‘Martin Speake is one of the most interesting and rewarding alto saxophonists now playing jazz on any continent.’ Thomas Conrad – Jazz Times
Martin Speake - HULLABALOO (Import)
Martin Speake -][- HULLABALOO – [Linn Records, 2011 Import]
Citing Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker, Warne Marsh, Bill Evans, Ornette Coleman, Steve Coleman, Rabi Abou Khalil, and Paul Motian as major influences, Martin has developed a personal musical voice that expresses a deep understanding of the history and language of Jazz with an individuality as an improviser that is intelligent, melodic, cool, complex, direct, beautiful and profound. Born in Barnet, North London in 1958, Martin was inspired to take up the saxophone at the age of 16. From 1977-81, he studied Classical Saxophone at Trinity College of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Dame Ruth Railton prize for woodwind playing. He first came to public attention as a founder member of the award winning Saxophone Quartet ‘Itchy Fingers’ during the height of the UK’s so called ’80’s Jazz Revival’ when a host of young musicians including Courtney Pine, Andy Sheppard, Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and the big bands of the Jazz Warriors and Loose Tubes were acclaimed as the leaders of an emerging generation of UK jazz talent.
‘Speake’s playing can be as enigmatic as his writing. The lyricism and subtlety of both his written and improvised melodies sometimes unfold so gradually that one needs to take a mental step back to absorb it all’
With Itchy Fingers, Martin toured Europe, South America, Africa, Britain and the USA, and recorded two albums. In 1988, he left the group to develop his own projects, and establish himself as a composer and improviser. His studies at Canada’s renowned Banff Centre for the Arts in 1990, under the artistic direction of Steve Coleman, and alongside peers that included keyboard players Andy Milne and Ethan Iverson, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi, proved to be pivotal and catalytic in Martin’s subsequent development as a creative musician. —BIOGRAPHY
..:: Source: Martin Speake.co.uk (You can hear samples at his site ::..
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