I'm a Saxophone player/composer/arranger. I've just moved to Berlin, Germany from Manchester, UK. I've been fortunate enough to work with some great musicians, including Kenny Wheeler, Mike Gibbs, Peter Erskine, Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, Tim Berne, Will Lee, Vince Mendoza and others.
My new CD "Another place" with pianist Les Chisnall was launched in feb 2008. You can hear some tracks on this page, or buy it from jazzcds.com.
I've just set up a new Woodwind Quartet in Berlin, which is currently rehearsing some new music of mine.
An album of my own compositions with a six piece band featuring, amongst others, "Badbone" guitarist Johnny Heyes, is currently in production
My own projects have included a Jazz Orchestra I co-led with Richard Iles (1996-2000), and a recent special commission for Manchester Jazz Festival (2005), "A Suite For Manchester" - a piece in 6 parts, featuring pianist John Taylor.
I've recently been a member of The North West Realbook Quintet, and Tim Garland's Northern Underground Orchestra. In the past I've recorded with Creative Jazz Orchestra ("Exits and Entrances" with John Taylor and "Compositions 175 and 126" by Anthony Braxton), Richard Iles ("From Here To There"), Steve Berry ("In An Ideal World"), Neil Yates ("New Origins"), Georgina Bromilow ("Til There Was You"), Tony Faulkner's Jazz Orchestra ("Thad Jones And The Ellington Effect"), Tim Garland's Northern Underground Orch ("Due North"), Mike Walker ("Madhouse And The Whole Thing There") and Mike McGoldrick ("Wired").
I've always been interested in arranging, particularly for big bands, and more recently in composition. My current six-piece band's music is also almost all original, and I've contributed arrangements to albums by Richard Iles, Mike Walker, Georgina Bromilow and Neil Fairclough, and to the BBC Big Band, and Bulgarian Radio Big Band.
I was musical director of "H Gang", a Steely Dan revue band, from 2006-7.
As a teacher I was part of the Faculty of Music at Salford University for about 10 years, and have run workshoips abroad for the British Council. I've been on staff at The Music Place in Altrincham, and with Music For Life, a music service for schools in Cheshire, (for which I co-directed a Youth Jazz Orchestra, Cheshire Youth Music For Life Big Band) for the past 10 years. I was also a course director on The Music Place Jazz Summer School, from 2005 until 2010.
Selected Discography:
Real Book North West (2010)
Andy Schofield/Les Chisnall "Another Place" (2008)
Mike Walker "Madhouse And The Whole Thing There" (2008)
Tim Garland/Northern Underground Orch "Due North" (2007)
Anthony Braxton/Creative Jazz Orch (2006)
Georgina Bromilow "Till There Was You" (2006)
Tony Faulkner Jazz Orch "Thad Jones And The Ellington Effect" (2006)
Neil Yates "New Origins" (2005)
Steve Berry "In An Ideal World" (2004)
John Taylor/Creative Jazz Orch "Exits & Entrances" (2001)
Richard Iles "From Here To There" (1999)
Sax Assault "Bang!" (1996)
John Ellis Big Bang "Live" (1994)
Vassil Parmakov "Lombrosso" (1993)
..
