Alan Skidmore

Alan Skidmore

Alan Skidmore is a London-born jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1942. He is the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. He works in jazz, including avant-garde jazz and post-bop, and is associated with free jazz and smooth jazz tags in some listings.

Career

Skidmore begins his professional career at 16 and tours early on with comedian Tony Hancock. In the mid to late 1960s he works with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Ronnie Scott’s band. His first solo album is Once Upon a Time in 1969.

In the 1970s he plays with Keith Tippett’s large jazz fusion group Centipede and also works with Soft Machine, The Nice, Graham Collier, Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, Mike Gibbs, Elton Dean, Kate Bush and Curved Air. He also collaborates with Chick Corea, Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame and Van Morrison. In 1977 he is part of Lala Kovačev’s avant-garde jazz quartet European Jazz Consensus with Gerd Dudek and Adelhard Roidinger; the group issues Four for Slavia and Morning Rise that year.

Groups and projects

Skidmore co-founds the all-saxophone ensemble S.O.S. in 1973 with John Surman and Mike Osborne. He also records under his own name and as Alan Skidmore, Tony Oxley & Ali Haurand. Other groups linked with him include Interjazz IV, The Mike Westbrook Concert Band, Charlie Watt’s All-Star Jazz Orchestra, European Jazz Quintett, The Alan Skidmore Quintet, John Warren Bigband, European Jazz Sextet, S.O.H., Tenor Tonic, Alan Skidmore Trio and The Skidmores.

Later work and recordings

Skidmore’s playing is marked by a strong John Coltrane influence. This is especially clear on Tribute to 'trane from 1988 and After the Rain from 1998, both of which use orchestral settings of tunes recorded, and in some cases written, by Coltrane.

Towards the end of apartheid in South Africa, he travels there to record with musicians from the percussion group Amampondo, including pianist Simpiwe Matole, combining modern jazz with African percussion and chants.