Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing in the

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 ...

for three years O'Higgins joined the band of

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblo ...

before moving on to Martin Taylor's band. His influences are drawn from

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

, Joe Henderson through to

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

and

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

. His current project is The Dave O'Higgins Quartet with Sebastiaan de Krom (drums), Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Graham Harvey (piano). He also plays, tours and writes with

Matt Bianco Matt Bianco are a British band that were formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid-1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music. The group's name suggests that Matt Bianco is a person, often assumed to be an alias for th ...

Discography

As leader

* 1993 ''All Good Things'' (EFZ) * 1994 ''Beats Working For A Living'' (recorded in New York) (EFZ) * 1995 ''Under The Stone'' (EFZ) (jazz quintet plus string section) * 1996 ''The Secret Ingredient'' (EFZ) * 1999 ''The Grinder’s Monkey'' (Short Fuse) * 2001 ''Big Shake Up by Dave O’Higgins’ Biggish Band'' (Candid) * 2002 ''Fast Foot Shuffle'' (Candid) * 2004 ''Push'' (Short Fuse) * 2008 ''In the Zone'' (Jazzizit) * 2009 ''Sketchbook'' * 2010 ''Relaxin' at Mount Lavinia'' (JVG) * 2011 ''The Devil's Interval'' (with Eric Alexander) (JVG) * 2012 ''Got the Real Note'' (Jazzizit) with the Gascoyne/O'Higgins Quartet * 2013 ''Two Minds Big Band'' (JVG) * 2014 ''Standards'' (JVG) * 2014 ''The Real Note Vol. 2'' (Jazzizit) with the Gascoyne/O'Higgins Quartet * 2015 ''Oh, Gee'' (Woodville) * 2015 ''The Abstract Truth Big Band'' (JVG Productions) * 2017 '' It's Always 9.30 In Zog '' (JVG Productions)

As sideman

With Martin Taylor * 1994 ''Spirit of Django'' * 1996 ''Years Apart'' * 2000 ''Gypsy'' With Others * 1989 ''For Mad Men only'', Roadside Picnic * 1997 ''Sweet Surprise'',

Trudy Kerr Trudy Kerr (born 3 January 1963) is an Australian-born jazz musician, teacher, radio presenter and label owner. Since 1997 she has released ten studio albums and a compilation album, ''Contemplation'' (January 2015). Kerr has performed concerts ...

* 2001 ''An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place'', Us3 * 2003 ''Goodbye Swingtime'', Matthew Herbert * 2005 ''Ruby Blue'', Róisín Murphy * 2006 ''Now'',

Kyle Eastwood Kyle Eastwood (born May 19, 1968) is an American jazz bassist and film composer. He studied film at the University of Southern California for two years before embarking on a music career. After becoming a session player in the early 1990s and lea ...

* 2007 ''Rise Up'', Nasio Fontaine * 2008 ''There's Me and There's You'', Matthew Herbert * 2012 ''Upside Down'',

Jazzanova Alexander Barck, Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reine ...

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohiggins, Dave Living people 1964 births English jazz saxophonists People from Birmingham, West Midlands Academics of Leeds College of Music Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands British male saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians National Youth Jazz Orchestra members Curfew (band) members