Andy Dickens (born 11 March 1953) is an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter, singer and bandleader. Dickens was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, the son of a

patent agent A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

and headmistress. Educated at

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational private day school in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History In 1560 the revenu ...

he began playing trumpet at the age of 14. Largely self-taught, his style spans

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, swing and

cool jazz Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music inspired by bebop and big band that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and a lighter tone than that used in the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz of ...

but most typically evokes the pre- bop era of

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

and Oran Page although his concert performances regularly combine works from the early jazz repertoire of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

with contemporary compositions. He has performed with and accompanied

Ken Peplowski Ken Peplowski (born May 23, 1959) is an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and known primarily for playing swing music. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records. In ...

, Peter King, Bruce Turner,

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey emerged ...

John Crocker General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War. During the Second World ...

Slim Gaillard Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

, Neville Dickie;

Kid Sheik George Colar (September 15, 1908 – November 7, 1996), actually Cola but he used Colar, better known as Kid Sheik or Kid Sheik Cola, was a New Orleans jazz trumpeter and band leader. He is most associated with Dixieland jazz and was a long-term ...

, Clark Tracey as well as mainstream entertainers

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor of stage, radio, television and film, known for his roles as Pa Glum in '' Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ' ...

and

Judith Durham Judith Mavis Durham (née Cock; 3 July 1943 – 5 August 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1962. The group became the first Australian pop mus ...

. The current Andy Dickens Band is described by Jazz U

as exhibiting "creative music that shows there can be vivid new life in any style," and saxophonist Alan Barnes (musician), Alan Barnes described the band in Musician Magazin

as "swinging and eclectic."

Sources and external links

*''Jazz Journal International'', January 2004 Volume 57 No1 *''Musician Magazine'', June 2003
Andy Dickens website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, Andy 1953 births Living people English jazz trumpeters British male trumpeters English jazz bandleaders People educated at Solihull School 21st-century British trumpeters 21st-century English male musicians British male jazz musicians