Jazz saxophonist Dankworth dead at 82

LONDON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Jazz saxophonist John Dankworth, known throughout the British jazz scene, died after a prolonged illness at the age of 82, his wife Cleo Laine says.

Laine, a singer, said at a theater in the British county of Buckinghamshire her husband's death Saturday came after the jazz great struggled with an illness for several months, the BBC reported. No official cause of death was released.

During his career, Dankworth served as musical director for such musical greats as Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. The saxophonist gained additional acclaim after he was knighted in 2006 for his services to music, his agent Jim Murtha said.

"For British jazz and jazz around the world, I believe John has become such an international figure, particularly since he became Sir John Dankworth a few years ago," Murtha said.

Dankworth also served as a Royal Academy of Music fellow and in 1985, he founded the London Symphony Orchestra Summer Pops.

The BBC said while Dankworth's health deteriorated in recent months, he managed to perform from a wheelchair at the London Jazz Festival in December.

Dankworth's only reported survivors are his wife and their two children, Alec and Jacqui.