Geoff Simkins
Encyclopedia
Geoff Simkins is a British
jazz
musician who plays alto saxophone
.
His early work included time with the Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra and the Temperance Seven, but his principal stylistic influences have been the American alto player Lee Konitz
and tenor player Warne Marsh
.
Geoff has played at concerts, clubs and festivals in all parts of the UK, in Europe and beyond. He often works with American musicians who are visiting the UK, and over the years has played with such luminaries as Art Farmer
, Bobby Shew
, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow
, Slide Hampton
, Warren Vache, Al Grey
, Kenny Davern
, Bill Berry, Al Casey, Howard Alden
, Ruby Braff
, Bill Coleman and Conte Candoli
. He has recorded with UK tenor player Danny Moss and with US trumpeters Billy Butterfield and Yank Lawson. Since the 1980s he has worked regularly with UK guitarist Dave Cliff
.
Geoff is also a respected teacher, and as well as running improvisation courses in Brighton, UK, he is a regular tutor at the famous, but now discontinued, Glamorgan Jazz Summer School in Wales (its successor is now held annually at Trinity College of Music in London) and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. In 1994 he was invited to be a tutor at the Czech Jazz Summer School and appeared at clubs in Prague and on Czech Television.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician who plays alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
.
Career
Geoff Simkins started playing jazz in his early teens. His first instrument was drums, but he quickly changed to the alto saxophone. He turned professional in 1977.His early work included time with the Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra and the Temperance Seven, but his principal stylistic influences have been the American alto player Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
and tenor player Warne Marsh
Warne Marsh
Warne Marion Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist born in Los Angeles.-Biography:Marsh came from an affluent background: his father was the cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh , and his mother Elizabeth was a violinist...
.
Geoff has played at concerts, clubs and festivals in all parts of the UK, in Europe and beyond. He often works with American musicians who are visiting the UK, and over the years has played with such luminaries as Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew
-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow
Tal Farlow
Talmage Holt Farlow was an American jazz guitarist. Nicknamed the "Octopus", Farlow's extremely large hands spread over the fretboard as if they were tentacles. He is considered one of the all-time great jazz guitarists. Michael G...
, Slide Hampton
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Warren Vache, Al Grey
Al Grey
Al Grey was a jazz trombonist who is most remembered for his association with the Count Basie orchestra....
, Kenny Davern
Kenny Davern
Kenny Davern , born John Kenneth Davern, was one of the premier jazz clarinetists of his generation.-Biography:He was born in Huntington, Long Island to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry...
, Bill Berry, Al Casey, Howard Alden
Howard Alden
Howard Alden is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. He has recorded a long series of albums for Concord Records. His performances were dubbed over Sean Penn as 'Emmet Ray' in the 1999 Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown...
, Ruby Braff
Ruby Braff
Reuben "Ruby" Braff was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Gary Moore TV show and described Ruby as "The Ivy League Louis Armstrong."Braff was born in Boston...
, Bill Coleman and Conte Candoli
Conte Candoli
Secondo "Conte" Candoli was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show. He played with Gerry Mulligan, and on Frank Sinatra's TV specials...
. He has recorded with UK tenor player Danny Moss and with US trumpeters Billy Butterfield and Yank Lawson. Since the 1980s he has worked regularly with UK guitarist Dave Cliff
Dave Cliff
-Career:David John “Dave” Cliff was born in Hexham, Northumberland. He began his career playing rhythm and blues in the Newcastle area. In 1967, he moved to Leeds and gained a diploma in jazz studies from Leeds College of Music while studying with bassist Peter Ind and Bernie Cash.In 1971, after...
.
Geoff is also a respected teacher, and as well as running improvisation courses in Brighton, UK, he is a regular tutor at the famous, but now discontinued, Glamorgan Jazz Summer School in Wales (its successor is now held annually at Trinity College of Music in London) and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. In 1994 he was invited to be a tutor at the Czech Jazz Summer School and appeared at clubs in Prague and on Czech Television.
Selected recordings
- with Nikki IlesNikki IlesNikki Iles is an English jazz composer and musician, playing piano and accordion.Iles was born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, her parents both musicians...
, piano
- Don't Ask
- with Dave CliffDave Cliff-Career:David John “Dave” Cliff was born in Hexham, Northumberland. He began his career playing rhythm and blues in the Newcastle area. In 1967, he moved to Leeds and gained a diploma in jazz studies from Leeds College of Music while studying with bassist Peter Ind and Bernie Cash.In 1971, after...
:
- The Right Time (LP)
- West Coast Blues (MC)
- Sipping At Bells (CD)
- The Music of Tadd DameronTadd DameronTadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
(CD) - Conversation (CD)
- with Allan GanleyAllan GanleyAllan Ganley was a respected English jazz drummer and arranger, who played with many famous names....
and Dave Cliff:
- Live at the Station
- With Howard AldenHoward AldenHoward Alden is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. He has recorded a long series of albums for Concord Records. His performances were dubbed over Sean Penn as 'Emmet Ray' in the 1999 Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown...
- Howard Alden's UK4 Live@Lewes