John Dankworth has been a mainstay of the British jazz scene for more than 50 years. ANDREW WHITE talks to the musician about his work and famous partnership with Cleo Laine...

IT'S impossible to imagine a jazz band getting into the British singles charts these days. In the 50s and early 60s, it was a different story. Big band was king and John Dankworth - or Johnny as he was then still known - was just about the biggest homegrown music star there was.

The composer, conductor and musician got into the top ten twice, with Experiments with Mice and African Waltz, and was voted Musician of the Year an impressive six years running by Melody Maker.

"We were the Beatles of our day," says John, 75, whose bands - all three of them - are still going strong (although not giving the singles chart compilers much to worry about).

"Jazz musicians ruled the roost for quite a while, even though what we were playing wasn't pop music.

"The level of fame was quite considerable. The Evening Star, one of the main London papers of the time, even ran a two-week serialisation of my memoirs.

"It was quite a buzz in a way, but I was too young to realise what it meant. All I wanted to do was play my music."

The musical landscape of the 60s was obliterated overnight by the arrival of The Beatles and the strange new sound of pop.

John and his cohorts might have been forgiven for being a bit worried.

"I was sort of depressed by it. I really thought that it was the end for jazz, that it would never recover. Fortunately, I was very, very wrong."

John, together with his wife and long-time collaborator Cleo Laine, currently divides his time between England and the USA, where his music has a more youthful following.

Despite their popularity and the glamorous homes in New York and California, the couple are beginning to tire of the constant travelling.

"It's really hard to avoid too many transatlantic journeys," says John.

"We used to be able to tolerate the travelling, but it's got so tough with all the security and everything, we try to do as little of it as possible."

Back at home, John and Cleo are still firm favourites on the jazz circuit. They also give regular performances in the purpose-built theatre in the grounds of their idyllic rural retreat in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire.

John, whose shows consist of a mix of original material and treasured standards, was fascinated by music from an early age and got into the prestigious Royal Academy of Music at 17.

Despite coming from a musical family, John's mother was not best pleased when her offspring announced his intention to take up music professionally.

"She nearly died of fright when I told her I'd joined a band. To my parents' credit, they did come round to the idea.

"I'd been pretty bright at school, then suddenly I started going down the pan. It was because of music.

"I'd heard Benny Goodman and I persuaded my parents to let me buy a clarinet. They didn't mind me being an amateur, but they were a bit worried when my schoolwork started getting messed up and it was going to ruin my chances of getting a proper job.

"I just said I wanted to leave school and go somewhere and learn music. To their credit, they let me go to audition at the Royal Academy and I got in."

After two years of studying and a short spell in the Army, John jumped feet first into the flourishing post-war jazz scene.

"I met Ronnie Scott and several other jazz musicians who were the same age as me. We started doing things together and attracted a lot of attention. We were a new generation."

John and Cleo met for the first time in 1950, when John and his band were auditioning female singers.

"We auditioned loads of girls, but we couldn't find anyone any good, even though we were hitting the headlines at the time.

"In the end, this girl turned up at our agent's office and our agent, who was fed up with the whole business, said 'Can you stand to audition one more girl?' It turned out to be Cleo and she got the job."

It was another two years before John and Cleo got together as a couple.

"She was attractive from the start, but unfortunately she was married, although I later found out her marriage wasn't really working."

Unlike most married couples, John and Cleo not only live together, but spend much of the time working together too. Not surprisingly, this arrangement makes for its fair share of ructions.

"We fight like cat and dog!" laughs John. "Normally it's over what to do or how to do it. I'm the neurotic one and Cleo's the laid-back one."

Despite the fame and the globetrotting, the couple's domestic existence is reassuringly familiar.

"In my spare time I enjoy looking for the perfect car or doing improving jobs around the house," says John.

"Cleo doesn't get too involved in the DIY. Well, not much: I put up the shelves and she criticises."

The John Dankworth Quintet are at the Concorde Club, Eastleigh on 23rd July. Tickets cost from £11. Box office: 023 8061 3989.