Tony Coe


Anthony George Coe was an English jazz musician who played clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones.
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Career

Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self-taught on tenor saxophone. At just 15 years of age in 1949 he played in his school's trad band and two years later, aged 17, became a full professional with Joe Daniels. In 1953, aged 18, he joined the army where he played clarinet in the Military band and saxophone with the unit Dance Band. After demob in 1955 he spent some time in France with the Micky Bryan Band, Harry Bryan, before rejoining Joe Daniels. In 1957 Tony's father went to see Humphrey Lyttelton and, as a result, Tony spent just over four years with Humphrey's band from 1957 to the end of 1961. This was a period when Coe was brought to the attention of critics and fans as well as giving him some degree of international fame.
He left Lyttleton at the end of 1961 to form his own outfit. As leader, his notable albums in this period include 1967's Tony's Basement for Denis Preston, a combination of jazz players and string quartet which "suits his evenness of tone and highly personal sound perfectly, and which recalls Stan Getz's beautiful Focus".
In 1965, Coe was invited to join Count Basie's band and has since played with the John Dankworth Orchestra, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Derek Bailey's free improvisation group Company, Stan Tracey, Michael Gibbs, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bob Brookmeyer, and performed under Pierre Boulez as well as leading a series of groups of his own, including Coe Oxley & Co with drummer Tony Oxley. Another recording with Denis Preston is his "Third Stream masterpiece" Zeitgeist from 1977. He played saxophone on John Martyn's 1973 album Solid Air and clarinet on Paul McCartney's recording of "I'll Give You a Ring", released in 1982,
Coe also worked with the Matrix, a small ensemble formed by clarinettist Alan Hacker, with a wide-ranging repertoire of early, classical, and contemporary music, the Danish Radio Big Band, Metropole Orchestra and Skymasters in the Netherlands. He has worked additionally with the Mike Gibbs big band and the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble. As leader, a career highlight from 1989 is the Canterbury Song album featuring the American pianist Horace Parlan.
Coe recorded on soundtracks for several films, including Superman II, Victor/Victoria, Nous irons tous au paradis, Leaving Las Vegas, Le Plus beau métier du monde and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. He also composed the film score for Camomille.
Coe, who lived in Canterbury, died on 16 March 2023, at the age of 88.

Awards and honours

In 1976, a grant from the Arts Council enabled him to write Zeitgeist - Based On Poems Of Jill Robin, a large-scale orchestral work fusing jazz and rock elements with techniques from classical music which was recorded on EMI records on 29 and 30 July 1976 at Lansdowne Studios based in Holland Park, London. In 1995 he received an honorary degree and the Danish Jazzpar Prize.

Discography

As leader

Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home with the Tony Coe Quintet Tony's Basement with the Lansdowne String Quartet Sax with Sex Pop Makes Progress with Robert Farnon With Brian Lemon Trio Zeitgeist: Based on Poems of Jill Robin Coe-Existence Time with Derek Bailey Get It Together with Al Grey Tournée Du Chat Le Chat Se Retourne Mainly Mancini Alernate Cake Joyeux Noël with Norma Winstone Mer De Chine Canterbury Song Bandes originales du journal de Spirou Les Voix D'Itxassou Les Sources Bleues with Tony Hymas, Chris Laurence Les films de ma ville Captain Coe's Famous Racearound with Bob Brookmeyer Buenaventura Durruti with Tony Hymas, Beñat Achiary, Abel Paz In Concert with John Horler, Malcolm Creese Jazz Piquant N'oublie Jamais with Tina May Days of Wine and Roses with Alan Barnes Street of Dreams with Warren Vaché Jumpin with Warren Vaché, Alan Barnes Sun, Moon, and Stars with Alan Hacker British-American Blue with Roger Kellaway Dreams with Gerard Presencer, Brian Lemon, Dave Green What in the World with Richard Sinclair, David Rees Williams More Than You Know with Tina May, Nikki Iles The Buds of Time, with the Delmé String Quartet

With the Melody Four

Les Millions D'Arlequin / La Paloma Love Plays Such Funny Games The Melody Four? Si Señor! Alernate Cake T.V.? Mais Oui! Hello! We Must Be Going Joyeux Noël with Norma Winstone Shopping For Melodies
  • ''Les films de ma ville''

With the Lonely Bears

The Lonely Bears Injustice
  • ''The Bears are running ''

As sideman

With Steve Beresford
  • 1985: Eleven Songs for Doris Day
  • 1987: Kazuko Hohki chante Brigitte Bardot
  • 1988: L'Extraordinaire Jardin De Charles Trenet
  • 1989: Pentimento
  • 1996: Cue Sheets
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
With Georgie Fame
With Tony Hymas
  • 1988: Flying Fortress
  • 1990: Oyate
  • 1995: Remake of the American Dream
With Franz Koglmann
  • 1990: A White Line
  • 1991: The Use of Memory
  • 1991: L'Heure Bleue
  • 1993: Cantos I-IV
  • 1995: We Thought About Duke with Lee Konitz
  • 1998: Make Believe
  • 1999: An Affair With Strauss
  • 2001: Don't Play Just Be
  • 2001: O Moon My Pin-Up
  • 2003: Fear Death by Water
  • 2005: Let's Make Love
  • 2009: Lo-Lee-Ta: Music on Nabokov
With Humphrey Lyttelton
  • 1957: Here's Humph!
  • 1960: Blues in the Night
  • 1965: Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band
  • 1971: Duke Ellington Classics
  • 2001: The Humphrey Lyttelton Big Band with Jimmy Rushing
  • 2002: Humph Bruce & Sandy Swing at the BBC:
  • 2003: A Night in Oxford Street
  • 2005: Humph Dedicates
  • 2013: Live at the Nottingham Jazz Festival 1972
With Mike McGear
With Norma Winstone
With others