Information/Write-up
Jimmy (James) Namaro was one of the most distinctive and versatile figures in Canadian popular music, a musician whose career bridged radio’s golden age, the nightclub era, television variety, jazz, Latin music, and commercial recording. A master of mallet instruments at a time when vibraphone and marimba were still novelties in popular music, Namaro built a reputation not through virtuoso showmanship alone, but through adaptability, taste, and an unerring sense of audience.
Born on 14 April 1913, Namaro’s place of birth is variously cited as La Rosita, Mexico or Columbus, Michigan, reflecting a family history that crossed borders early. In 1921, his family settled in Hamilton, Ontario, where his musical life took shape. He studied piano with Sid Walling and Eric Lewis, grounding himself in harmony and structure before gravitating toward percussion and mallet instruments. By his teens, Namaro was already active on radio, appearing on CHML Hamilton, CFRB Toronto, and eventually the CBC, first as a marimba player and later as a versatile accompanist and arranger.
In 1933, while still in his early twenties, Namaro served as assistant conductor of a marimba band at the Chicago World’s Fair, an early indication of both his technical command and his comfort in large-scale productions. From that point forward, his career followed two parallel paths: as a club musician and bandleader, and as a broadcast professional.
From 1943 to 1959, Namaro was a central musical presence on CBC radio’s immensely popular The Happy Gang, a program that brought him into homes across the country and established him as a familiar and trusted musical voice. He adapted seamlessly as broadcasting moved from radio to television, becoming a regular contributor to CBC-TV and CTV productions as a performer, composer, arranger, and conductor. His work during this period reflects a musician deeply attuned to the demands of live broadcasting: clarity, economy, and stylistic flexibility.
Parallel to his broadcast career, Namaro became a fixture of the nightclub circuit. Nowhere was this more evident than at Toronto’s Westbury Hotel, where he led trios and ensembles in the Polo Lounge for extended engagements beginning in the 1950s. Liner notes from albums recorded at the Westbury reveal a musician who moved fluidly between piano, vibraphone, and marimba, shaping programs that balanced standards, original compositions, Latin material, and contemporary jazz. These were not casual lounge gigs but tightly organized musical environments, often featuring the same core personnel over many years, reinforcing Namaro’s preference for continuity and ensemble cohesion.
Recording followed naturally. Beginning in the late 1950s, Namaro released a steady stream of LPs for Sparton, RCA Victor / Camden, Quality Records, and the Canadian Talent Library. Albums such as With Mallets a Four Thought, Plays Middle-Road Jazz at the Westbury, Marimba, Xylophone and Piano with Orchestra, and We Gotta Get It All Together document an artist in constant motion — shifting instrumentation, expanding ensembles, and experimenting with Latin rhythms, orchestral textures, and contemporary arrangements. His CTL recordings, in particular, show him operating at a high professional level, orchestrating for strings and brass while maintaining the rhythmic identity of a small group leader.
Namaro was also a prolific composer and arranger, writing original material for his albums, countless commercial jingles, and music for CBC radio and television drama, including the series Seaway. His compositional voice favored melody and rhythm over abstraction, a trait echoed in his own liner notes, where he repeatedly emphasized accessibility, groove, and emotional clarity. Beyond music, Namaro was an accomplished painter, working in a primitive style and exhibiting his artwork publicly — another expression of the same instinct to communicate directly rather than intellectually.
In the 1970s, Namaro relocated to the United States, entering a new phase of his career as music director for Frankie Laine, a role he held from approximately 1978 to 1993. Touring extensively across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Namaro applied decades of experience to large-scale touring productions, once again demonstrating his adaptability and professionalism. In 1987, he moved to Richmond, British Columbia, where he continued composing and collaborating with Laine into his later years.
Jimmy Namaro died in Richmond on 25 April 1998, closing a career that spanned more than six decades. What distinguishes his legacy is not a single hit record or defining moment, but a body of work that reflects the lived reality of a working musician in Canada — one who navigated radio, television, clubs, studios, and touring with equal confidence, and who helped establish mallet instruments as a viable and expressive voice in Canadian popular and jazz music.
-Robert Williston
Musicians
Jimmy Namaro: marimba, vibraphone, piano, organ, four keyboards
Lin Boyd: bass
Gord Carley: drums
Notes
“The First Time” is an expression each of us remembers for many reasons and many impressionable occasions.
Hence this album is one to be remembered by you, and, perhaps most, by Jimmy Namaro. This is the first time that Jimmy Namaro has recorded an L.P. and with it several of his own tunes. Often, as you may remember, first times are not professional, lacking in taste, elegance and confidence. This is not the case with Jimmy Namaro’s first album, for here is a musician who is known to be always competent, versatile and with individual brilliance.
Here is a list of some of his qualities:
Conductor — Has conducted many radio and television shows, showing great interest and discernment, even to carrying his own baton.
Fisherman — Returns from summer home at least twice during season to purchase several pounds of fast-frozen haddock.
Composer — Has written many tunes, several of which you can hear on this album.
Beat Bumwell — Has an unusual wardrobe; often has to change into conventional attire before conducting a programme — musicians have been known to storm onto stage.
Pianist — Plays piano with both hands. Was close friend and admirer of Fats Waller. Once was featured on half-hour radio show, playing with only left hand finger.
Dialectician — Has great ability with many accents, best described as European.
Singer — Has had many opportunities to vocalize — style is a combination of Belafonte, Caruso and Gospel singer.
Friend Of Famous — Has conducted for Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Victor Borge, Patti Page and others. Prefers appearance of Lena Horne to Frank Sinatra.
Vibraphonist — One of first Canadians to play this instrument professionally; has been reliably reported deliberately.
Lover Of Animals — Has strong feeling about dogs; was particularly fond of small poodle on Frigidaire Television show.
Celeste Soloist — Plays delicate instrument with music-box precision.
Balletomane — Has completed first performance on C.B.C. Folio.
Marimba-ist — One of few Canadians who has featured this instrument. Has several solo recordings. One long, he can’t get it out of cellar.
Organist — Has literally hundreds of versions of the blues — all in the same key.
Arranger — Arranges successfully small groups and large orchestras.
Father — Has three children who firmly believe father is genius.
Lyricist — Many jingles for coffee, cereals, cocoa, etc., and material for musical revues in Toronto.
Husband — His wife, the mother of his three children, is very glad he is.
There you have a brief sketch of your soloist and leader on this L.P. — Jimmy Namaro, a musician old enough to have lived through the Swing era, existed through the Bop, maintained his sanity with Rock and Roll, and doesn’t wish to be “way out”. His type of music is the mature and slightly sentimental person.
This is his first L.P. — an event to be remembered because you may hear everyone say, “Where have we heard Jimmy Namaro before?” There is a second Jimmy Namaro L.P.
Album notes by Byng Whitaker
Hammond organ from Heintzman & Co.
Released by Sparton Records, London, Canada
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