Alan Skidmore

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

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

Contents

Career

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

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. ISBN   0-85112-580-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 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.