Larry Stabbins (born 9 September 1949 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

) is a British

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 ...

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 brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

flutist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with Reed (instrument), reeds, a fl ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Larry Stabbins learned

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 school from the age of eight, when his musical idol was

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

. He started playing

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

at the age of eleven. He was soon playing in local dance bands, doing his first paid gig aged twelve, and later also playing in

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

bands such as Bristol group The Strange Fruits, particularly the music of

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist and vocalist) who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a ses ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. He started working with pianist

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

when he was sixteen and later contributed to various Tippett projects such as

Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

, Ark, Tapestry and the Keith Tippett Septet. In addition the two also worked for a time in a trio with South African percussionist

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (born 10 March 1940), is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue ...

. In London in the early 1970s, after a brief period in the

Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Provin ...

’s

Brotherhood of Breath The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes. History The Brotherhood of Breath i ...

, he played with John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Orchestra, and occasionally with the

Spontaneous Music Ensemble Spontaneous may refer to: * Spontaneous abortion * Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis * Spontaneous combustion * Spontaneous declaration * Spontaneous emission * Spontaneous fission * Spontaneous generation * Spontaneous human combustion * Spontan ...

(SME). During this period he also worked as a freelance commercial musician, playing studio sessions, nightclubs and West End shows, as well as playing in more jazz-based situations such as

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 ...

’s 'Solid Gold Cadillac'. In the 1980’s he joined the

Tony Oxley Tony Oxley (born 15 June 1938) is an English free improvising drummer and one of the founders of Incus Records. Biography Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. A self-taught pianist by the age of eight, he first began playing the drums at se ...

Quintet and played in various versions of the band and also with the Celebration Orchestra, for many years. Around the same time he joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra as well as

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

’s Alarm Orchestra and its successor the tentet 'Marz Combo'. He also worked with, among others, the

Eddie Prevost Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linu ...

Quartet,

Trevor Watts Trevor Charles Watts (born 26 February 1939) is an English jazz and free-improvising alto and soprano saxophonist. Biography Watts was born in York, England. He is largely self-taught, having taken up the cornet at age 12 then switched to s ...

’ Moire Music, Louis Moholo’s Spirits Rejoice,

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

’s Ninesense and the

Heinz Becker Heinz Reinhard Becker (August 26, 1915 – November 11, 1991) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs (1943, 1945–46) and Cleveland Indians (1946–47). Born in Berlin, Germany, he was one of only 27 German-b ...

Quintet. He also played in the cult pop group Weekend and started writing with its guitarist Simon Booth. This later evolved into Working Week, a band that took a mix of Latin, soul, jazz and funk into the pop charts. From the Latin Jazz Dance scene in London clubs, the band mixed jazz with Latin dance rhythms and vocals by singers such as

Juliet Roberts Juliet Roberts (born 6 May 1962) is a British jazz, Rock music, rock, Soul music, soul and house music singer of Grenada, Grenadian descent. Career Roberts was born in London, England. She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and per ...

Julie Tippetts Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger and ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

and Tracy Thorn. The band toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing at most of Europe's major Jazz Festivals and recording five albums for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Following the breakup of Working Week he formed 'QRZ?' a fusion of jazz and rap which also recorded for

and for the German label Loud Minority. In recent years Stabbins has worked with Keith Tippett’s Tapestry Orchestra, in Louis Moholo’s Dedication Orchestra, in a quartet with Howard Riley, playing the music of Robert Wyatt in ''Soupsongs'', and in

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 Orches ...

Spatial AKA Orchestra. The album ''Stonephace'' (2009) on Tru Thoughts Recordings, a collaboration with rave producer and DJ Krzysztof Oktalski, featured Portishead guitarist

Adrian Utley Adrian Francis Utley (born 27 April 1957) is an English musician and producer, and a member of the band Portishead.Jurek, ThomAdrian Utley Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016 Career Born in Northampton,Mejia, Paula (2015)In Search ...

and Helm DeVegas on keyboards, plus a guest appearance by trumpeter

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

.''Wax Poetics'', No.34, The Jazz Issue, p.36 His latest project 'Stonephace Stabbins' features

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

nominated pianist

Zoe Rahman Zoe Rahman (born 20 January 1971) is an English jazz composer and pianist. Early life Rahman was born and brought up in Chichester, West Sussex, England by a Bengali father, Mizan Rahman, and an English-Irish mother. Her mother was a doctor wh ...

, Crispin "Spry" Robinson from 1990's Jazz/Rap band Galliano on percussion, Karl Rasheed Abel on bass and Pat Illingworth on drums, all of whom also play in Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra.

Discography

* 1971 - ''

Septober Energy ''Septober Energy'' is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp under the musical direction of Keith Tippett, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the US with a dif ...

'' -

, (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) * 1973 - ''Mouthpiece'' - Spontaneous Music Orchestra, (

Emanem Emanem Records is a record company and independent record label founded in London, England in 1974 by Martin Davidson and Madelaine Davidson to record free improvisation. Its headquarters moved to New York City (1975–76), New Jersey (1979, ...

4039) * 1976 - ''Fire Without Bricks'' - Ashbury/Stabbins Duo, (Bead 4) * 1978 - ''Frames'' - Keith Tippett's Ark, (

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 re ...

) * 1979 - ''Mama Lapato''- Mama Lapato, (Bead 20) * 1980 - ''Stringer'' - London Jazz Composers Orchestra, (FMP SAJ-41) * 1982 - ''Tern'' - Moholo, Stabbins, Tippett. *FMP SAJ-43/44, Unheard Music Series) * 1983 - ''Continuum'' - Eddie Prevost Quartet, (Matchless MR7, re-released with extra tracks as MRCD07 1999) * 1985 - ''A Loose Kite...'' - Keith Tippett Septet, (Ogun 007/008) * 1985 - ''Tomorrow Is Here'' -

Celebration Orchestra, (Dossier ST 7507) * 1985 - '' Working Nights'' - Working Week, (

) * 1986 - '' Compañeros'' - Working Week, (Virgin Records) * 1987 - ''Surrender'' - Working Week, (Virgin Records) * 1989 - ''Fire In The Mountain '' - Working Week, (Virgin Records) * 1989 - ''Black and Gold'' - Working Week, (Virgin Records) * 1992 - ''The Marz Combo'' -

Tentet,(FMP CD47) * 1998 - ''Live at Le Mans'' - Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra, (Red Eye Music redeye008) * 1999 - ''Prayer'' - Larry Stabbins & Oktal (one track on ''Talking Drums''), (Unknown Public 12) * 2001 - ''Four In The Afternoon'' - Wren/Stabbins/Riley/Sanders, (Emanem 4067) * 2003 - ''Monadic'' (Emanem CD 4093) * 2009 - ''Stonephace (Tru Thoughts)'' - Stonephace

References

External links

Stonephace
Latest project.

European Improvisers pages.
ABJ Biography
All About Jazz biography.

Article regarding Monadic. *

All Music Guide AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Discography, biography.
Tru Thoughts
Brighton based record label for Stonephace.
Discogs
Discogs.com listing for Larry Stabbins. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stabbins, Larry 1949 births Avant-garde jazz musicians British jazz composers British jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists British jazz flautists Living people Emanem Records artists Centipede (band) members 21st-century saxophonists Working Week (band) members Male jazz composers 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century flautists RCA Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Virgin Records artists