Byron Wallen (born July 1969)
is a British jazz trumpeter, composer and educator. He was described by ''
Jazzwise
''Jazzwise'', launched in 1997, is the UK jazz monthly magazine. ''Jazzwise'' has a broad sub-genre coverage, from jazz, improv, hard bop, and jazz-rock to bebop and classic jazz, and also covers jazz crossover, including jazz-funk, jazz hip-h ...
'' as "one of the most innovative, exciting and original trumpet players alive".
As characterised by ''
All About Jazz
''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
'', "He does not fit into any pigeonhole, however, and is also something of a renaissance man: he has long been involved in
cognitive psychology and also travels widely, spending extended periods in South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Morocco, Indonesia and Belize (his parents' homeland)."
Biography
Wallen was born in London, England, to parents from
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
,
and was brought up in a musical family – one of his three siblings is composer
Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn Wallen (born April 10, 1958) is a Belize-born British composer.
Life
Errollyn Wallen moved to London with her family when she was two. While her parents moved to New York, she and her three siblings (one of whom is the trumpeter By ...
. After beginning to learn classical piano as a young child, also playing
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
, he went on to study the trumpet in New York in the mid- to late 1980s with
Jimmy Owens,
Donald Byrd and
Jon Faddis.
Wallen graduated from
Sussex University with a degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Maths, while developing his music career, recording with
Loose Ends and
Cleveland Watkiss
Cleveland Watkiss, (born 21 October 1959), is a British vocalist, actor, and composer.
Biography
Cleveland Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents, and was one of nine children. He is the older brother of pianist Trevo ...
, and playing trumpet with
The Style Council
The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...
,
Charles Earland,
Courtney Pine
Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...
and
Jean Toussaint
Jean Toussaint (born July 27, 1960) is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist.
Life and career
Toussaint was born in Aruba, Dutch Antilles, and was raised in Saint Thomas and New York City. He learned to play calypso as a child and att ...
, among others.
He is also among the alumni of jazz music education and artist development organisation
Tomorrow's Warriors. Other artists with whom he would later perform include
David Murray,
Andrew Hill,
Butch Morris,
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...
,
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...
,
Manu Dibango,
Eddie Henderson,
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
,
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...
,
William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
,
Toumani Diabate,
Ronnie Laws,
Chaka Khan and
Grand Union Orchestra
Grand Union Orchestra, also known as The Grand Union, is a multicultural world jazz ensemble based in London. It has been performing, touring and recording large-scale shows for over 30 years and is well known for its educational work.
Biography ...
.
Forming his own band Sound Advice in 1992, Wallen released his debut album in 1995, which has been followed by five further albums.
As a composer Wallen has had commissions from such organisations as London's
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...
, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
.
in the Jazz Innovation category.
His 2007 album ''Meeting Ground'' was nominated for Best Band and Best Album in the 2007
.
* 1995: ''Sound Advice''
* 1997: ''Bambaraka - Automatic Original''
* 1997: ''Earth Roots''
* 2002: ''Indigo''
* 2007: ''Meeting Ground''
* 2020: ''Portrait: Reflections On Belonging''