Mark Lockheart


Mark Lockheart is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s.

Career

After the demise of Loose Tubes, Lockheart formed jazz/folk quartet Perfect Houseplants with Huw Warren, Dudley Phillips, and Martin France. The band released five albums, including two with The Orlando Consort. At this time Lockheart The Scratch Band, performing his compositions. The group recorded two albums, including Imaginary Dances. In 2005 Lockheart put together his "Big Idea" to record the album Moving Air.
In 2003, Lockheart joined the British jazz quintet Polar Bear. The group have recorded four albums, including Held on the Tips of Fingers, which was nominated for the Mercury Award and was selected one of the 100 Jazz Albums That Shook the World by Jazzwise magazine.
A project of more of Lockheart's compositions was released in 2009 with the In Deep Quintet featuring Liam Noble and Jasper Hoiby. The next year, Lockheart was awarded Jazz Musician of the Year award at the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards. His compositions have been recorded with the NDR Big Band.
Ellington in Anticipation was released to critical acclaim in 2013. As a septet featuring Sebastian Rochford, Tom Herbert, Liam Noble, Margrit Hasler, James Allsopp, and Finn Peters, Lockheart completed a UK wide tour supported by the Arts Council of England.
In July 2014 Lockheart formed the trio Malija with pianist Liam Noble and bassist Jasper Hoiby as a result of a request from the Rochester Jazz Festival in New York. "Malija" released its debut album entitled The Day I Had Everything on the Edition record label in 2015.
Lockheart has also played in sessions with Radiohead, Prefab Sprout, and Stereolab.
Lockheart teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and the Royal Academy of Music in London, and is a regular tutor for the National Youth Jazz Collective.

Awards and honors

As leader

With Django Bates
With Loose Tubes
With Polar Bear
With June Tabor
With Huw Warren
With others