Graham Collier
Encyclopedia
James Graham Collier OBE (21 February 1937 – 10 September 2011) was an English
jazz bassist
, bandleader and composer.
, Northumberland
, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army
as a musician, spending three years in Hong Kong. He subsequently won a Down Beat
magazine scholarship to the Berklee School of Music
, Boston, studying with Herb Pomeroy
and was its first British graduate in 1963. Collier was the first recipient of an Arts Council bursary for jazz, and was commissioned by festivals, groups and broadcasters across Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East. He produced 19 albums and CDs of his music and also worked in a wide range of other media: on stage plays and musicals, on documentary and fiction film, and on a variety of radio drama productions.
Collier was also an author and educator, having written seven books on jazz and given lectures and workshops around the world. In 1987, he launched the jazz degree course at London’s Royal Academy of Music
, and was its artistic director until he resigned in 1999 to concentrate on his own music. In 1989, Collier was among the group of jazz educators who formed the International Association of Schools of Jazz, whose magazine, Jazz Changes, he co-edited for seven years. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II
in 1987 for his services to jazz.
Collier lived on a small island in Greece, where he composed, wrote and administered his back catalogue, travelling to present concerts and workshops around the world. His book, The Jazz Composer: Moving Music Off the Paper, a philosophical look at jazz and jazz composing, was published by Northway Books
in 2005, and his nineteenth CD, directing 14 Jackson Pollocks, mainly recorded in 2004, was released by the jazzcontinuum label.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
jazz bassist
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, bandleader and composer.
Life and career
Born in TynemouthTynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as a musician, spending three years in Hong Kong. He subsequently won a Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine scholarship to the Berklee School of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, Boston, studying with Herb Pomeroy
Herb Pomeroy
Irving Herbert "Herb" Pomeroy, III was an influential swing and bebop jazz trumpeter and educator...
and was its first British graduate in 1963. Collier was the first recipient of an Arts Council bursary for jazz, and was commissioned by festivals, groups and broadcasters across Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East. He produced 19 albums and CDs of his music and also worked in a wide range of other media: on stage plays and musicals, on documentary and fiction film, and on a variety of radio drama productions.
Collier was also an author and educator, having written seven books on jazz and given lectures and workshops around the world. In 1987, he launched the jazz degree course at London’s Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, and was its artistic director until he resigned in 1999 to concentrate on his own music. In 1989, Collier was among the group of jazz educators who formed the International Association of Schools of Jazz, whose magazine, Jazz Changes, he co-edited for seven years. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1987 for his services to jazz.
Collier lived on a small island in Greece, where he composed, wrote and administered his back catalogue, travelling to present concerts and workshops around the world. His book, The Jazz Composer: Moving Music Off the Paper, a philosophical look at jazz and jazz composing, was published by Northway Books
Northway Books
Northway Books is a British publishing company based in London. It specialises in autobiographies and biographies of musicians, and British social and cultural history. Its main focus is on documenting jazz history in Britain and Europe...
in 2005, and his nineteenth CD, directing 14 Jackson Pollocks, mainly recorded in 2004, was released by the jazzcontinuum label.
Books
- Jazz - A Students' and Teachers' Guide (Hardback and Paperback, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977) Translated into German, Norwegian and Italian.
- Inside Jazz (Hardback and Paperback, London: Quartet Books, 1973)
- Compositional Devices (Boston, Mass.: Berklee Press Publications, 1975)
- Cleo and John (London: Quartet Books, 1976)
- Jazz Workshop the Blues, (Universal Edition 1988) ISBN 0-900938-61-7
- Interaction – Opening Up the Jazz Ensemble (1998)
- The Jazz Composer, moving music off the paper (London: Northway Publications, 2009) ISBN 978-09557888-0-2
Sources
- Martin Kunzler, Jazz-Enzyklopädie Vol. 1., Rowohlt, Hamburg. ISBN 3-499-16512-0, p. 230f.