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

Jimmy Skidmore James Richard Skidmore (8 February 1916 – 22 August 1998) was an English jazz tenor saxophonist. He was born in Manor Park, London and was the father of tenor and soprano saxophonist Alan Skidmore. Perhaps best known for his work with G ...

Career

He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his career he toured with comedian

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

. In the 1960s, he appeared on BBC Radio, then worked with

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

, and

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: * Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadiu ...

. He started a band with Harry Miller, Tony Oxley, John Taylor, and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

, which won awards at the

Montreaux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. In the early 1970s, he started a saxophone-only band with

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performanc ...

and

Mike Osborne Michael Evans Osborne (28 September 1941 – 19 September 2007) was an English jazz alto saxophonist, pianist, and clarinetist who was a member of the band Brotherhood of Breath in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Mike Osborne was born in Her ...

. He has also worked with Mose Allison,

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

, Elton Dean,

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

, Mike Gibbs,

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, ...

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

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 Inspi ...

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...

, and Mike Westbrook.

Discography

* ''Once upon a Time'' (

Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings w ...

DN11/SDN11, issued 1970) * ''TCB'' (Philips 6308 041, recorded 21 October 1970) * ''Jazz in Britain '68–69'' with John Surman, Tony Oxley (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

Eclipse ECS 2114, 1972, previously unreleased masters recorded at various sessions in 1968 and 1969) * ''SOS'' with

and

(

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun (Yoruba: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala, who ...

, 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

(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) * ''S.O.H. Live in London'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2007) * ''Jazz Live Trio'' with Kenny Wheeler (TCB, 2012)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skidmore, Alan 1942 births Living people 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century saxophonists British male saxophonists Brotherhood of Breath members Canterbury scene Centipede (band) members English blues musicians English jazz saxophonists European Jazz Ensemble members Jazz tenor saxophonists British male jazz musicians The Dedication Orchestra members