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 Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England. A self-taught pianist by the age of eight, he first began playing the drums at seventeen. In Sheffield he was taught by Haydon Cook, who had returned to the city after a long residency in the 1950s at

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

in London. While in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regim ...

military band from 1957 to 1960, he studied music theory and improved his drumming technique. From 1960 to 1964 he led a quartet which performed locally in England. In 1963, he began working with

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in ...

and guitarist Derek Bailey, in a trio known as Joseph Holbrooke. Oxley moved to London in 1966 and became house drummer at Ronnie Scott's, where he accompanied visiting musicians such as

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jaz ...

, Charlie Mariano,

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as ...

, and

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

until the early 1970s. He was a member of bands led by Gordon Beck, Alan Skidmore, and Mike Pyne. In 1969, Oxley appeared on the John McLaughlin album ''

Extrapolation In mathematics, extrapolation is a type of estimation, beyond the original observation range, of the value of a variable on the basis of its relationship with another variable. It is similar to interpolation, which produces estimates between kno ...

'' and formed a quintet with Bailey, Jeff Clyne,

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ...

, and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

, releasing the album '' The Baptised Traveller''. Following this album the group was joined by Paul Rutherford on trombone and became a sextet, releasing the 1970 album ''

4 Compositions for Sextet ''4 Compositions for Sextet'' is an album by English free-jazz drummer Tony Oxley, which was recorded in 1970 and released on CBS. The album, the second of a trilogy that Oxley recorded for major labels, features the same band with whom he recor ...

''. That same year Oxley helped found Incus Records with Bailey and others and Musicians Cooperative. He received a three-month artist-in-residence job at the

Sydney Conservatorium The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...

in Australia in 1970. Around this 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 ...

and collaborated with Howard Riley. In 1973 he became a tutor at the Jazz Summer School in

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, and in 1974 he formed the band Angular Apron. Through the 1980s he worked with

Tony Coe Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...

and Didier Levallet and started the Celebration Orchestra during the latter half of the decade. In the late 1980s, Oxley toured and recorded with

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of ...

, and also began a working relationship with

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

. In 1993, he joined a quartet with

Tomasz Stańko Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Muni ...

Bobo Stenson Bobo Stenson (born Bo Gustav Stenson; 4 August 1944) is a Swedish jazz pianist. The Bobo Stenson Trio, formed in collaboration with Anders Jormin (bass) and Jon Fält (drums), has been in existence for four decades. Career Stenson studied with ...

, and Anders Jormin. In 2000 he released the album ''Triangular Screen'' with the Tony Oxley Project 1, a trio with Ivar Grydeland and Tonny Kluften.

Discography

As leader

* '' The Baptised Traveller'' (CBS, 1969) * ''

'' (CBS, 1970) * ''Ichnos'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

, 1971) * ''Jazz in Britain '68-'69'' with

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performanc ...

, Alan Skidmore (Decca Eclipse, 1972) * ''Tony Oxley'' ( Incus, 1975) * ''The Alan Davie Music Workshop'' with

Alan Davie James Alan Davie (28 September 1920 – 5 April 2014) was a Scottish painter and musician. Biography Davie was born in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1920, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and James William Davie, an art teacher and painter who e ...

(ADMW, 1975) * ''February Papers'' (Incus, 1977) * ''S.O.H.'' (EGO, 1979) * ''Ach Was!?'' with Ulrich Gumpert, Radu Malfatti ( FMP, 1981) * ''SOH'' (View, 1981) * ''Nutty On Willisau'' with

(hatART, 1984) * ''Live at Roccella Jonica'' with Norma Winstone, Kenny Wheeler, Paolo Fresu,

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

, Paolo Damiani (Ismez/Polis Music, 1985) * ''Tomorrow Is Here Jazzfest Berlin 1985, Live from the Philharmonie'' (Dossier, 1986) * ''The Glider & The Grinder'' with Philipp Wachsmann (Bead, 1987) * ''Live in Roccella Jonica 1986'' with

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

, Charlie Mariano, Paolo Damiani, Tiziana Ghiglioni (Ismez/Polis, 1987) * ''Bodies'' with Claudio Fasoli, Mick Goodrick,

Palle Danielsson Nils Paul "Palle" Danielsson (born 15 October 1946) is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden. From 1974 to 1979, he was a member of Keith Jarrett's quartet. He is the brother of pianist Monica Dominique. Career Danielsson' ...

(New Sound Planet, 1990) * ''Explore'' with

Stefano Battaglia Stefano Battaglia (born 1965 in Milan) is an Italian classical and jazz pianist. He performed as a soloist with the European Youth Orchestra in Barcelona (1981). He won the J.S. Bach Festival award in Düsseldorf for best new pianist of the yea ...

(Splasc(h), 1990) * '' In the Evenings Out There'' with Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, John Surman (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

, 1993) * ''Tony Oxley Quartet'' (Incus, 1993) * ''Sulphur'' with Stefano Battaglia, Paolino Dalla Porta (Splasc(h), 1995) * '' The Enchanted Messenger'' (Soul Note, 1995) * ''Deep'' with Ekkehard Jost, Reiner Winterschladen, Ewald Oberleitner (Fish Music, 1997) * ''Soho Suites (Recordings from 1977 & 1995)'' with Derek Bailey (Incus, 1997) * ''Digger's Harvest'' with Alexander von Schlippenbach (FMP, 1999) * ''Triangular Screen'' (Sofa, 2000) * ''Floating Phantoms'' (a/l/l, 2002) * ''GratHovOx'' with Frank Gratkowski,

Fred Van Hove Fred Van Hove (19 February 1937 – 13 January 2022) was a Belgian jazz musician and a pioneer of European free jazz. He was a pianist, accordionist, church organist, and carillonist, an improviser and a composer. In the 1960s and 1970s he pe ...

(Nuscope, 2002) * ''S.O.H. Live in London'' with Alan Skidmore, Ali Haurand (Jazzwerkstatt 2007) * ''The Advocate'' with Derek Bailey (

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

, 2007) * ''Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey Quartet'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2008) * ''Live at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz'' with Conny Bauer, Gianluigi Trovesi, Dietmar Diesner (Jazzwerkstatt 2008) * ''Improvised Pieces for Trio'' with Sebastiano Meloni, Adriano Orru (Big Round, 2010) * ''A Birthday Tribute – 75 Years'' (Incus, 2013) * ''Beaming'' (Confront Recordings, 2020) With The Quartet * ''Dedications'' (Konnex, 1984) * ''Relation'' (Konnex, 1985) * ''Interchange'' (Konnex, 1986) * ''Live'' (Konnex, 1987)

As guest

With Gordon Beck * ''Experiments with Pops'' (Major Minor, 1968) * ''Gyroscope'' (Morgan, 1969) * ''Seven Steps to Evans - A Tribute to the Compositions of

'' (MPS, 1980) * ''When Sunny Gets Blue (Spring '68 Sessions)'' (Turtle, 2018) With Bill Dixon * ''

Vade Mecum A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Engl ...

'' (Soul Note, 1994) * ''

Vade Mecum II ''Vade Mecum II'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon recorded in 1993 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Stubenrauch, R.Bill Dixon discographyaccessed November 17, 2014 Reception In his review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick ...

'' (Soul Note, 1994) * ''

Papyrus Volume I ''Papyrus Volume I'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon recorded in 1998 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Stubenrauch, R.Bill Dixon discographyaccessed November 17, 2014 Reception In his review for AllMusic, Steve Loewy ...

'' (Soul Note, 1999) * '' Papyrus Volume II'' (Soul Note, 1999) * '' Berlin Abbozzi'' (FMP, 2000) With

Barry Guy 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 ...

/London Jazz Composers Orchestra * '' Ode'' (Incus, 1972) * ''Stringer'' (FMP, 1983) With Joseph Holbrooke * ' ''98'' (Incus 2000) * ''The Moat Recordings'' (Tzadik, 2006) With Rolf Kühn * ''Devil in Paradise'' (BASF, 1971) * ''Going to the Rainbow'' (BASF, 1971) With Howard Riley * ''Flight'' (Turtle, 1971) * ''Synopsis'' (Incus 1974) * ''Overground'' (Emanem, 2001) With

* ''

Matka Joanna ''Matka Joanna'' is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 1994 and released on the ECM label.Leosia Leosia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Drzycim, within Świecie County __NOTOC__ Świecie County ( pl, powiat świecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship ...

'' (ECM, 1997) With

* '' How Many Clouds Can You See?'' (Deram, 1970) * '' Adventure Playground'' (ECM, 1992) With

* ''

Leaf Palm Hand ''Leaf Palm Hand'' is a live album featuring a performance by pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Tony Oxley recorded in Berlin on July 17, 1988 as part of month long series of concerts by Taylor and released on the FMP label.Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio ''Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio'' is a live album featuring performances by Cecil Taylor with William Parker and Tony Oxley recorded in Berlin on November 2, 1989, and released on the FMP label. Reception The AllMusic review by Brian ...

'' (FMP, 1990) * ''

Looking (Berlin Version) Corona ''Looking (Berlin Version) Corona'' is a live album featuring performances by Cecil Taylor with Harald Kimmig, Muneer Abdul Fataah, William Parker and Tony Oxley recorded in Berlin on November 3 & 4, 1989 and released on the FMP label. Rece ...

'' (FMP, 1991) * '' Celebrated Blazons'' (FMP, 1993) * '' Melancholy'' (FMP, 1999) * ''

Nailed Nailed may refer to: * ''Nailed'' (Cecil Taylor album), 2000 * ''Nailed'' (Place of Skulls album), 2001 * ''Nailed'', a 1987 demo album by the Crucified * "Nailed" (''Better Call Saul''), a television episode * "Nailed" (''CSI: Miami''), a tel ...

'' (FMP, 2000) * '' 2 Ts for a Lovely T'' (Codanza, 2002) * '' Taylor/Dixon/Oxley'' (Les Disques Victo, 2002) * '' Ailanthus/Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions of 2 Root Songs'' (Triple Point, 2009) * '' Conversations with Tony Oxley'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2018) * '' Birdland, Neuburg 2011'' (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2020) * '' Being Astral and All Registers – Power of Two'' (Discus, 2020)

With others

* Paul Bley, '' Chaos'' with Furio Di Castri (Soul Note, 1998) *

, '' Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989'' (hatART, 1989) *

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 ...

, ''Berlin Djungle'' (FMP, 1987) *

, ''The 1972 Ljubljana Concert'' (2018) *

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the onl ...

, ''The Two Faces Of Fame'' (CBS, 1967) * Michael Gibbs, Michael Gibbs (Deram, 1970) * George Gruntz, ''Monster Sticksland Meeting Two: Monster Jazz'' (MPS, 1974) * Tubby Hayes, ''Seven Steps to Heaven: Live at the Hopbine 1972'' (Gearbox, 2013) *

Giorgio Gaslini Giorgio Gaslini (; 22 October 1929 – 29 July 2014) was an Italian jazz pianist, composer and conductor. He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gaslini performed with his own quartet. He was ...

& Jean-Luc Ponty, ''Jean-Luc Ponty Meets Giorgio Gaslini'' (1974) * Don "Sugarcane" Harris, ''Keep On Driving'' (MPS, 1970) * Didier Levallet, ''Scoop'' (In+Out, 1983) * John McLaughlin, ''

'' (1969) * Mark Nauseef, ''All In All In All'' ( Relative Pitch, 2018) * Paul Rutherford & Iskra 1912, Sequences 72 & 73 (Emanem, 1997) * Ronnie Scott, ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' (CBS, 1968) * Alan Skidmore, ''Once Upon a Time'' (Deram, 1970) *

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

, ''

Hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can testable, test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on prev ...

'' (Bellaphon, 1978) * Jasper van 't Hof and George Gruntz, ''Fairytale'' (MPS 1979) *

, ''

Song for Someone "Song for Someone" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the fourth track from their thirteenth studio album, ''Songs of Innocence'', and was released as its third single on 11 May 2015. It was produced by Ryan Tedder and Flood. Lyrically, "So ...

'' (Incus, 1973)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxley, Tony 1938 births Living people Musicians from Sheffield British male drummers English jazz drummers Free jazz drummers Avant-garde jazz musicians Free improvisation Tzadik Records artists British male jazz musicians Joseph Holbrooke (band) members Incus Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists