Chris Biscoe (born 5 February 1947,

East Barnet East Barnet is an area of north London within the London Borough of Barnet bordered by New Barnet, Cockfosters and Southgate. It is a largely residential suburb whose central area contains shops, public houses, restaurants and services, and ...

, Hertfordshire, England) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a ...

, a player of the alto, soprano,

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...

and baritone saxophone, the

alto clarinet The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet. It bears a gre ...

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

and flute. Biscoe is most notable for his work with

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in High ...

and the NYJO.

Early life

In 1963, Biscoe taught himself to play the alto saxophone, and then started playing tenor, soprano, baritone saxes, and the comparatively rare alto clarinet.

Career

Biscoe was a computer programmer before he became a notable presence on the UK jazz scene. From 1970 to 1973, Biscoe played with the

National Youth Jazz Orchestra The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton becam ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, doing gigs with various other London-based bands of that period. Biscoe worked with several notable jazz musicians during the 1970s, such as

Harry Beckett Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett (30 May 1935 – 22 July 2010) was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin. Biography Born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados, Harry Beckett learned to play music in a Salvation Army ...

, Ken Hyder, Didier Levallet,

Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Provin ...

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

Graham Collier James Graham Collier (21 February 1937 – 9 September 2011) was an English jazz bassist, bandleader and composer. Life and career Born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, England, on leaving school Collier joined the British Army as a musician, ...

, Danilo Terenzi, Pete Hurt, Tommy Chase, Pete Saberton,

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...

, Dave Holdsworth, and

Pete Jacobsen Pete Jacobsen (16 May 1950 – 29 April 2002),
Retrieved 5 December 2011. also known as Peter Jacobsen, was an English ...

. Biscoe was a founder member of the UK jazz band RedBrass, led by Tony Haynes, from 1975 to 1979. In 1979, Biscoe had a long-term association touring throughout Europe and playing international festivals in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the US with

and made outstanding contributions to Westbrook projects, notably the brass band (Bright As Fire), the orchestra (The Cortege and on Duke’s Birthday), and the trio (A Little Westbrook Music and Love For Sale). In the same year he also formed a quartet featuring Peter Jacobsen - expanded to quintet in 1980, sextet in 1986, and reformed as a quartet in 1987. He also worked with Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath (Country Cooking) from 1983 and then released a cassette of his own music, ''Quintet And Duo'' in 1985. The next year he followed with a sextet album, on his own Walking Wig label, featuring the Italian trombonist Danilo Terenzi." During the late 1980s and 1990s, Biscoe toured and recorded with George Russell,

, Grand Union Orchestra, Liam Noble, Gail Thompson's Jazz Africa,

, and played in France with Didier Levallet's groups and the collective band Zhivaro. Biscoe formed the group Full Monte alongside Brian Godding, Marcio Mattos and Tony Marsh in 1988. In 1991, he released a second cassette, ''Modern Alarms'', and recorded with

The Dedication Orchestra The Dedication Orchestra is a jazz ensemble formed as a tribute to the exiled South African musicians who formed the core of The Blue Notes and the Brotherhood of Breath, it features Alan Skidmore, Radu Malfatti, Django Bates, Kenny Wheeler, Elt ...

in the Spirits Rejoice project. Between 1997 and 2000, Biscoe became the first English musician to join the Orchestre National de Jazz.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Chris Biscoe Sextet'' (Walking Wig, 1986) * ''Modern Alarms'' (Walking Wig, 1990) * Gone in the Air: The Music of Eric Dolphy (Trio Records, 2008) * ''Profiles of Mingus'' (Trio Records, 2010) * ''Then and Now'' (Trio Records, 2016) * ''Music Is - Chris Biscoe Plays Mike Westbrook'' (Trio Records, 2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biscoe, Chris 1947 births Living people English jazz alto saxophonists British male saxophonists English jazz soprano saxophonists English jazz tenor saxophonists English jazz clarinetists English jazz flautists 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century clarinetists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians National Youth Jazz Orchestra members People from Hertfordshire (before 1965) 21st-century flautists