Mike Walker (born 12 July 1962) is a British jazz guitarist.

Career

Walker was influenced by his father's piano playing, his mother's singing, and his brother's guitar playing. He went on to discover a passion for jazz guitarists

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, and

Tal Farlow Talmage Holt Farlow (June 7, 1921 – July 25, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist. He was nicknamed "Octopus" because of how his large, quick hands spread over the fretboard. As Steve Rochinski notes, "Of all the guitarists to emerge in th ...

. He joined the jazz fusion band River People with Paul Allen, Tim Franks, and Paul Kilvington in Manchester. In the 1980s, he became a member of a quartet led by vibraphonist Alan Butler and worked with Michael Gibbs and

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. He worked with

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and

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, then the

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band, where he met saxophonist Iain Dixon. While in Zurich with the Kenny Wheeler big band, he met

Julian Arguelles Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (giv ...

and joined his quartet. In the 1990s he toured in bands led by saxophonist Tommy Smith. He has worked as George Russell's guitarist, recording with him on several occasions, and with the Creative Jazz Orchestra,

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, Bill Frisell,

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, John Taylor,

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, and

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. In May 2008, Wallker released his debut album ''Madhouse and the Whole Thing There''. It features the members of Brazil Nuts, plus strings and brass sections, piano, vocals, and French horn. Walker was commissioned to write a some music for

Manchester Jazz Festival {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Manchester Jazz Festival is an annual 9-day-long festival focused on showcasing contemporary jazz from the North West of England and beyond. mjf 2017 The 2017 Manchester Jazz Festival took place from 28 July to 6 ...

. He wrote a suite called "Ropes" that was performed by a 22-piece orchestra, a jazz quintet, and

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on drums at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

in Manchester. Walker's sextet includes Les Chisnall, Iain Dixon,

Malcolm Edmonstone Malcolm Edmonstone (born 1980, Perth, Scotland) is a British jazz pianist and pop arranger. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he became Head of Jazz. Edmonstone provided orchestral arrangements for Gary Barlow’s 202 ...

, Pat Illingworth, and Steve Watts. He is a member of The Printmakers, a band organized by Nikki Iles and Norma Winstone with Mark Lockheart, Steve Watts, and James Maddren; and The Impossible Gentleman with

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

, Adam Nussbaum, and

Gwilym Simcock Gwilym Simcock (born 24 February 1981) is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, often blurring any distinction between the two musical forms. Simcock was chosen as one of the 1000 Most Influential People in Lo ...

. He has taught a music summer school in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

with Iain Dixon and has been a tutor for the National Youth Jazz Collective, in addition to teaching guitar online.

Discography

As leader

* ''Madhouse and the Whole Thing There'' (2008) * ''Beholden'' (Shell Like, 2014) * ''Ropes'' (Madhouse, 2018) With Creme Anglaise * ''Creme Anglaise'' (Jazzprint, 2006) With The Impossible Gentlemen * ''The Impossible Gentlemen'' (Basho, 2011) * ''Internationally Recognised Aliens'' (Basho, 2013) * ''Let's Get Deluxe'' (Basho, 2016) With The Printmakers * ''Westerly'' (Basho, 2015) With Real Book North West * ''Real Book North West'' (Jazz Services, 2010)

As sideman or guest

With Julian Argueelles * ''Home Truths'' (Babel, 1995) * ''Skull View'' (Babel, 1997) * ''Escapade'' (Provocateur, 1999) * ''As Above So Below'' (Provocateur, 2003) With others *

, ''Composition No. 175, Composition No. 126 Trillium-Dialogues M'' (Leo, 2006) * Mike Gibbs, ''By the Way'' (Ah Um, 1993) * Roy Powell, ''North by Northwest'' (Nagel Heyer, 2001) * George Russell, ''The 80th Birthday Concert'' (Concept, 2005) * George Russell, ''It's About Time: 1996'' (Label Bleu, 2016)

References

External links

Mike Walker Official Website

NWJazzworks
''This biography was written by Mike Walker himself. This Wikipedia page was put together by Adrian Stevenson on behalf of Mike Walker.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Mike English jazz guitarists English male guitarists People from Salford Music in Salford Musicians from Manchester 1962 births Living people British male jazz musicians