Denys Baptiste | |
|---|---|
 Baptiste in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1969 (age 56–57) London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Formerly of | Tomorrow's Warriors;Nu Troop |
| Website | denysbaptiste |
Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an Englishjazz musician. A graduate ofTomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste playstenor andsoprano saxophone in addition tocomposing.
Baptiste played withGary Crosby andNu Troop,[1] before releasing in 1999 his debut albumBe Where You Are, which was nominated for aMercury Music Prize[2] and won theMOBO award for Best Jazz Act 1999. Baptiste's third albumLet Freedom Ring! was nominated for the MOBO award for Best Jazz Act 2004,[3] theBBC Jazz Awards for Best New Work and Best Album 2004, and theParliamentary Jazz Award for Best Album 2004.
As a soloist, Baptiste has recorded and played with many prominent international musicians, includingMcCoy Tyner,Ernest Ranglin,Bheki Mseleku,Marvin "Smitty" Smith,Michael Bowie,Courtney Pine,Manu Dibango,Steve Williamson,Julian Joseph,Jason Rebello,Lonnie Plaxico,Ralph Moore,Billy Higgins,Jerry Dammers,Jean Carne,Marlena Shaw,Juliet Roberts, andJazz Jamaica.[4]
Baptiste was born toSt Lucian parents in Hounslow, west London, in 1969.[5] Studying music at school from the age of 13, he went on to attend theWest London Institute of Higher Education (now integrated intoBrunel University) in 1990, then in 1992 continued his music education at theGuildhall School of Music, studying underJean Toussaint.[4]
Described as "one of the true heavyweights of UK jazz",[6] Baptiste joinedGary CrosbyNu Troop and was nurtured by theTomorrow's Warriors programme, from where many other emerging stars on the London scene graduated.[7] In 1999 Baptiste's debut album was released to much acclaim, earning him aMercury Prize nomination[8] (the only jazz record to be shortlisted),[9] and winning him theMOBO award for Best Jazz Act.[6] In 2000, he won the British Jazz Award for Rising Star, releasing his second album,Alternating Currents, in 2001. This was followed in 2003 byLet Freedom Ring! – commemorating the 40th anniversary ofDr Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" oration – which earned Baptiste nominations for Best Album and Best New Work in theBBC Jazz Awards, for Best Jazz Act in the MOBO Awards, and Best Album in theParliamentary Jazz Awards.[10] In 2011, Baptiste's fourth album,Identity By Subtraction, was released,[11] described inJazzwise as "a robust and absorbing statement from one of the UK's finest young saxophonists."[12]
Baptiste's most recent album,The Late Trane, released in 2017 to mark 50 years since the death ofJohn Coltrane, was positively and widely welcomed, earning many four-star reviews.[13][14][15][16][17] As noted by the reviewer forLondon Jazz News, "Baptiste may record infrequently (this only his fifth album in 18 years), but the quality, commitment and emotional impact leap out from the speakers."[18]
Among other praise accorded to Baptiste,AllAboutJazz observes: "His colossal talent – based on a powerful technique and an ability to improvise fluently and effortlessly across a wide range of musical styles – is matched only by his unfettered energy which takes him and his audiences into the musical stratosphere. An evening with Denys guarantees a display of unsuppressed expression, ranging from sweet 'saxuality' to breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat virtuosity."[4]
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