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Henry Lowther (musician)

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Henry Lowther
Birth nameThomas Henry Lowther
Born (1941-07-11) 11 July 1941 (age 83)
Leicester, Leicestershire, England
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Trumpet
  • violin
  • cornet
Years active1950s–present
Websitehenrylowther.com

Thomas Henry Lowther (born 11 July 1941)[1] is an English jazz trumpeter who also plays violin.

Biography

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Lowther was born in Leicester, England,[1] and his first musical experience was on cornet in a Salvation Army band. He studied violin briefly at the Royal Academy of Music[2] but returned to trumpet by 1960, though he sometimes played violin professionally. In the 1960s, he worked with Mike Westbrook (beginning in 1963 and continuing into the 1980s), Manfred Mann, John Dankworth (1967–77), Graham Collier (1967), John Mayall (1968), John Warren (1968 and subsequently), Neil Ardley (1968), and Bob Downes (1969).[2] Many of these associations continued into the 1970s.

Lowther appeared for some time with the Keef Hartley Band,[1] playing with him at Woodstock, the music festival held in New York in August 1969. In the 1970s he worked with Mike Gibbs (1970–76), Kenny Wheeler (from 1972), Alan Cohen (1972), Michael Garrick (1972–73), Kurt Edelhagen (1974), John Taylor (1974), Stan Tracey (1976 onwards), Tony Coe (1976), Graham Collier (1976–78), Jubiaba with Barbara Thompson (1978) and Gordon Beck (1978), in addition to his own ensemble, Quaternity.[1] Lowther played the trumpet solo for Elton John on "Return to Paradise" for John's 1978 album, A Single Man.[3]

He worked with Buzzcocks in 1980, Talk Talk from 1983 to 1991, with Peter King from 1983, and with Gil Evans in 1984. He was featured in a profile on composer Graham Collier in the 1985 Channel 4 documentary Hoarded Dreams.[4] In 1986 he worked with Humphrey Lyttelton in his reconstruction of the John Robichaux Orchestra for a documentary film on Buddy Bolden. He played with Charlie Watts's band in 1986–87, then led his own band, Still Waters,[2] in 1987. From the late 1980s he did much work in big bands, such as the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (1989–93), the London Jazz Composers Orchestra (1989–96), Kenny Wheeler's group (1990), The Dedication Orchestra (1994), the London Jazz Orchestra (1994), George Russell's Living Time Orchestra, the Creative Jazz Orchestra (1996) and Jazzmoss.[5]

Discography

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As leader

  • Child Song (Deram, ca.1970)
  • I.D. (Henry Lowther's Still Waters: Village Life, 1996)
  • Fungii Mama (Henry Lowther - Jim Mullen Quartet, GWB, 2002)
  • Can't Believe, Won't Believe (Henry Lowther's Still Waters: Village Life, ca.2018)

With Neil Ardley

  • A Symphony of Amaranths (Regal Zonophone, 1972)
  • Camden '70 (Dusk Fire, 2008)
  • Mike Taylor Remembered (Trunk, 2007)
  • On the Radio : BBC Sessions 1971 (Dusk Fire, 2017)

With Jack Bruce

With Graham Collier

With John Dankworth

  • The $1,000,000 Collection (Fontana, 1967)
  • Full Circle (Philips, 1972)
  • Lifeline (Philips, 1973)

With David Essex

  • Hot Love (Mercury, 1980)
  • Silver Dream Racer (Mercury, 1980)
  • Stage Struck (Metronome, 1982)
  • The Whisper (Mercury, 1983)
  • This One's for You (Mercury, 1984)

With Michael Gibbs

  • Directs the Only Chrome-Waterfall Orchestra (Bronze, 1975)
  • Just Ahead (Polydor, 1972)
  • Michael Gibbs (Deram, 1970)
  • Tanglewood 63 (Deram, 1971)
  • Festival 69 (Turtle, 2018)

With Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers Orchestra

With Keef Hartley

With John Mayall

  • Bare Wires (Decca, 1968)
  • Primal Solos (London, 1977)
  • Rare Tracks Vol. 2 (Decca, 1981)
  • London Blues 1964–1969 (Deram, 1992)
  • 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle, 2003)

With Talk Talk

With Colin Towns

  • Mask Orchestra (Jazz Label, 1993)
  • Nowhere & Heaven (Provocateur, 1996)
  • Bolt From the Blue (Provocateur, 1997)
  • Dreaming Man with Blue Suede Shoes (Provocateur, 1999)
  • Another Think Coming (Provocateur, 2001)
  • The Orpheus Suite (Provocateur, 2004)

With Stan Tracey

  • Genesis (STEAM, 1987)
  • We Still Love You Madly (Mole, 1989)
  • Live at the QEH (Blue Note, 1994)
  • The Durham Connection (33 Records, 1999)

With Mike Westbrook

  • Marching Song Vol. 1 (Deram, 1969)
  • Marching Song Vol. 2 (Deram, 1969)
  • Marching Song: An Anti-War Jazz Symphony (Deram,, London 1970)
  • Metropolis (RCA/Neon, 1971)
  • Citadel/Room 315 (RCA 1975)
  • Love/Dream and Variations (Transatlantic, 1976)
  • The Westbrook Blake (Bright As Fire) (Original, 1980)

With Kenny Wheeler

With others

References

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Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 262. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ a b c "Henry Lowther". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. ^ "A Single Man - Elton John | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. ^ Hoarded Dreams documentary website.
  5. ^ "What's On: Music, Film, & Things to Do in Birmingham". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
General references
  • Fairweather/Adams/Kernfeld, "Henry Lowther". Grove Jazz online.
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