Larry Stabbins (born 9 September 1949 in
Bristol) is a British
jazz saxophonist,
flutist 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. He started playing
saxophone 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 bands such as Bristol group The Strange Fruits, particularly the music of
Junior Walker 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 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.
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 (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 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
Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...
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 Quartet,
Trevor Watts’ Moire Music, Louis Moholo’s Spirits Rejoice,
Elton Dean’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,
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. Following the breakup of Working Week he formed 'QRZ?' a fusion of jazz and rap which also recorded for
Virgin Records 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 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 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, 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'' -
Keith Tippett's
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 ...
, (
RCA)
* 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)
* 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'' -
Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra, (Dossier ST 7507)
* 1985 - ''
Working Nights'' -
Working Week, (
Virgin Records)
* 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'' -
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 ...
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
StonephaceLatest project.
European Improvisers pages.
ABJ BiographyAll 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 ThoughtsBrighton based record label for Stonephace.
DiscogsDiscogs.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