Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942)[1] is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore.[1]
Alan Skidmore | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alan Richard James Skidmore |
| Born | 21 April 1942 London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Website | alanskidmore |
Career
editHe 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 Montreux 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 Montreux, 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- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ a b c d "Alan Skidmore". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Shipton, Alyn; Skidmore, Alan. "BBC Jazz Library - Alan Skidmore". BBC Radio 3 Jazz Library. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Discography". 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2006.
- ^ "Alan Skidmore | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 August 2021.