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One of the most famous names in Brit-jazz, Graham Collier, has passed away due to heart failure on Sept. 10th 2011.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=86773" rel="nofollow - http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=86773
And here's what Downtown Music Gallery said:
"Graham Collier 1937-2011
Earlier this week, British jazz composer, professor and bassist,
Graham Collier passed away at his home in Greece at the age of 74.
After studying at the Berklee School of Music in Boston in the early
sixties, Mr. Collier organized his own ensembles to perform his
music. Originally a bassist, Collier composed for and led a series of
jazz ensembles which featured a number of the UK's finest musicians:
Harry Beckett, Alan Skidmore, John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, Karl
Jenkins, Malcolm Griffiths, Stan Sulzmann & John Marshall to name but
a few. Mr. Collier started his own label in the mid seventies called
Mosaic and released a half dozen classic records. I had the good
fortune to meet and have dinner with Mr. Collier in 1978 when my
roommate, Mike Rice, worked for a book publisher. Collier was in New
York to sign some papers since he was using text from a Malcolm
Lowery novel for his record 'The Day of the Dead'. Mr. Collier gave
me promo copies of his records to drop off with a number of noted
jazz journalists to review. He rewarded me for this with copies for
myself and I've been a big fan of his ever since. All of those
records have since gone out of print.
Mr. Collier retired from teaching and moved to Spain in the
nineties. A number of labels have since reissued his catalogue
(Disconforme, Voiceprint & BGO) since then as well as having newer
and historic recordings released by Cuneiform & ASC. After I reviewed
a number of these reissues, we got back in contact and have been
e-mail buddies ever since. Mr. Collier has kept busy of the past
decade composing and giving workshops at different schools around the
globe. Two of Collier's more recent discs feature international
ensembles, the Danish Radio Orchestra (on 'Winter Oranges') and The
Collective from Western Australia (on 'Bread and Circuses'). Collier
is also a well respected author of a series of fine books about
music. His most recent book, 'The Jazz Composer: Moving Music Off
Paper' is the culmination of his many years of working with and
writing about modern jazz. It is essential reading for those of us
want a better understanding of the history of modern jazz from an
important figure who created a large body of great and challenging
music.
Earlier this year, Graham Collier came to visit us here at DMG to
discuss his book and his music. We were honored to have him here in
our humble store. The BGO label is just about to release their fourth
volume of a double CD reissue of two of Collier's classic albums,
'Symphony of Scorpions' and 'The Day of the Dead'. I urge serious
listeners to check any of Graham Collier's twenty or so recordings.
Each one is a gem. - Bruce Lee Gallanter"
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Hit it on Five.
Saxophone Scatterbrain Blitzberg
Stab them in the ears.
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