Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "

Adiemus Adiemus may refer to: * ''Adiemus'' (albums), a series of albums of music composed by Karl Jenkins **'' Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary'', the first album of the series ** "Adiemus" (song), the title track of the first album *Adiemus (ensemble) Si ...

" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; ''

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of ...

''; ''

The Armed Man ''The Armed Man'' is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace". The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was ded ...

''; and his ''Requiem''. Jenkins was educated in music at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

and the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

: of the latter, he is a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and an Associate. He joined the

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

band

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

in 1972 and became the group's lead songwriter in 1974. Jenkins continued to work with Soft Machine up to 1984, but has not been involved with any incarnation of the group since. Jenkins has composed music for advertisement campaigns and has won the industry prize twice.

Early life and education

Karl Jenkins was born and raised in

Penclawdd Penclawdd ( cy, Pen-clawdd) is a village in the north of the Gower Peninsula in the county of Swansea, Wales. Historically, it was part of Glamorgan. Penclawdd is most famous for its local cockle industry which goes back for many years to Roman ...

, Gower,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. His mother was Swedish, and his father was Welsh. Jenkins received his initial musical instruction from his father, who was the local schoolteacher, chapel organist and choirmaster. He attended

Gowerton Grammar School Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within ...

. Jenkins studied music at

, and then commenced postgraduate studies in London at the

Career overview

Early career: Graham Collier's group and Nucleus

For the bulk of his early career Jenkins was known as a

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 ...

and

musician, playing baritone and

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, so ...

s, keyboards and

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, an unusual instrument in a jazz context. He joined jazz composer Graham Collier's group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group

Nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

, which won first prize at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 1970.

Soft Machine

In 1972 he joined the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

progressive rock band

. The group played venues including

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

, Carnegie Hall, and the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hi ...

. The album '' Six'', on which Jenkins first played with Soft Machine, won the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' British Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Jenkins also won the miscellaneous musical instrument section (as he did the following year). Soft Machine was voted best small group in the Melody Maker jazz poll of 1974. The albums in which Jenkins performed and composed were ''Six'', '' Seven'' (1973), '' Bundles'' (1975), '' Softs'' (1976) and '' Land of Cockayne'' (1981). Jenkins composed most of the tracks on ''Seven'' and nearly all of the tracks on the subsequent three albums. After Mike Ratledge left the band in 1976, Soft Machine did not include any of its founding members, but kept recording on a project basis with line-ups revolving around Jenkins and drummer

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

. Although ''Melody Maker'' had positively reviewed the Soft Machine of 1973 and 1974,

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting ...

, involved with the group since replacing bassist

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...

in 1968, cited Jenkins's "third rate" musical involvement in his own decision to leave the band, and the band of the late 1970s has been described by band member John Etheridge as wasting its potential.

Other works

In November 1973, Jenkins and Ratledge participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells wit ...

for the BBC. It is available on Oldfield's ''

Elements Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of ...

'' DVD. Jenkins has created advertising music, twice winning the industry prize in that field. From the 1980s, he developed a relationship with Bartle Bogle Hegarty, starting with composing musics for their

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

jeans "Russian" series. He composed a classical theme used by

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and ...

diamond merchants for their television

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it att ...

focusing on jewellery worn by people otherwise seen only in

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

. Jenkins later included this as the title track in a compilation called '' Diamond Music'', and eventually created ''

'', using it as the theme of the first movement. Other arrangements have included advertisements for the

Renault Clio The Renault Clio () is a supermini car ( B-segment), produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being con ...

. As a composer, his breakthrough came with the crossover project ''

''. Jenkins has conducted the ''Adiemus'' project in Japan, Germany, Spain,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, as well as London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC ...

. The '' Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary'' (1995) album topped the classical album charts. It spawned a series of successors, each revolving around a central theme. In 2014 Jenkins released a tribute song for the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...

, performed by his

new age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than ...

group also called Adiemus. Jenkins was the first international composer and conductor to conduct the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the ...

Kingsway Choir led by Renette Bouwer, during his visit to South Africa as the choir performed his '' The Armed Man: A mass for peace'' together with a 70-piece orchestra. Jenkins' choral work ''The Peacemakers'' was first performed in New York City's Carnegie Hall on 16 January 2012. Jenkins conducted from the podium. The seventeen-movement piece features extracts from religious texts and works by notable humanitarians. A recording was released on 26 March 2012; it features the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and several choirs, as well as guest vocalists and instrumentalists. Additional concerts in the UK and US took place later in the year. The Bards Of Wales - Beirdd Cymru, album cover

The Bards Of Wales - Beirdd Cymru, album cover

Jenkins composed the music for the 2012 BBC Wales series ''The Story of Wales'' presented by Huw Edwards. A work entitled ''The Healer – A Cantata For St Luke'' was premiered on 16 October 2014 (7:30 pm) in St Luke's Church, Grayshott, Hampshire, and was recorded and broadcast on Classic FM. ''The Healer'' received its US premiere at Carnegie Hall, New York on 19 January 2015. In September 2015, the recording of the premiere of ''The Healer'' was released on CD by Warner Classics as part of the 8-disc boxed set ''Voices''. A compilation CD ''Still with the Music'' was also released in September 2015, coinciding with the publication of his autobiography of the same name. On 8 October 2016 Jenkins' choral work ''Cantata Memoria: For the children'', a response to the 1966 Aberfan disaster with a libretto by Mererid Hopwood and commissioned by

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

, premiered at the Wales Millennium Centre. The concert was broadcast the following evening on S4C and was released as an album by

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family o ...

Musical style

Lyrics

Many of the songs written by Jenkins have specifically-written phonetic lyrics, but they are not in any language. Instead, they are syllables intended to have a musical effect, but not to carry any specific meaning. This

glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

is similar to the sounds of "

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

", except that this latter artform sometimes emphasises of-the-moment

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

as well. The composer has said the lyrics to his "

" series of songs are in "an invented language", and have no particular meaning. He has observed, "The text was written phonetically with the words viewed as instrumental sound, the idea being to maximise the

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is ref ...

by removing the distraction, if one can call it that, of words”. Some listeners compare his lyrics to the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

language, but other critics discount such a connection. Other songs he has written use Biblical or literary texts for the lyrics.

Awards and achievements

Jenkins holds a Doctorate in Music from the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

. He has been made both a

and an associate of the

, and a room has been named in his honour. He also has had fellowships at

(2005), the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

Trinity College Carmarthen Trinity University College ( cy, Coleg Prifysgol y Drindod) was a Church University College in Carmarthen, Wales. The institution was founded in 1848 as the South Wales and Monmouthshire Training College, a teacher-training college. It change ...

, and

Swansea Metropolitan University , students = 5,765 , undergrad = 4,520 , postgrad = 1,075 , other = 175 FE , city = Swansea , country = Wales, UK , campus = Urban , address = Mount PleasantSwansea SA1 6ED , w ...

. In 2008 Jenkins' ''The Armed Man'' was listed as No. 1 in Classic FM's "Top 10 by living composers". He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

in music from the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_la ...

, the Chancellor's Medal from the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

and honorary visiting

professorships Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing ...

, London College of Music and the ATriUM,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. Jenkins was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2005

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark th ...

and a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2010

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

. In 2015 he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

. Jenkins is joint president of the British Double Reed Society and Patron of the International Schools Choral Music Society (ISCMS). In 2016 Jenkins received the BASCA Gold Badge Award for his unique contribution to music.

Discography

With Graham Collier

; The Graham Collier Septet : * ''Deep Dark Blue Center'' (1967) - Karl Jenkins: Baritone saxophone. With

on drums, future

. ; The Graham Collier Sextet : * ''Down Another Road'' (1969) Piano, oboe. Karl composed ''Lullaby For A Lonely Child'', John Marshall on drums. ; Compilations : * ''Workpoints'' (2005) - Karl, soprano and baritone sax * ''Deep Dark Blue Centre / Portraits / The Alternate Mosaics'' (2008) 2 CD - With Alan Wakeman, John Marshall, Harold Beckett,

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

. * ''Relook : Graham Collier 1937-2011: ''A Memorial 75th Birthday Celebration'' (2012) With John Marshall, Nick Evans, Gary Burton, Frank Ricotti,

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine. Biography Babbington started his musical ca ...

, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Wakeman etc.

With Neil Ardley – Don Rendell – Ian Carr

* ''Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises'' (1970) - With

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disban ...

, Jeff Clyne, Roy Babbington, John Marshall, Barbara Thompson, etc.

With Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber

* ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' - (1970) - Starring John Marshall,

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

Murray Head Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Academy Award, Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sun ...

, J. Peter Robinson,

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

, etc.

With Nucleus

; Nucleus : * ''Elastic Rock'' (1970) - Chris Spedding on guitar, John Marshall on drums, album cover by Roger Dean. * ''We'll Talk About It Later'' (1971) ; Ian Carr with Nucleus : * ''Solar Plexus'' (1971) ; Compilation : * ''Direct Hits'' (1976) * ''Elastic Rock / We'll Talk About It Later'' (1994) 2 CD * ''Solar Plexus / Belladonna'' (2002) 2 CD * ''Alleycat / Direct Hits'' (2004) 2 CD

With
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

* '' Tumbleweed Connection'' (1970) - Oboe on ''Come Down in Time''.

With The Chitinous Ensemble

* ''Chitinous'' (1971) - With

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sh ...

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildh ...

, etc.

With Barry Guy/The London Jazz Composers' Orchestra

* ''Ode'' (1972) - Karl Oboe and soprano and baritone sax Marc Charig on bugle, Alan Wakeman on tenor and soprano saxes, future Soft Machine and cousin of

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born ...

With
Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

; Albums studio : * ''Six'' (1973) - Karl keyboards and horns, Mike Ratledge keyboards,

bass, John Marshall drums * ''Seven'' (1973) - Same except Roy Babbington replaced Hopper on bass. * ''Bundles'' (1975) -

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

on guitar. Last album on guitar. Last album with Mike Ratledge. * ''Softs'' (1976) - Alan Wakeman on saxes. Karl only plays keyboards. * ''Rubber Riff'' (1976) - Originally an album for libraries providing "modern rock music featuring keyboards and guitar" composed by Karl Jenkins. Reissued as "Soft Machine" or "Karl Jenkins's Soft Machine". * ''Land of Cockayne'' (1981) - Latest Soft Machine album of that era: Karl keyboards, John Taylor electric piano Fender Rhodes, Allan Holdsworth and Alan Parker guitars, Jack Bruce bass, Ray Warleigh sax and flute, Dick Morrissey tenor sax, John Marshall drums + backing vocals. ; Live albums : * ''Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris'' (1978) - Karl keyboards, John Etheridge guitar, Steve Cook bass, John Marshall drums, Rick Sanders violin. * ''BBC Radio 1971 - 1974'' (2003) * ''British Tour '75'' (2005) * ''Floating World Live'' (2006) - Recorded in 1975 on Radio Brennen in Germany. * ''NDR Jazz Workshop'' (2010) CD + DVD * ''Switzerland 1974'' (2015) CD + DVD ; Compilations : * ''Triple Echo'' (1977) - Available on vinyl on a triple album. Karl on the last 4 pieces. * ''The Untouchable'' (1990) * ''As If...'' (1991) - Contains songs from the '' Third '', '' Fourth '', '' Fifth '' & '' Sixth '' albums. * ''Softs / Alive And Well (Recorded In Paris) / Bundles'' (1992) - 3 CD * ''The Best Of Soft Machine - The Harvest Years'' (1995) * ''De Wolfe Sessions'' (2002) - Presented as Karl Jenkins' Soft Machine. * ''MP3 Collection'' (2003) - Contains albums ''Volume One (The Soft Machine)'' to ''Rubber Riff'' + ''At the beginning'' https://www.discogs.com/fr/Soft-Machine-MP3-Collection/release/7018262 * ''Six + Seven'' (2004) - 2 CD * ''Out-Bloody-Rageous An Anthology 1967-1973'' (2005) - 2 CD * ''Tales Of Taliesin (The EMI Years Anthology 1975-1981)'' (2010) - 2 CD * ''Original Album Classics'' (2010) - Contains albums from ''Third'' to ''Seven''.

With Mike Oldfield

* ''Tubular Bells'' - BBC 1973 - Recorded live in studio for the BBC in November 1973 and released in 1993. Available on DVD ''Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield''. * ''Music of the spheres'' (2008) - Karl Jenkins; orchestrations, string direction and production.

With Planet Earth

* ''Planet Earth'' - Avec Mike Ratledge, Tristan Fry, etc. (1978)

With Plaza

* ''Plaza'' - With Mike Thorne and Mike Ratledge. (1979)

With Rollercoaster

* ''Wonderin - With Mike Ratledge, Dick Morrisey, Ray Warleigh, etc. (1980)

With Mike Ratledge

* ''Cuts For Commercials Volume 3'' (1981) * ''For Christmas, For Children'' (1981) * ''Movement'' (2010) * ''Some Shufflin (2010)

With JAR

* ''Only You/Ballad From An Unmade Movie'' - Single from The Projet ''Jenkins Aspery Ratledge'', JAR (1988)

With Kiri Te Kanawa

* ''Kiri Sings Karl'' (2006) - Karl orchestration and production.

Adiemus

; Studio albums : * ''Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary'' (1995) - With Mike Ratledge on drums programming and production. * ''Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi'' (1997) * ''Adiemus III: Dances of Time'' (1998) * ''Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot'' (2001) * ''Adiemus Live'' (2001) * ''Adiemus V: Vocalise'' (2003) * ''Adiemus Colores'' (2013) * ''Symphonic Adiemus'' (2017) ;

Compilations

* ''Diamond Music'' (1996) - Karl Jenkins/The London Philharmonic/The Smith Quartet. * ''The Best Of Adiemus - The Journey'' (1999) * ''The Essential Collection'' (2006) * ''The Very Best of Karl Jenkins'' (2011) - 2 CD * ''Adiemus The Collection'' (2013) - Coffret 6 CD * ''Still With The Music (The Album)'' (2015) * ''Voices'' - 8-CD boxset including the premiere of ''The Healer – A Cantata for St Luke''. (2015) * ''The Very Best of Karl Jenkins'' (2019)

Film score

* ''River Queen - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2007)

Other works

* ''Nomination'' (1976) - Karl Jenkins/Peter Milray * ''Topsy Turvy'' (1986) - Karl Jenkins/Jack Trombey * ''Merry Christmas to the World'' (1995) - Collection of traditional Christmas carols orchestrated by Karl Jenkins (In Adiemus Style). * ''Palladio'' (1996) * ''Eloise'' (1997) - Opéra * ''Imagined Oceans'' (1998) * ''New Music From Karl Jenkins'' (1998) - Sampler. * ''Harmonia - Le Chant Des Rêves'' (1998) - Compilation with Mike Oldfield et

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

. * ''Dewi Sant'' (1999) * ''The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace'' (1999) * ''Over the Stone'' (2002) - Concerto for two harps. * ''Crossing the Stone'' (2003) * ''Ave Verum'' (2004) * Quirk (2004) * La Folia (2004) * ''In These Stones Horizons Sing'' (2004) * ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' (2005) * ''River Queen'' (2005) - Original film score ''River Queen'' by New Zealand director Vincent Ward. * ''Tlep'' (2006) * ''This Land of Ours'' (2007) - With Cory Band and Cantorion * Sarikiz (2008) * ''Stabat Mater'' (2008) * ''Quirk - The Concertos'' (2008) - This album is a Compilation of Concertos by the composer that were previously commercially unavailable. These are: "Over the Stone" (2002), La Folia (2004), Quirk (2004) and also includes new concerto "Sarikiz" (2008). * ''Stella Natalis'' (2009) * ''Gloria / Te Deum'' (2010) - With

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million ...

* ''The Bards of Wales'' (2011) * ''Motets'' (2014) * ''Cantata Memoria'' (2016) - In tribute to the victims (116 children and 28 adults) of the Aberfan disaster, on October 21, 1966. * ''Songs Of Mercy And Redemption '' (2019) * ''Piano'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Biography at Calyx (Canterbury music website)Karl Jenkins on MySpaceKarl Jenkins biography from BBC WalesKarl Jenkins interviewKarl Jenkins' life in pictures
on Classic FM {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Karl 1944 births 20th-century classical composers 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century jazz composers Academics of the University of Glamorgan Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Ambient composers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canterbury scene Caroline Records artists Centipede (band) members Choral composers Composers awarded knighthoods Deutsche Grammophon artists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists Knights Bachelor Living people Male jazz composers Male oboists Male opera composers New-age composers Nucleus (band) members People educated at Gowerton Grammar School People from the Gower Peninsula Soft Machine members Virgin Records artists Welsh classical composers Welsh jazz composers Welsh male classical composers Welsh multi-instrumentalists Welsh oboists Welsh opera composers

Early life and education

Career overview

Early career: Graham Collier's group and Nucleus

Soft Machine

Other works

Musical style

Lyrics

Awards and achievements

Discography

With Graham Collier

With Neil Ardley – Don Rendell – Ian Carr

With Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber

With Nucleus

With Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

With The Chitinous Ensemble

With Barry Guy/The London Jazz Composers' Orchestra

With Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

With Mike Oldfield

With Planet Earth

With Plaza

With Rollercoaster

With Mike Ratledge

With JAR

With Kiri Te Kanawa

Adiemus

Compilations

Film score

Other works

See also

References

External links

With
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

With
Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...