Michael Clement Irving Gibbs (born 25 September 1937) is a Rhodesian-born English jazz composer, conductor, arranger and producer as well as a trombonist and keyboardist. He is known for collaborations with vibraphonist

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

, his student, and for his use of rock elements in

orchestral jazz An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

Career

Gibbs was born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its ...

, Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

). He moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States in 1959, in order to study at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

and

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founde ...

. In 1961, Gibbs took scholarships at the Lennox School of Jazz and later at

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglewo ...

. Initially returning to Rhodesia, Gibbs later settled in England. After recording with

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, ...

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, h ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the late 1960s, Gibbs released his first album, ''Michael Gibbs'', in 1970. From 1970 to 1974, Gibbs was musical director for the BBC TV comedy programme ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ep ...

''. When he left the UK to take up a teaching position at Berklee, the musical director post was filled by

Dave MacRae David Scott MacRae (born 2 April 1940, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand keyboardist, noted for his contributions in jazz and jazz rock, and his collaborations with musicians from the Canterbury scene. Life and career MacRae studied at th ...

, a member of the band Gibbs had led in recording

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer sta ...

music for the show. After resigning from that teaching position in 1983, Gibbs became a freelance arranger and producer, working variously with

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

Michael Mantler Michael Mantler (born August 10, 1943) is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music. Career: United States Mantler was born in Vienna, Austria. In the early 1960s, he was a student at the Academy of Music and V ...

, Joni Mitchell,

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

Vladislav Sendecki Vladyslav Sendecki, known as Vladislav Sendecki, (born 1955 in Gorlice) is a Polish jazz pianist. In Polish, his name is spelled Władysław Sendecki. Since 1996 he has been permanently associated with the NDR Big Band as a composer and pianist. ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

and

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

. In 1991, he toured and recorded with

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in ...

. During the years 1999–2000, he worked at the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

where he had a professorship (part-time) in Jazz Composition and Arranging. On 2 October 2017, Gibbs was presented with a

BASCA The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Gold Badge Award, in recognition of his unique contribution to music. In 2017, Gibbs was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music.

Discography

As leader

* ''Michael Gibbs'' (Deram, 1970) * ''Tanglewood 63'' (Deram, 1971) * ''Just Ahead'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''In the Public Interest'' with Gary Burton (Polydor, 1974) * ''

Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra ''Seven Songs for Quartet and Chamber Orchestra'' is an album by Gary Burton. A collection of compositions by Michael Gibbs, it features Burton with guitarist Mick Goodrick, bassist Steve Swallow, drummer Ted Seibs and the NDR Symphony Orchestra. ...

'' (1974, ECM) * ''Directs the Only Chrome Waterfall Orchestra'' (Bronze, 1975) * ''Will Power'' with Neil Ardley, Ian Carr, Stan Tracey (Argo, 1975) * ''Big Music'' with Bob Moses, Chris Hunter, Lew Soloff, Dave Bargeron, etc. (Venture, 1988, re-issued with additional track, ACT, 1996) * ''Europeana: Jazzphony No. 1'' with Joachim Kuhn (ACT, 1995) * ''Nonsequence'' (Provocateur, 2001) * ''Here's a Song for You'' with the NDR Big Band, Norma Winstone (Fuzzy Moon, 2011) * ''Back in the Days'' with the NDR Big Band (Cuneiform, 2012) * '' Mike Gibbs + 12 play Gil Evans'' (

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow ( current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and ...

, 2013) * ''In My View'' with the NDR Big Band (Cuneiform, 2015) * ''Play a Bill Frisell Set List'' with the NDR Big Band (Cuneiform, 2015) * ''Festival 69'' with Gary Burton (Turtle, 2018) * ''MIKE GIBBS BAND Symphony Hall Birmingham 1991 - feat. John Scofield Trio, (DuskFire Co.Uk, 2018)

Scores

* ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' (1971) * ''

Madame Sin ''Madame Sin'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by David Greene and starring Bette Davis, Robert Wagner, Denholm Elliott and Gordon Jackson. The screenplay was written by Greene and Barry Oringer. Plot summary The title character is ...

'' (1972) * ''

Intimate Reflections ''Intimate Reflections'' is a 1975 British independent drama film directed by Don Boyd and starring Anton Rodgers, Lillias Walker, Sally Anne Newton and Jonathan David. It was Boyd's first feature film and premiered at the 1975 London Film Festiva ...

'' (1975) * ''Housekeeping'' (Varèse Sarabande, 1987) * '' Close My Eyes'' (1991) * ''Iron & Silk'' (The Fine Line, 1991) * ''

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial ...

'' (1993) * '' Hard Boiled'' (The Fine Line, 1993) * ''Being Human'' (Varèse Sarabande, 1994) * ''Century/Close My Eyes'' (The Fine Line, 1994)

As sideman

, ''

Deep Dark Blue Centre ''Deep Dark Blue Centre'' is the debut album by composer and bassist Graham Collier recorded in 1967 and originally released on the British Deram label.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 ...

, ''

Windmill Tilter ''Windmill Tilter: The Story of Don Quixote'' is an album by trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, his first as a leader. It was recorded in March 1968 and was released in 1969 by Fontana Records. On the album, Wheeler, credited as "Ken Wheeler," is joined by t ...

'' (Fontana, 1969) *

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 ...

/The London Jazz Composers' Orchestra, ''

Ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

'' (Incus, 1972) *

Nguyen Le Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this ...

, NDR Big Band, ''Celebrating the Dark Side of the Moon'' (ACT, 2014) *

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, ...

, Pat Metheny, et al., ''

Hommage à Eberhard Weber ''Hommage à Eberhard Weber'' is a live tribute album celebrating German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber's 75th birthday recorded by the German public broadcaster SWR in Stuttgart in 2015 featuring Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burt ...

'' (ECM, 2015)

References

External links

DiscographyGoodies Podcast - audio interview with Mike Gibbs
recorded 6 March 2010.
Interview
for Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 9 April 2013. *

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Review of ''Big Music'' on allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Michael 1937 births ACT Music artists Living people Rhodesian people of British descent White Rhodesian people Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom Rhodesian composers Jazz composers Mute Records artists Polydor Records artists Virgin Records artists People from Harare Blast First artists Bronze Records artists New Jazz Orchestra members Varèse Sarabande Records artists Cuneiform Records artists Argo Records artists Deram Records artists