TIM WHITEHEAD
tenor sax
&
TONY WOODS
alto sax
7:30 p.m. Friday 7 July
Photo by GARRY CORBETT
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TIM WHITEHEAD was born in Liverpool, the son of one of the original writers of Dennis the Menace in the children’s comic, The Beano. His first public performance was as solo clarinettist in his school orchestra’s rendition of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, conducted by his fellow pupil, the now knighted, Sir Simon Rattle. From this promising musical beginning, Tim decided to follow a career in Law, but was pulled back to music, and more specifically jazz, soon after qualifying.
During his career, Tim has played extensively throughout the UK and Europe, and more recently in the USA with American pianist Phil DeGreg. In the 70s he toured with Ian Carr’s Nucleus and Graham Collier Music and won the Young Jazz Musicians of the Year Award with his own band South of the Border in 1977. In the 80’s he was a member of the groundbreaking big band Loose Tubes, and continued to develop his own music, recording for Spotlite Records and Editions EG - English People (1983) and Decision (1987) with his own bands, featuring at different times John Parricelli, Django Bates, Nic France and Pete Jacobsen. In the 90’s he recorded Authentic and Silence Between Waves, on Ronnie Scott’s Jazz House Label with Dave Barry, Pete Jacobsen and Arnie Somogyi, and received The Andrew Milne Award for Jazz, as well as several other commissions during this period. In 1999 Tim released Personal Standards, an album of soul and pop tunes arranged for jazz quartet, which received widespread interest and critical praise including Jazz Album of the Year in the BBC Music Magazine, and led to an educational project at Trinity College of Music under the same title. In 2000, Contemporary composer Colin Riley and Tim won the Peter Whittingham Award to complete and record Tides with the Homemade Orchestra. This was the beginning of a long term collaboration. Since then the HomeMade Orchestra have toured extensively and received several awards and commissions as well as releasing their second album, Inside Covers in 2005. In 2009 he was the first ever musician Artist in Residence at Tate Britain (funded by an award from The Leverhulme Trust), to research and compose music in response to the work of JMW Turner. During the residency he wrote 'Colour Beginnings', a series of compositions written from transcribed improvisations performed in front of and in response to a selection of JMW Turner's watercolour sketches. The work was performed at Tate Britain in November 2009 following a series of lecture demonstrations in October. The performance was also recorded for release in 2010 and filmed for a profile on the project by Gwynhelek Productions. December 2009 saw a collaboration with Colin Riley and The Royal College Of Music String Orchestra, to perform 'Landscapes With Birds' by Riley for tenor and soprano saxes, which Tim performed with them at St James Church Piccadilly in London , and which was also performed at The Royal College Of Music in January 2010. 'Colour Beginnings' was shortlisted for the Parliamentary All Party Jazz Awards 2011 Album Of The Year. |
TONY WOODS began playing folk music with his father at the age of five. A graduate of Keele University, Leeds College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music, Tony received awards for saxophone, outstanding performance and the soloist’s prize at the Dunkirk International Jazz Festival.
In the mid 90’s, the Tony Woods Project was formed. It has recorded three highly acclaimed albums of original, folk inspired compositions: High Seas (1997), Lowlands (2004), and Wind Shadows (2009). The band has attracted airplay on BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM, UK Jazz Radio, has toured the UK extensively and performed at festivals across the country including Manchester, London, Swanage, Ealing, Ascot and Teignmouth. To explore the possibilities of improvising on English classical music Tony formed the Avalon Trio with Pete Churchill and the debut album Forlana was released in 2011 to great critical acclaim resulting in interviews on BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM. Tony has also performed at the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, Pizza Express Jazz Club and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. He has worked as a session musician in many of London’s studios including Lansdown Studios, Angel Studio, Abbey Road and Maida Vale Studios. Tony has frequently performed with Michael Garrick, both live and on disc, in large and small ensembles, often with his wife: singer Nette Robinson. In 2010 Nette’s Little Big Band released its debut CD The Little Big Band Plays and in 2012 Michael Garrick’s Lyric Ensemble, which features Nette and Tony, released “Home Thoughts” - Michael Garrick’s final album. 2012 also saw the release of “Seventh Daze”, the debut album from Kwartet -Tony’s collaboration with long time musical associate Tim Whitehead. 
Photo by BILL SHAKESPEARE
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Photo by BILL SHAKESPEARE
Photo by GARRY CORBETT