Alan Wakeman | |
|---|---|
 Alan Wakeman performing in Mike Westbrook's show,Paintbox Jane (Exeter, April 2017) | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1947-10-13)13 October 1947 (age 77) Hammersmith,West London, England |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Website | alanwakeman |
Alan Wakeman (born 13 October 1947) is an English saxophonist who was a member ofSoft Machine during 1976, appearing on the albumSofts.[1] He is a cousin of the keyboard playerRick Wakeman.
Wakeman started on theclarinet at age 14 and, while at school, played in a band with cousin Rick onpiano. He switched to thealto saxophone at 16, then subsequently to thetenor saxophone; he also playssoprano saxophone.
He joined thePaul Lytton Quartet in 1968 and had his own trio in 1970 (withHarry Miller on bass). He subsequently worked withGraham Collier (including the albumsSongs for My Father andThe Day of the Dead),Johnny Dankworth andMike Westbrook (including playing saxophone and clarinet on the 1975 albumCitadel/Room 315 and 1976'sLove/Dream and Variations). He was also an original member ofAlan Gowen's bandGilgamesh in 1972–3 but left before Gilgamesh's first album.
He left Soft Machine in 1976 to joinDavid Essex's band, having first worked with him in 1974 on the albumDavid Essex. He also worked further with Westbrook and in theWest End, including for the musicalGrease. He has toured with Mike Westbrook's Uncommon Orchestra onA Bigger Show[2] and with Westbrook on his new jazz showPaintbox Jane.
WithPete Atkin
WithGraham Collier
WithDavid Essex
WithMike Westbrook
With others
John Chilton (Ed.),Who's Who of British Jazz (London; New York : Continuum, 2004, 2nd Edition), p. 371
R. Fagge and N. Pillai (Eds.),New Jazz Conceptions (London: Routledge, 2017), p. 137
Duncan Heining,Mosaics: The Life and Works of Graham Collier (Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2018)
Matthew Wright, ‘Annie Whitehead’s Interplay bring Township sounds to Leamington’,JazzWise Magazine, 2 May 2018
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