Henry Lowther (musician)

Henry Lowther (born Thomas Henry Lowther, 11 July 1941, Leicester, Leicestershire) is an English jazz trumpeter.

Lowther's first experience was on cornet in a Salvation Army band. He studied violin briefly at the Royal Academy of Music but returned to trumpet by 1960 though he sometimes played violin professionally. In the 1960s, he worked with Mike Westbrook^[1] (beginning in 1963 and continuing into the 1980s), Manfred Mann, John Dankworth (1967–77), Graham Collier (1967), John Mayall (1968), John Warren (1968 and subsequently), Neil Ardley (1968) and Bob Downes (1969). Many of these associations continued into the 1970s. Lowther appeared for some time with The Keef Hartley Band during this period.

The 1970s brought work with Mike Gibbs (1970–76), Kenny Wheeler (from 1972), Alan Cohen (1972), Michael Garrick (1972–73), Kurt Edelhagen (1974), John Taylor (1974), Stan Tracey (1976 onwards), Tony Coe (1976), Graham Collier (1976–78), Jubiaba with Barbara Thompson (1978) and Gordon Beck (1978), in addition to his own ensemble, Quaternity. Lowther also played the trumpet solo for Elton John on "Return to Paradise" for John's 1978 album "A Single Man."

He worked with Buzzcocks in 1980, Talk Talk from 1983 to 1991, with Peter King from 1983, and with Gil Evans in 1984. In 1986 he worked with Humphrey Lyttelton in his reconstruction of the John Robichaux Orchestra for a documentary film on Buddy Bolden. He played with Charlie Watts's band in 1986-87, then led his own band, Still Waters, in 1987. From the late 1980s he did much work in big bands, such as the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (1989–93), the London Jazz Composers Orchestra (1989-96), Kenny Wheeler's group (1990), The Dedication Orchestra (1994), the London Jazz Orchestra (1994), George Russell's Living Time Orchestra, and the Creative Jazz Orchestra (1996) and recently in a new band Jazzmoss.^[2]

Discography

With Jack Bruce

• Songs for a Tailor (Atco, 1969)

With the Collective Consciousness Society

• C.C.S. (RAK, 1970)
• C.C.S. 2 (RAK, 1970)

With Bryan Ferry

• These Foolish Things (Virgin, 1973)
• Another Time, Another Place (Virgin, 1974)

With the Keef Hartley Band

• Halfbreed (Deram, 1968)
• The Battle of North West Six (Deram, 1969)

With Murray Head

• Nigel Lived (CBS, 1972)

With Glenn Hughes

• Play Me Out (RPM, 1977)

With John Mayall

• Bare Wires (Decca, 1968)
• 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle, 2003)

With Elton John

• A Single Man (MCA, 1978)

With Van Morrison

• Avalon Sunset (Mercury, 1989)
• Enlightenment (Polydor, 1990)

With the Pretenders

• Pretenders II (Sire, 1981)

With Slapp Happy

• Slapp Happy (Virgin, 1974)

With John Surman

• The Brass Project (ECM, 1992)

With Talk Talk

• It's My Life (EMI, 1984)
• Spirit of Eden (EMI, 1988)
• Laughing Stock (Verve, 1991)

With Richard and Linda Thompson

• Pour Down Like Silver (Island, 1975)

With Loudon Wainwright III

• I'm Alright (Rounder, 1985)

References

Fairweather/Adams/Kernfeld, "Henry Lowther". Grove Jazz online.