Tony Coe
Encyclopedia
Anthony George Coe is a composer and jazz
musician
who plays clarinet
, bass clarinet
, and tenor saxophone
.
Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton
's band from 1957 to 1962. In 1965 he joined Count Basie
's band and has since played with the John Dankworth
Orchestra, The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
, Derek Bailey's Company
, Stan Tracey
, Michael Gibbs
, Stan Getz
, Dizzy Gillespie
, Bob Brookmeyer
and performed under Pierre Boulez
, as well as leading a series of groups of his own, including Coe Oxley & Co, together with drummer Tony Oxley
. He played on John Martyn
's 1973 album Solid Air
.
He has also worked with The Matrix, a small ensemble formed by clarinettist Alan Hacker
, with a wide-ranging repertoire of early, classical and contemporary music, the Danish Radio Big Band, Metropole Orchestra and Skymasters in Holland.
Tony Coe has recorded on soundtracks for several films, including Superman II
, Victor/Victoria
, Nous irons tous au paradis, Leaving Las Vegas
, Le Plus beau métier du monde, The Loss of Sexual Innocence
and he is the featured tenor sax soloist
in Henry Mancini
's music for the Pink Panther films. He also composed the film score
for Camomille.
In 1975 a grant from the Arts Council
enabled him to write Zeitgeist, an extended, large scale orchestral work fusing jazz and rock elements with techniques from European Art Music.
Among the awards he has received are an honorary D Mus, the prestigious Danish Jazzpar Prize
1995 (the first non-American to receive this prize).
One of Tony Coe’s sons is radio broadcaster Gideon Coe
.
Citing Paul Gonsalves
as an influence, Coe is especially noted for his versatility.
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
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who plays clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, and tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
.
Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
's band from 1957 to 1962. In 1965 he joined Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's band and has since played with the John Dankworth
John Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...
Orchestra, The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke–Francy Boland Big Band was one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States.It was formed in 1961, when, with the help of producer Gigi Campi, the US drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist and composer Francy Boland and ex-Ellington bassist Jimmy Woode...
, Derek Bailey's Company
Company (free improvisation group)
Company was an ever changing collection of free improvising musicians. The concept was devised by guitarist Derek Bailey in order to create challenging and artistically stimulating combinations of players who might not otherwise have had an opportunity to work together.At various times Company has...
, Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...
, Michael Gibbs
Michael Gibbs (jazz composer)
Michael Clement Irving Gibbs is a jazz composer, conductor, arranger and producer as well as a trombonist and keyboardist....
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Bob Brookmeyer
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
and performed under Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, as well as leading a series of groups of his own, including Coe Oxley & Co, together with drummer Tony Oxley
Tony Oxley
Tony Oxley is an English free-jazz drummer and one of the founders of Incus Records.-Biography:Tony Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. A self-taught pianist by age eight, he first began playing the drums at seventeen. While in the Black Watch military band from 1957 to 1960 he studied music...
. He played on John Martyn
John Martyn
John Martyn, OBE , born Iain David McGeachy, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a forty-year career he released twenty studio albums, working with artists such as Eric Clapton and David Gilmour...
's 1973 album Solid Air
Solid Air
Solid Air is a folk jazz album released in 1973 by John Martyn on Island Records.Contemporary reviews were favourable with music paper Sounds declaring that Solid Air flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips." The album has continued to...
.
He has also worked with The Matrix, a small ensemble formed by clarinettist Alan Hacker
Alan Ray Hacker
Alan Ray Hacker OBE FRAM is an English clarinettist and professor of the Royal Academy of Music.-Early life:He was born in 1938, the son of Kenneth and Sybil Hacker...
, with a wide-ranging repertoire of early, classical and contemporary music, the Danish Radio Big Band, Metropole Orchestra and Skymasters in Holland.
Tony Coe has recorded on soundtracks for several films, including Superman II
Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors...
, Victor/Victoria
Victor/Victoria
Victor Victoria is a 1982 musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that involves transvestism and sexual identity as central themes. It stars Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, and John Rhys-Davies. The film was produced by Tony Adams, directed...
, Nous irons tous au paradis, Leaving Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas...
, Le Plus beau métier du monde, The Loss of Sexual Innocence
The Loss of Sexual Innocence
The Loss of Sexual Innocence is a 1999 film written and directed by Mike Figgis. It tells the story of the sexual development of a filmmaker through three stages of his life, in a non-linear and disjointed manner...
and he is the featured tenor sax soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
in Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
's music for the Pink Panther films. He also composed the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
for Camomille.
In 1975 a grant from the Arts Council
Arts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
enabled him to write Zeitgeist, an extended, large scale orchestral work fusing jazz and rock elements with techniques from European Art Music.
Among the awards he has received are an honorary D Mus, the prestigious Danish Jazzpar Prize
Jazzpar Prize
The Jazzpar Prize was an annual Danish prize within jazz founded by Arnvid Meyer. The winner was chosen from five nominees, among internationally recognized performers of jazz. The award used to be 200,000 Danish crowns and a bronze statue by Jørgen Haugen Sørensen...
1995 (the first non-American to receive this prize).
One of Tony Coe’s sons is radio broadcaster Gideon Coe
Gideon Coe
Gideon "The Guv'nor" Coe is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist.Coe was one of the child presenters of the BBC 1 children's programme "Why Don't You?"....
.
Citing Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
as an influence, Coe is especially noted for his versatility.
"Tony Coe is one of the most remarkable and brilliant musicians in the world. The sheer range of his musical activity… …is staggering and testifies to an awe-inspiring instrumental mastery." Humphrey LytteltonHumphrey LytteltonHumphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
"Coe is a player of astonishing versatility and brilliance." Ian CarrIan CarrIan Carr was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator.-Early years:Carr was born in Dumfries, Scotland, the elder brother of Mike Carr...
External links
- Tony Coe on Zah Zah
- [ All Music]