Alan Skidmore

Alan Skidmore
Birth nameAlan Richard James Skidmore
Born (1942-04-21) 21 April 1942 (age 81)
London, England
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Saxophone
Years active1950s–present
Websitealanskidmore.info

Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942)[1] is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore.[1]

Career[edit]

He was born in London, England.[1] Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his career he toured with comedian Tony Hancock.[2] In the 1960s, he began frequently appearing with the BBC Radio Big Band,[3] then worked with Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and Ronnie Scott.[4] Commissioned by the BBC in order to represent the UK at the Montreaux Jazz Festival,[5] Skidmore formed a group with Harry Miller, Tony Oxley, John Taylor, and Kenny Wheeler.[2] This group won three of six awards at Montreaux, following which Skidmore was invited to record an album of the group's performances, forming the basis for Once Upon a Time.[5] In the early 1970s, he started a saxophone-only band with John Surman and Mike Osborne.[2] He has also worked with Mose Allison, Kate Bush, Elton Dean, Georgie Fame, Mike Gibbs, George Gruntz, Elvin Jones, Van Morrison, Stan Tracey, Charlie Watts, and Mike Westbrook.[2][6]

Discography[edit]

  • Once upon a Time (Deram Records DN11/SDN11, issued 1970)
  • TCB (Philips 6308 041, recorded 21 October 1970)
  • Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (RCA/Neon, 1971)
  • Jazz in Britain '68–69 with John Surman, Tony Oxley (Decca Eclipse ECS 2114, 1972, previously unreleased masters recorded at various sessions in 1968 and 1969)
  • SOS with John Surman and Mike Osborne (Ogun, recorded Worthing, 9–11 February 1975)
  • El Skid with Elton Dean, Chris Laurence, John Marshall (Vinyl Records, recorded Riverside Studios, 25–26 February 1977)
  • European Jazz Quintet - Live at the Moers Festival (Ring-Moers 01018, recorded Moers, Germany, 29 May 1977)
  • European Jazz Quintet (EGO, 1978)
  • S.O.H. with Tony Oxley, Ali Haurand (EGO, 1979)
  • S.O.H. with Tony Oxley, Ali Haurand (View Records VS 0018, Neuss, Germany, 25 April 1981)
  • European Jazz Quintet III (Fusion, 1982)
  • Tribute to Trane (Miles Music, recorded London, 18–19 February 1988)
  • East To West with Stan Tracey (Miles Music MM 081CD, recorded Hong Kong, 1989, and Ronnie Scott's, London, February 1992)
  • After the Rain (with string orchestra) (Miles Music 1998)
  • The Call (Provocateur PVC 1018, Cape Town, April 1999 and London, May 1999)
  • Ubizo (Provocateur PVC 1036, ca.2002)
  • Bremen to Bridgwater with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Cuneiform, 2004) recorded in 1971 and 1975
  • S.O.H. Live in London (Jazzwerkstatt, 2007)
  • Eclipse at Dawn with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Cuneiform, 2008) recorded in 1971
  • Jazz Live Trio with Kenny Wheeler (TCB, 2012)[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ a b c d "Alan Skidmore". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ^ Male, Andrew (2021). "'Rawness, freedom, experimentation': the Brit jazz boom of the 60s and 70s". The Guardian. No. 18 August. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  4. ^ Searle, Chris (2019). "'He has inspired my whole life in jazz'". Morning Star Online. No. 09 September. People’s Press Printing Society. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b Shipton, Alyn; Skidmore, Alan. "BBC Jazz Library - Alan Skidmore". BBC Radio 3 Jazz Library. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Discography". 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2006.
  7. ^ "Alan Skidmore | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 August 2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Skidmore&oldid=1219138894"