Mornington Edward Lockett (born 19 November 1961) 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 ...

saxophonist.

Career

Lockett began playing

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

at the age of 14 while he was a student at Cowes High School, before switching to

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

. He studied at

Dartington College of Arts Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...

, graduating in 1981, then undertook further study at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in 1984–85, under the tutelage of

Lionel Grigson Lionel Grigson (12 February 1942 – 14 June 1994) was an English jazz pianist, cornettist, trumpeter, composer, writer and teacher, who in the 1980s started the jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music. As Simon Purcell wrote in ''The Ind ...

. Lockett has played in the bands of

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblo ...

(1988–93),

Ronnie Scott Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...

(1990–94),

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval (born November 6, 1949) is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 ...

(1993), Ian Shaw (1994), Andrea Vicari (1994),

Martin Drew Martin Drew (11 February 1944 – 29 July 2010) was an English jazz drummer who played with Ronnie Scott between 1975 and 1995 and with Oscar Peterson between 1974 and 2007. Career Martin Drew was born on 11 February 1944 in Northampton, Englan ...

(1995–2010),

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Insp ...

(1996–2010), Don Weller (2000), Sarah Jane Morris (1985–2009) and Jimmy Smith (2002–04), among others. In February 1996, Lockett's album ''Late Night Sax: After Dark'' reached No. 18 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. From 2000 until 2004 Lockett was involved in a group called "Celebrating The Jazz Couriers", playing the music of

and

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his virtuosic musicianship on tenor saxophone and for performing in jazz groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and trump ...

. The group was co-led by

and won the British Jazz Award for "Best Small Group" in 2002. The band was reformed in 2004 as "The New Jazz Couriers". In November 2008, in conjunction with fellow tenor saxophonists

Art Themen Arthur Edward George Themen (born 26 November 1939) is a British jazz saxophonist and formerly orthopaedic surgeon. Critic John Fordham has described him as "an appealing presence on the British jazz circuit for over 40 years.... Originally a ...

and Don Weller, Lockett released the album ''The 3 Tenors at the Appleby Jazz Festival''. Lockett now works at

St. Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top 30 ...

, and the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London, teaching jazz saxophone and improvisation. He has also taught at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

Leeds College of Music Leeds Conservatoire (formerly known as The Leeds Music Centre, the City of Leeds College of Music, and Leeds College of Music) is a higher education music conservatoire based in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds, England. It was founded in 19 ...

and has been a visiting tutor at the Dordogne Jazz Summer School. Lockett led a monthly residency at the

606 Club The 606 Club (also known as "The Six") is a jazz club in Chelsea, London. Located in a basement venue at 90 Lots Road in London SW10 (opposite Lots Road Power Station) and currently licensed for 175 people, it offers jazz, Latin, soul, R&B, blu ...

in Chelsea with

Peter King (saxophonist) Peter John King (11 August 1940 – 23 August 2020) was an English jazz saxophonist, composer, and clarinettist. Early life Peter King was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England. He took up the clarinet and saxophone as a teenager, ...

until a year before King's death and has since run an annual tribute - "Peter King Memorial Sax Summit" - with guest saxophonists such as Graeme Blevins, Simon Allen and Alex Clarke.

References

*Mark Gilbert, "Mornington Lockett". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

Career

References

Further reading