Roger Beaujolais

Roger Beaujolais (born November 22, 1952 in Harrogate as Roger Downham ) is a British jazz musician ( vibraphone , composition ).

Live and act

Beaujolais played the drums briefly at the age of 15 and received lessons from a big band drummer. He also learned the basics of playing the piano. As an adult, he buys a vibraphone, which he plays as a self-taught . At the age of 29 there were first appearances. In 1982 he was a founding member of the jump and jive band The Chevallier Brothers , with whom he became internationally known and also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival . After their dissolution in 1988 he became a member of the pop group Fairground Attraction , with which he immediately had a hit with "Perfect".

With his Beaujolais Band he got a record deal with Acid Jazz Records , where he released the two albums Mind How You Go (1990) and Talk, Talk & More Talk (1993), then two albums in the field of soul jazz with Vibraphonic . With this band there were further productions for the Disney label Hollywood Records and on their own label StayTuned Records . In 1999 the album For Old Times followed under his own name with his quintet , followed by the albums I'll See You Tonight (2002), Sentimental (2005) and Blue Reflections (2008). Two productions with his quartet followed. He also played in the groups Jazz Percussion Quintet and LushLife , with whom he also released records. He can also be heard on productions by Robert Plant , Roni Size , Paul Weller , Morrissey , Kirsty MacColl , Alexander O'Neal , Neneh Cherry , Shola Ama , Colin Vearncombe , Juliet Kelly and Alison Limerick .

He also teaches as a professor at Trinity Laban College of Music & Dance .

Discographic notes

• Roger Beaujolais Italian Trio: Barba Lunga (Stay Tuned, 2019), with Giocomo Dominici and Alessandro Pivi

Web links

• Web presence
• Roger Beaujolais at Discogs (English)
• Roger Beaujolais at Allmusic (English)