Alan Wakeman (born 13 October 1947) is an English saxophonist who was a member of

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

during 1976, appearing on the album '' Softs''. He is a cousin of the keyboard player

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

Career

Wakeman started on the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

at age 14 and, while at school, played in a band with cousin Rick on

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. He switched to the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

at 16, then subsequently to the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

; he also plays

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

. He joined the

Paul Lytton Paul Lytton (born 8 March 1947, London) is an English free jazz and free improvising percussionist. Lytton began on drums at age 16. He played jazz in London in the late 1960s while taking lessons on the tabla from P.R. Desai. In 1969 he began ...

Quartet in 1968 and had his own trio in 1970 (with Harry Miller on bass). He subsequently worked with

Graham Collier James Graham Collier (21 February 1937 – 9 September 2011) was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer. Life and career Born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army as a musician, ...

(including the albums ''Songs for My Father'' and ''The Day of the Dead''),

Johnny Dankworth Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

and

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

(including playing saxophone and clarinet on the 1975 album ''Citadel/Room 315'' and 1976's ''Love/Dream and Variations''). He was also an original member of

Alan Gowen Alan Gowen (19 August 1947 – 17 May 1981) was an English fusion/progressive rock keyboardist, best known for his work in Gilgamesh and National Health. History Gowen was born in North Hampstead, northwest London. He joined Assagai in 1971 ...

's band

Gilgamesh sux, , label=none , image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg , alt = , caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyr ...

in 1972–3 but left before Gilgamesh's first album. He left Soft Machine in 1976 to join

David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...

's band, having first worked with him in 1974 on the album ''David Essex''. He also worked further with Westbrook and in the West End, including for the musical '' Grease''. He has toured with Mike Westbrook's Uncommon Orchestra on ''A Bigger Show''Westbrook and Wakeman Line Up with the Uncommon Orchestra for a Bigger Show
" by Matthew Wright, JazzWiseMagazine.com, 28 September 2017 and with Westbrook on his new jazz show ''Paintbox Jane.''

Discography

As leader

* Triton '' Wilderness of Glass'' (Awake 001, 1978, 2011) * ''The Octet Broadcasts 1969 and 1979'' (Gearbox, 2020)

As sideman

With

Pete Atkin Pete Atkin (born 22 August 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer, notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series, '' This Sceptred Isle''. Early life Born in Cambridge, ...

* ''Driving Through Mythical America'' (Philips, 1971) * ''A King at Nightfall'' (RCA Victor, 1973) * ''Beware of the Beautiful Stranger'' (Edsel, 2009) With

* ''Songs for My Father'' (Fontana, 1970) * ''Mosaics'' (Philips, 1971) * ''Jazz Illustrations'' (Resources of Music, 1975) * ''New Conditions'' (Mosaic, 1976) * ''The Day of the Dead'' (Mosaic, 1978) With

* ''David Essex'' (CBS, 1974) * ''All the Fun of the Fair'' (CBS, 1975) * ''On Tour'' (CBS, 1976) * ''Gold & Ivory'' (CBS, 1977) * ''Imperial Wizard'' (Mercury, 1979) * ''Hot Love'' (Mercury, 1980) * ''Silver Dream Racer'' (Mercury, 1980) * ''Stage Struck'' (Mercury, 1982) * ''The Whisper'' (Mercury, 1983) * ''This One's for You'' (Mercury, 1984) With

* ''Citadel/Room 315'' (RCA Victor, 1975) * ''Love/Dream and Variations'' (Transatlantic, 1976) * ''The Westbrook Blake'' (Original, 1980) * ''The Paris Album'' (Polydor, 1981) * ''Off Abbey Road'' (Tiptoe, 1990) * ''Bar Utopia'' (ASC, 1996) * ''The Orchestra of Smith's Academy'' (Enja, 1998) * ''Glad Day'' (Enja, 1999) * ''A Bigger Show'' (ASC, 2016) * ''Catania'' (Westbrook, 2018) * ''In Memory of Lou Gare Tenor Saxophone'' (Westbrook, 2018) * ''After Abbey Road'' (Westbrook, 2019) With others *

Harry Beckett Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett (30 May 1935 – 22 July 2010) was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin. Biography Born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados, Harry Beckett learned to play music in a Salvation Army ...

, ''Still Happy'' (My Only Desire, 2016) *

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

, ''Movies 'n' Me'' (RCA, 1974) *

Girls at Our Best! Girls at Our Best! were an English post-punk band, founded in Leeds, England in 1979 under the name The Butterflies. They had several UK Independent Singles Chart hits during their three-year existence. History The group initially consisted of ...

, ''Pleasure'' (Happy Birthday, 1981) *

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...

/ London Jazz Composers Orchestra, ''Ode'' (Incus, 1972) * London Jazz Composers Orchestra, ''That Time'' (Not Two 2020) * Harry Miller, ''Different Times, Different Places Vol. Two'' (Ogun, 2016) *

National Youth Jazz Orchestra The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton becam ...

, ''National Youth Jazz Orchestra'' (Philips, 1971) *

Don Rendell Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an English jazz musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Career Rendell was born in Plymouth, England, an ...

, ''Earth Music'' (Spotlite, 1979) *

, ''Softs'' (Harvest, 1976) * Soft Machine, ''The Untouchable'' (Castle, 1990) * Swans Way, ''The Fugitive Kind'' (Balgier/Phonogram, 1984) *

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album ''Jazz Suite Inspir ...

, ''The Crompton Suite'' (Steam, 1981)

References

John Chilton (Ed.),''Who's Who of British Jazz'' (London; New York : Continuum, 2004, 2nd Edition), p. 371 R. Fagge and N. Pillai (Eds.), ''New Jazz Conceptions'' (London: Routledge, 2017), p. 137 Duncan Heining, ''Mosaics: The Life and Works of Graham Collier'' (Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2018) Matthew Wright, ‘Annie Whitehead’s Interplay bring Township sounds to Leamington’, ''JazzWise Magazine'', 2 May 2018

External links

*
Mike Westbrook - The Uncommon Orchestra

Alan Wakeman Discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakeman, Alan 1947 births Living people People from Hammersmith English jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Soft Machine members Canterbury scene 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians