1950s he was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and performed in a live BBC concert and recording in 1954 of Thomas Beecham conducting Sibelius and Dvorak. The album was recently released on CD and is entitled BBC Legends: Beecham (Sibelius Symphony No. 2, Dvorak Symphony No. 8).

In 1967 he was one of the session musicians called in by The Beatles for their Magical Mystery Tour album, and specifically for the title track which features characteristic trumpet playing. The arrangement for the song was actually down to one of the three trumpet players, who were all members of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble , who were “fed up with Paul’s method of working out arrangements”.

He passed away in 1979 when he was 67 years old.

Here’s The Beatles and a short documentary of their “Magical Mystery Tour”..

Sources:

Copestake, Roy (1912-1979)

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