Galt MacDermot

Galt MacDermot was born on December 18, 1928 in Montreal, the son of Elizabeth Savage and Terrence MacDermot, a Canadian diplomat. The elder MacDermot, a pianist, exposed his son to a variety of music at an early age. Through his father, young Galt heard opera and show music, classical pieces and swinging jazz, and he decided to pick up the recorder at age 5. By age 8 he had adopted the violin, but it wasn't until he landed behind the piano at age 14 that he took a serious approach to music. Having heard Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons and the infectious boogie woogie sound emanating from the United States, MacDermot was hooked. He took school seriously - and landed a BA in History and English from Bishop University - but dedicated all of his spare time to music. His love for the great Duke Ellington grew and grew, and he became a self-described "jazz freak." In 1950, when the Canadian government appointed his father High Commissioner to South Africa, he moved with his family to Cape Town and enrolled in a music program at the university there.



full biography at http://www.galtmacdermot.com/aboutgalt.htm