Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he was born to

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindia ...

n parents. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

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 ...

in addition to composing. Baptiste played with Gary Crosby and Nu Troop, before releasing in 1999 his debut album ''Be Where You Are'', which was nominated for a

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

and won the

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

award for Best Jazz Act 1999. Baptiste's third album ''Let Freedom Ring!'' was nominated for the MOBO award for Best Jazz Act 2004, the

BBC Jazz Awards The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jo ...

for Best New Work and Best Album 2004, and the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Album 2004. As a soloist, Baptiste has recorded and played with many prominent international musicians, including

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

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Bheki Mseleku Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku, generally known as Bheki Mseleku (3 March 1955 – 9 September 2008), was a jazz musician from South Africa. He was a pianist, saxophonist, guitarist, composer and arranger who was entirely self-taught.John Fordham"Bh ...

Marvin "Smitty" Smith Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musica ...

, Michael Bowie,

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 ...

, Manu Dibango,

Steve Williamson Steve Williamson (born 28 June 1964) is an English saxophonist and composer (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboard and composition). He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary Britis ...

Julian Joseph Julian Raphael Nathaniel Joseph (born 11 May 1966) is a British jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and broadcaster. Biography Joseph was born in London and attended Allfarthing Primary School and Spencer Park Secondary School in Wan ...

Jason Rebello Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer. Career Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. He was cl ...

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Ralph Moore Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English jazz saxophonist. Early life Moore was born in Brixton, London, England. His mother was the dancer Josie Woods, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and afte ...

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Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orche ...

Jean Carne Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was ...

Marlena Shaw Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942) is an American jazz, blues and soul music, soul singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in Hip hop music, hip hop mus ...

Juliet Roberts Juliet Roberts (born 6 May 1962) is a British jazz, rock, soul and house music singer of Grenadian descent. Career Roberts was born in London, England. She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and performed on the 1983 top 10 hit s ...

, and

Jazz Jamaica Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — on ...

Background

Baptiste was born to

n parents in Hounslow, west London, in 1969. Studying music at school from the age of 13, he went on to attend the

West London Institute of Higher Education The West London Institute of Higher Education (WLIHE), a two-campus academic establishment, was located in Isleworth and East Twickenham, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it became Brunel University College. In 1997 it was fully integrat ...

(now integrated into

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

) in 1990, then in 1992 continued his music education at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, studying under

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 ...

. Described as "one of the true heavyweights of UK jazz", Baptiste joined Gary Crosby Nu Troop and was nurtured by the Tomorrow's Warriors programme, from where many other emerging stars on the London scene graduated. In 1999 Baptiste's debut album was released to much acclaim, earning him a

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

nomination (the only jazz record to be shortlisted), and winning him the

award for Best Jazz Act. In 2000, he won the British Jazz Award for Rising Star, releasing his second album, ''Alternating Currents'', in 2001. This was followed in 2003 by ''Let Freedom Ring!'' – commemorating the 40th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" oration – which earned Baptiste nominations for Best Album and Best New Work in the

, for Best Jazz Act in the MOBO Awards, and Best Album in the

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

. In 2011 Baptiste's fourth album, ''Identity By Subtraction'' was released, described in ''

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 "a robust and absorbing statement from one of the UK's finest young saxophonists." Baptiste's most recent album, ''The Late Trane'', released in 2017 to mark 50 years since the death of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

, was positively and widely welcomed, earning many four-star reviews. As noted by the reviewer for ''London Jazz News'', "Baptiste may record infrequently (this only his fifth album in 18 years), but the quality, commitment and emotional impact leap out from the speakers." Among other praise accorded to Baptiste, '' AllAboutJazz'' observes: "His colossal talent - based on a powerful technique and an ability to improvise fluently and effortlessly across a wide range of musical styles – is matched only by his unfettered energy which takes him and his audiences into the musical stratosphere. An evening with Denys guarantees a display of unsuppressed expression, ranging from sweet 'saxuality' to breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat virtuosity."

Discography

*''Be Where You Are'' (Dune Records, 1999) *''Alternating Currents'' (Dune, 2001) *''Let Freedom Ring!'' (Dune, 2003) *''Identity By Subtraction'' (Dune, 2011) *''The Late Trane'' (Edition, 2017)

References

External links

Denys Baptiste official websiteInterview
with AllAboutJazz.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Baptiste, Denys 1969 births Living people 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century saxophonists Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Black British musicians British male saxophonists Edition Records artists English jazz composers English jazz saxophonists English male composers English people of Saint Lucian descent Male jazz composers Nu Troop members People from Hounslow The Spatial AKA Orchestra members

Background

Discography

See also

References

External links