Alan Skidmore

Alan Richard James Skidmore (born April 21, 1942 in London ) is an English tenor and soprano saxophonist of modern jazz .

Live and act

The son of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore received his musical training at the London Conservatory . In the mid-1960s, he first played in blues rock bands with Alexis Korner , John Mayall and Georgie Fame , but also with Sonny Boy Williamson II and champion Jack Dupree . In 1969 he founded his own quintet with pianist John Taylor and trombonist Malcolm Griffiths , began working with John Surman and played two years in Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath . He was a long-time member of the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band , but also recorded with Keith Tippett's Centipede , Volker Kriegel , Chick Corea , Rolf Kühn and the big bands of Stan Tracey and Charlie Watts . He also played with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen , Weather Report and various big bands ( BBC , NDR , WDR ). In the early 1990s he was a member of the Dedication Orchestra . In recent years he has been featured several times in the ensembles of Colin Towns and has presented his own productions with South African musicians. He appeared in Central Europe more often in groups around Ali Haurand .

Skidmore's phrasing and tone formation, although independent, is heavily influenced by John Coltrane . As early as 1969 he was rated as the best soloist during his performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival and his quintet was awarded 1st prize by the press. For many years he was the winner of the English Jazzpolls at the Melody Maker for tenor saxophone. Skidmore has also appeared as a studio musician ( The Nice , Soft Machine , Walker Brothers , Kate Bush , Van Morrison ).

Choice discography

• Once Upon a Time (1969)
• TCB (1970)
• SOS (1975) (with John Surman and Mike Osborne )
• SOH Live in London (with Tony Oxley and Ali Haurand)
• Tribute to Trane (1988)
• After the Rain (1998)
• The Call (2001) - with Amampondo
• Ubizo (2003) - with Amampondo

Lexigraphic entries

• Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
• John Chilton : Who's Who of British Jazz Continuum, London 2004, (2nd edition).
• Richard Cook : Jazz Encyclopedia London: Penguin, 2007, ISBN 978-0-141-02646-6 .

Web links

• Homepage with discography