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Mike Gibbs (UK)

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Topic: Mike Gibbs (UK)
Posted By: Sean Trane
Subject: Mike Gibbs (UK)
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2011 at 7:33am

Michael Gibbs (composer)

Michael Clement Irving Gibbs (born September 25, 1937 in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harare" rel="nofollow - Salisbury , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe" rel="nofollow - Southern Rhodesia ) is a jazz composer, conductor, arranger and producer as well as a trombonist and keyboardist.

He is known for collaborations with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Burton" rel="nofollow - Gary Burton , his student, and for his use of rock elements in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestral_jazz" rel="nofollow - orchestral jazz .

Career

He studied piano from age seven to thirteen and took up trombone at seventeen. In 1959 he moved to Boston to study at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berklee_College_of_Music" rel="nofollow - Berklee College of Music and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Conservatory" rel="nofollow - Boston Conservatory . At Berklee he studied under and worked with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Pomeroy" rel="nofollow - Herb Pomeroy . He graduated from Berklee in 1962 and the conservatory in 1963. In 1965 he returned to what was then Southern Rhodesia, but later was associated with the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" rel="nofollow - United Kingdom .

After recording with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Collier" rel="nofollow - Graham Collier , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dankworth" rel="nofollow - John Dankworth , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Wheeler" rel="nofollow - Kenny Wheeler and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Westbrook" rel="nofollow - Mike Westbrook in the late 1960s, he released his first album Michael Gibbs in 1970.

From 1969 to 1974 Gibbs was musical director for the BBC TV comedy programme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goodies" rel="nofollow - The Goodies . When he left the UK to take up a teaching position at Berklee, the musical director post was filled by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_MacRae" rel="nofollow - Dave MacRae , a member of the band Gibbs had led in recording http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk-rock" rel="nofollow - funk-rock music for the show.

Gibbs' orchestras were important stages in the careers of various http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_fusion" rel="nofollow - fusion musicians, and his arranging, conducting and producing work was well appreciated (see http://gibbs.onttonen.info/#michaelgibbs" rel="nofollow - discography ).

Selected discography

Albums as leader/co-leader

  • Michael Gibbs (1970, Deram)
  • Tanglewood 63 (1971, Deram)
  • Just Ahead (1972, Polydor)
  • In The Public Interest (1974, Polydor)
  • Seven Songs For Quartet And Chamber Orchestra (1974, ECM)
  • The Only Chrome Waterfall Orchestra (1975, Bronze)
  • Big Music (1988, Virgin/Venture)
  • By The Way (1993, ah um)
  • Europeana (1995, ACT)
  • Nonsequence (2001, Provocateur)

Soundtracks

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Sin" rel="nofollow - Madame Sin (1972)
  • Housekeeping (1987, Varèse Sarabande/MCA)
  • Iron & Silk (1991, The Fine Line/Mute)
  • Hard-Boiled (1993, The Fine Line/Mute)
  • Being Human (1993, Varèse Sarabande/MCA)
  • Century/Close My Eyes (1994, The Fine Line/Mute)


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my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicted musicians to crazy ones....




Replies:
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2011 at 8:30am
I'm glad you mentioned the Goodies, indicates another breadth to the man - and wasn't  he the co-writer of Funky Gibbon with Bill Oddie , the keyboard arrangement of which is attributed to Matching Mole's Dave MaCrae? Somebody tells me birdman Bill Oddie dj-ed jazz fusion on Jazz FM during the station's early days - true? But I do know Oddie coined the phrase Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Catalogue used as a title of that Soft Machine tune.
 
Pass the trivia bag on please.


Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2011 at 8:33am

Seem to feel there was some overlap between Gibbs and fellow composer and arranger for bigger bands, Mike Westbrook in late 60's/early 70's e.g. taking British jazz in new directions with some independency of US influences and  common personnel, e.g. John Surman was a common factor as a lead player....??????



Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2011 at 9:40am
Originally posted by Dick Heath Dick Heath wrote:

Seem to feel there was some overlap between Gibbs and fellow composer and arranger for bigger bands, Mike Westbrook in late 60's/early 70's e.g. taking British jazz in new directions with some independency of US influences and  common personnel, e.g. John Surman was a common factor as a lead player....??????

 
iwas going to suggest westbrook soon... but it's always the same problem with jazz iundividuals... overlapping is common
 
 
BTW, for The Goodies, I didn't mention itEmbarrassed, wiki didWink


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my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicted musicians to crazy ones....




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