Tony Coe


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

Career

Born in Canterbury, Kent, Coe started out on clarinet and was self-taught on tenor saxophone. He performed in an Army band from 1953-1956 and later playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962.
In 1965 he 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. He played clarinet on Paul McCartney's recording of "I'll Give You a Ring" released in 1982 and saxophone on John Martyn's 1973 album Solid Air.
Coe has 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.
Coe has 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.

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 29th and 30th 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

With Steve Beresford
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
With Georgie Fame
With Tony Hymas
With Franz Koglmann
With Humphrey Lyttelton
With Mike McGear
With Norma Winstone
With others