Tuesday, 18 February, 2020
Tim Whitehead Quartet
Tim Whitehead – saxes
Jonathan Gee – piano
Andy Cleyndert – double bass
Tom Hooper – drums
Tim Whitehead was born in Liverpool, the son of one of the original writers of Dennis the Menace in the children’s comic, The Beano. His first public performance was as solo clarinettist in his school orchestra’s rendition of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, conducted by his fellow pupil, the now knighted, Sir Simon Rattle. From this promising musical beginning, Tim decided to follow a career in Law, but was pulled back to music, and more specifically jazz, soon after qualifying.
Here is what some the critics have said about Tim Whitehead:
‘He is a prodigious tenor player whose graceful compositions always rise above the mere technicalities of the conservatoire… amid the crowd of anonymous, garrulous and hard-edged tenor saxophonists, Tim Whitehead’s music is marked by a sense of grace and economy.’
Clive Davis – The Times
‘His is a sound of controlled power, sinewy and vigorous, but imbued with great tenderness in both the singing tone and the ravishing high note trills with which he decorates his ballads.’
Chris Parker – The Times
‘Whitehead glides ethereally into his phrases like a jazzier Jan Garbarek at times, although the playing is often stronger.’
John Fordham – The Guardian
‘…restrained, considered construction of solos …’
John Fordham – The Guardian
‘It is his overall approach…that distinguishes Whitehead from many contemporaries. Sticking more closely to the tune’s melody than is customary these days, he succeeds in drawing unaffectedly on all his stylistic influences – from Soul and Funk through mainstream Jazz to Coltrane-like rhapsodising …’
Chris Parker – The Times