Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British

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 ...

pianist and composer. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock,

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, improvised and contemporary music, as well as modern jazz for more than half-a-century". He held "an unparallelled place in British contemporary music," and was known for "his unique approach to improvisation". Tippett appeared and recorded in many settings, including a duet with Stan Tracey, duets with his wife Julie Tippetts (née Driscoll), solo performances, and as a bandleader.Duncan Heining.
And Did Those Feet … Six British Jazz Composers
' (2023)

Early life

Born in Southmead,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, Tippett was the son of an English father who was a policeman and an Irish mother named Kitty. He wrote music dedicated to her after she died. He was the oldest of three siblings and went to Greenway Secondary Modern school in Southmead. As a child he played piano, church organ, cornet, and tenor horn. At fourteen he formed his first band, KT Trad Lads, with school friends Richard Murch, Mike Milton, Terry Pratt, and Bob Chard, and Eric Condell performing traditional jazz. He formed a modern jazz trio in Bristol and played regularly at the Dugout Club in Park Row, Bristol.

Music career

In 1967, Tippett moved to London to pursue a career in music, taking menial jobs while performing in jazz clubs. With a scholarship he attended the Barry Summer School Jazz Course in Wales, where he met Elton Dean, Nick Evans, and

Marc Charig Mark Charig (born 22 February 1944 in London) is a British trumpeter and cornetist. He was particularly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he played in settings as diverse as Long John Baldry's group, Bluesology, Soft Machine, a ...

and with them started a band. The Keith Tippett Sextet was hired for a residency at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

in Oxford Street, leading to a contract with Polydor, which released their first two albums, ''You Are There... I Am Here'' (1970) and ''Dedicated to You, but You Weren't Listening'' (1971). After leaving Vertigo, Tippett formed

Centipede Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

, a 50-piece band that included his wife Julie Driscoll, and brought together much of a generation of young British jazz and rock musicians. As well as performing some concerts (limited economically by the size of the band), they recorded one double-album, '' Septober Energy'', a Tippett composition, which was released on the RCA label in 1971. Despite substantial publicity, the album failed to sell in sufficient numbers to justify the expense of maintaining the project. In early 1970, Tippett was part of a temporary

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

line-up for the recording of their second album '' In the Wake of Poseidon''. He also contributed as a session musician to the band's subsequent two albums ''

Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

'' later in 1970 and ''

Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

'' in 1971. For his next album as a leader, ''Blueprint'' (1972), he used a smaller group comprising himself and Julie Tippetts with bassist Roy Babbington and drummer Frank Perry. The band then expanded slightly to become Ovary Lodge, who recorded two albums, one for RCA and a second for the Ogun label. Tippett and his band also recorded in the 1970s for Giorgio Gomelsky's label, Utopia, releasing the Julie Tippetts album, ''Sunset Glow''. Tippett continued to play with various combinations of musicians through the 1970s, playing improvisational jazz and

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

with such musicians as Stan Tracey, Robert Wyatt, Dudu Pukwana, Harry Miller, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, and Louis Moholo. From 1979, he also started to release many live albums of solo piano performances, beginning with ''The Unlonely Raindancer''. In the late 1980s, he, along with Paul Dunmall saxes, Paul Rogers bass, and Tony Levin drums, formed the quartet Mujician, playing purely improvised jazz. Mujician released six albums between 1990 and 2002. He also formed a trio with Julie Tippetts and Willi Kellers, and wrote film and television scores. He also wrote music for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s and piano, and taught at summer schools. Tippett also continued to record and to tour in Britain and Europe with various ensembles. He also worked with musicians Andy Sheppard, as well as with his frequent collaborators Elton Dean, Louis Moholo, and Howard Riley. In Bristol, starting in 1989 and continuing through the 1990s, he started the Seedbed Orchestra, which performed at venues including the Thekla, the Arnolfini and

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. This enabled beginners, amateurs and professional musicians to play in a large ensemble and was "emblematic of his quest to unite music of all types in a non-elitist, open to all, friendly environment free of establishment restrictions." He became a "musician's musician when he first set up the Seedbed Orchestra where many Bristol musicians could benefit from his guidance."

Personal life and death

He married singer Julie Driscoll in 1970. In 2018, he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

but returned to performing in 2019. He died on 14 June 2020 at the age of 72.

Discography

As leader

* ''You Are Here... I Am There'' (Polydor, 1970) * ''Dedicated to You but You Weren't Listening'' (Vertigo, 1971) * '' Septober Energy'' with

(RCA 1971) * ''Blueprint'' (RCA Victor, 1972) * ''Ovary Lodge'' (RCA Victor, 1973) (different album than the 1976 release with the same name; with Roy Babbington and Frank Perry) * ''Ovary Lodge'' (Ogun, 1976) (different album than the 1973 release with the same name; with Julie Tippetts, Frank Perry, and Harry Miller) * ''TNT'' with Stan Tracey (Emanem, 1976) * ''Cruel but Fair'' with Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Gallivan (Compendium, 1976) * ''Warm Spirits Cool Spirits'' (Vinyl, 1977) * ''Frames'' (Ogun, 1978) * ''The Unlonely Raindancer'' (Universe, 1980) * ''Mujician'' (FMP, 1982) * ''No Gossip'' with Louis Moholo (FMP, 1982) * ''Tern'' with Louis Moholo (FMP, 1983) * ''In Focus'' with Howard Riley (Affinity, 1985) * ''Mercy Dash'' with Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean (Culture Press, 1985) * ''A Loose Kite in a Gentle Wind Floating with Only My Will for an Anchor'' (Ogun, 1986) * ''Low Flying Aircraft'' (Red Hot, 1987) * ''Mujician II'' (FMP, 1987) * '' Couple in Spirit'' with Julie Tippett (EG, 1988) * '' Mujician III (August Air)'' (FMP, 1989) * ''Mr. Invisible and the Drunken Sheilas'' (FMP, 1989) * ''66 Shades of Lipstick'' with Andy Sheppard (EG, 1990) * ''The Dartington Concert'' (EG, 1992) * ''The Bern Concert'' with Howard Riley (FMR, 1994) * ''Une Croix Dans L'Ocean'' (Victo, 1995) * ''Twilight Etchings'' (FMP, 1996) * ''Wild Silk'' with Peter Fairclough (ASC, 1996) * ''Couple in Spirit II'' with Julie Tippett (ASC, 1997) * ''Friday the 13th'' (Nrl, 1997) * '' The First Full Turn'' with RoTToR ( Paul Rutherford, Julie Tippett, Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers) (Emanem, 1998) * ''Linuckea'' (FMR, 2000) * ''First Encounter'' with Howard Riley (Jazzprint, 2001) * ''Imago'' with Peter Fairclough (Jazzprint, 2003) * ''Another Part of the Story'' with Howard Riley (Emanem, 2003) * ''Pianoforte'' with Howard Riley (Slam, 2004) * ''Mahogany Rain'' with Julie Tippetts (DUNS, 2005) * ''Dartington Improvising Trio Live at the Priory'' with Julie Tippetts (FMR, 2005) * ''Live at Le Mans'' (Red Eye Music, 2007) * ''Viva La Black Live at Ruvo'' with Julie Tippetts (Ogun, 2007) * ''Supernova'' with Stan Tracey (Resteamed, 2008) * '' Nostalgia 77 Sessions Featuring Keith & Julie Tippett'' ( Tru Thoughts, 2009) * ''Live at the Purcell Room'' (Ogun, 2010) * ''From Granite to Wind'' (Ogun, 2011) * ''Two for Joyce'' (Long Song, 2013) * ''Mujician Solo IV - Live in Piacenza'' (Dark Companion, 2015) * ''The Nine Dances of Patrick O'Gonogon'' (Discus, 2016) * ''Four Quartets'' with Jackson, Long, Taylor (Confront, 2016) * ''Live in Triest'' (Klopotec, 2018) * ''A Mid Autumn Night's Dream'' with Julie Tippetts, Lino Capra Vaccina and Paolo Tofani (Dark Companion, 2019) * ''Noise in Your Eye'' with Adrian Chivers, Daniel Pennie (April 2020) * ''The Monk Watches The Eagle'' (Discus, 2020) * ''Aeolian'' with Matthew Bourne, (Discus, 2021) * ''Music For Labyrinths'' with Roberto Musci and Claudio Gabbiani) (Dark Companion, 2024)

As band member or sideman

With

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

* ''Epiphany'' (Incus, 1982) * ''Epiphanies I-VI'' (Honest Jon's, 2019) * ''Epiphanies VII-XIII'' (Honest Jon's, 2019) With Elton Dean * ''Oh! for the Edge'' (Ogun, 1976) * ''They All Be on This Old Road'' (Ogun, 1977) * ''Happy Daze'' (Ogun, 1977) * ''Boundaries'' (Japo, 1980) * ''Duos'' (Elton Dean Tapes, 1988) * ''Trios'' (Elton Dean Tapes, 1989) * ''The Vortex Tapes'' (Slam, 1992) * ''Two's and Three's'' (Voiceprint, 1995) * ''Bladik'' (Cuneiform, 1997) * ''Live at The BBC'' (Hux, 2003) * ''Ninesense Suite'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011) With Paul Dunmall * ''Desire and Liberation'' (Slam, 1997) * ''Bebop Starburst'' (Cuneiform, 1999) * ''Onosante'' (DUNS, 2000) * ''The Great Divide'' (Cuneiform, 2001) * ''Bridging'' (Clean Feed, 2003) * ''I Wish You Peace'' (Cuneiform, 2004) With

* '' In the Wake of Poseidon'' (Island, 1970) * ''

'' (Island, 1970) * ''

'' (Island, 1971) With Harry Miller * ''Family Affair'' (Ogun, 1977) * ''In Conference'' (Ogun, 1978) * '' Which Way Now'' (Cuneiform, 2006) * '' Full Steam Ahead'' (Reel, 2009) * '' Different Times, Different Places'' (Ogun, 2013) * '' Different Times Different Places Vol. Two'' (Ogun, 2016) With Mujician * ''The Journey'' (Cuneiform, 1990) * ''Poem About the Hero'' (Cuneiform, 1994) * ''Birdman'' (Cuneiform, 1996) * ''Colours Fulfilled'' (Cuneiform, 1998) * ''Spacetime'' (Cuneiform, 2002) * ''There's No Going Back Now'' (Cuneiform, 2006) With others * Arthur Brown, ''Dance'' (Gull, 1975) * Harry Beckett, ''Passion and Possession'' (ITM, 1991) * Mark Charig, ''Pipedream'' (Ogun, 1977) * Keith Christmas, ''Fable of the Wings'' (B & C, 1970) * Julie Driscoll, ''1969'' (Polydor, 1971) * Dennis Gonzalez, ''Catechism'' (Daagnim, 1988) *

Jack Lancaster Jack Lancaster was a British composer, record producer and musician. In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams and in the late 1970s he was a member o ...

& Robin Lumley, ''Peter and the Wolf'' (RSO, 1975) * Iain Matthews , ''If You Saw Thro' My Eyes'' (Vertigo, 1971) * Harold McNair, ''The Fence'' (B & C, 1970) * Louis Moholo, ''Spirits Rejoice!'' (Ogun, 1978) * Louis Moholo, ''Mpumi'' (Ogun, 2002) * Shelagh McDonald, ''Album'' (Polydor, 1970) * Dudu Pukwana, '' Diamond Express'' (Arista, 1977) * Dudu Pukwana, ''Black Horse'' (1201 Music, 2012) * Daryl Runswick, ''Set of 5'' (ASC, 2000) *

Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (27 December 1943 – 14 November 2024) was an English poet and songwriter. He was best known as a co-founder and lyricist of King Crimson. Their debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the fi ...

, ''

Still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...

'' (Manticore, 1973) *

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt; 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan (band), Japan. During his time in Japan, Sylvia ...

, '' Everything and Nothing'' (Virgin, 2000) * Julie Tippetts, ''Sunset Glow'' (Utopia, 1975) * Toyah, '' Ophelia's Shadow'' (Demon, 1991) * Working Week, ''Fire in the Mountain'' (10 Records, 1989)

References

External links

Complete Keith Tippett Discography
at Downtown Music Gallery

at Calyx
Mind Your Own Music
the Keith Tippett/Julie Tippetts management website.
Interview with Keith Tippett
Tippetts FMP releases {{DEFAULTSORT:Tippett, Keith 1947 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Bristol English people of Irish descent 21st-century British pianists Avant-garde jazz musicians British composers British jazz pianists Centipede (band) members King Crimson members Mujician members The Dedication Orchestra members FMP/Free Music Production artists Leo Records artists Emanem Records artists E.G. Records artists Edition Records artists Ogun Records Artists