Geoff Leigh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Geoff Leigh | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Geoff Leigh | |
| Born | October 5, 1945 (age 61) England |
|
| Genre(s) | Jazz, Jazz fusion, Progressive rock |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone, Flute | |
| Years active | 1968 – present | |
| Associated acts |
Henry Cow, The Black Sheep, Ex-Wise Heads |
|
| Website | Geoff Leigh's blog | |
Geoff Leigh (born 5 October 1945) is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily saxophone and flute. He was a member of the English avant-garde rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including The Black Sheep and Ex-Wise Heads.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Goeff Leigh was born in England in 1945 and began his professional career in 1968 as a backing musician, touring the United Kingdom and Europe with various jazz, rock and soul groups. In 1969 he joined Gerry Fitzgerald's band Mouseproof, which introduced Leigh to the budding Canterbury scene and musicians like Daevid Allen, Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt.
In the early 1970s Leigh performed with Henry Cow on several occasions, having known the band's drummer, Chris Cutler from college. Leigh accepted Henry Cow's invitation to join the band in 1972, and he played on their first album Leg End (1973). But after a very tiring tour of Holland at the end of 1973 and his preference for playing composed as opposed to improvised music, Leigh left Henry Cow. [1]
As Henry Cow were, at the time, signed to Virgin Records, Leigh took advantage of Virgin's network of artists and performed and recorded with a number of their musicians and groups, including Slapp Happy, Hatfield and the North, Gong and Mike Oldfield. He also guested on Henry Cow's album, In Praise of Learning (1975).
In 1974, Leigh formed Radar Favourites, a group with Gerry Fitzgerald (vocals, guitar), Kathy Williams (keyboards, vocals), Jack Monck (bass guitar) and Charles Hayward (drums). The group disbanded the following year after Virgin Recorded turned them down, but it did lead to a long musical relationship between Leigh and Williams. Their first project was a duo, Rag Doll, followed by Red Balune, a music theatre collective they formed in 1976. Red Balune grew over the next few years and attracted a number of musicians, including Colin McClure (bass), Rob Musgrove (drums) and Anne-Marie Roeloffs (trombone). In December 1977 Red Balune toured Holland and returned to England in January 1978 to begin recording an album. The album was never finished, but they did release a single, "Spider in Love" c/w "Capitalist Kid", which became a "seminal underground classic". [2] In April 1978 the band relocated to Holland, but Leigh left in September and moved to Brussels.
In Belgium Leigh met and performed with two local bands Aksak Maboul and Univers Zéro, and gave a series of solo performances in Belguim and France. In 1981 Leigh moved to Rotterdam and formed The Black Sheep, a "surrealistic variant on Henry Cow" [3], with Colin McLure and Loek van Saus. They released a 12" maxi single, "Animal Sounds", and toured Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Sweden and the former Yugoslavia. The Black Sheep performed again in 1986 with the addition of Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper.
Over the next few years Leigh performed with many musicians, including Moroccan oud players, Hassan Eradgi and Abid. In 1988 Leigh formed the Morton Fork Gang with British saxophonist Joe Higham that included Daniel Denis (drums) and Guy Segers (bass guitar) from Univers Zéro.
In the early 1990s Leigh developed dystonia that limited his performing capabilities and put a temporary hold on his projects. But by the late 1990s he had gained sufficient control of his condition to resume his work. In 1999 he formed an ethno-fusion band, Ex-Wise-Heads with Colin Edwin, and they recorded and performed across the United Kingdom. In 2005 Leigh played with Faust on their United Kingdom tour and later at the Faust Festival in Hamburg, Germany.
[edit] Discography
- 1970 Mouseproof: Mouseproof
- 1973 Henry Cow: Leg End
- 1974 Slapp Happy: Slapp Happy
- 1974 Hatfield and the North: Hatfield and the North
- 1975 Slapp Happy / Henry Cow: Desperate Straights
- 1975 Henry Cow: In Praise of Learning
- 1976 Henry Cow: Henry Cow Concerts
- 1977 Aksak Maboul: Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine
- 1988 Geoff Leigh and Frank Wuyts: From Here to Drums
- 2000 Ex-Wise Heads: No Grey Matter
- 2003 Ex-Wise Heads: Time and Emotion Study
- 2006 Ex-Wise Heads: Holding Up the Sky
[edit] References
- ^ Ansell, Kenneth. Dissecting the Cow. Calyx - The Canterbury Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
- ^ Geoff Leigh. Calyx - The Canterbury Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
- ^ Geoff Leigh. The History of Rock Music. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
[edit] External links
- The Canterbury Website. Geoff Leigh biography.
- The History of Rock Music. Geoff Leigh biography.
- Geoff Leigh at MySpace
- Geoff Leigh at All Music Guide
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Leigh, Geoff |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5 October 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
