Adrian Litvinoff

Adrian Litvinoff – Basses & ComposerAdrian was musically active from childhood but took some time to find his way. Piano and violin lessons were of limited appeal so in his teens he gravitated to performance in jazz groups with friends, playing piano. A lack of bass players encouraged him to take up electric bass and this opened the way to exploring many more musical styles, all of which were close at hand in London’s vibrant music scene of the mid to late 1960s. Jazz and Blues bands led to paid work around town, including at the Coffin Club, formerly Ronnie Scott’s in Gerrard Street, where the drummer John Stevens and singer Maggie Nichols were wont to come by and sit in. A psychedelic rock band formed from school provided an early opportunity for Adrian to begin composing, and played at venues including Eel Pie Island. Meanwhile a ‘gap year’ job at Swiss Cottage Record Library offered him the opportunity to expand his listening to the latest releases from the US and UK. In 1969 Adrian travelled overland through the Middle East to India and Nepal, bringing him personal encounters with music of other cultures, and this interest grew during his time at York University. Although studying English and Related Literature, it was in the Music Department that he was often to be found. Student bands came and went, one with avant-garde pianist Steve Beresford. At this time Adrian formed his first full-time band with his close friend and musical companion Stuart Cohen, a fine guitarist and song-writer. Adrian relocated to London in 1973. He began a jazz fusion band, Fatal Error, which included saxophonists Joseph Kucera (aka Saxophone Joe), Steve Pheasant and Shaun Bergin as well as John Dennis, piano and Richard Burgess, drums. The band gigged around London including regular appearances at the Three Horseshoes in Hampstead and the historic Troubador coffee bar in Old Brompton Road. Another rock band with Stuart Cohen played clubs and support spots at colleges and festivals. Adrian continued to study piano and composition under Peter Sandler, attending classes at the City Lit. He began writing for diverse formats including big band, and found occasional arranging work and recording sessions, even including a Nigerian Hi-life band. In 1975 Adrian moved to Oxford, where the Old Fire Station Arts Centre offered a base to expand his activities. He began by conducting a community orchestra and establishing a jazz workshop.

A new quartet followed, and incidentally led to Adrian’s first performance with Alan Wakeman as guest. About this time Adrian was lent a double bass by Erika Lyons – her ‘spare’ – and took lessons at the Guildhall School of Music with classical bassist John Steer. Bands in Oxford featured saxophonist and educator John O’Neill, drummer Nigel Morris, pianist Ted Gioia, and a quartet with pianist Brian Waite and later Alex Steele. There was a broadcast for BBC Radio 2. Adrian also developed collaborations with contemporary dancers, and was fortunate to perform in the company of John Surman, Tony Oxley, Michael Garrick and Norma Winstone. The sextet ‘Crosscurrents’ was entirely based around Adrian’s writing. It toured regionally for a couple of years and recorded an album at Peter Ind’s Bass Clef Studio. At the Arts Centre Adrian became involved with alternative approaches to music education. This developed into a major interest for him, leading to projects with such musicians as John Stevens, Steve Berry, Chris Batchelor, and Tony Haynes and the Grand Union Orchestra. He also began programming jazz events, and with composer-in-residence Simon Bainbridge staged a day-long community performance of ‘In C’ by Terry Riley. Moving to Warwickshire in 1986 Adrian was able to expand his partnership with Grand Union, facilitating ground-breaking initiatives in school music and development for teachers and community musicians. This afforded him the opportunity to learn from musicians such as Vladimir Vega and Carlos Fuentes, Claude Deppa and Chris Biscoe, and culminated in the creation of ‘If Music Could’ in 1990. Continuing to play and write, Adrian performed for a while with Steve Tayton and Ben Parkinson before joining Footprints with Graham Dent and Steve Street. They went on to record the album ‘No Hurries’, featuring many of Adrian’s tunes and produced by Tim Whitehead. Adrian also toured with Neol Davies’s 8-piece Ska band Selecter Instrumental. Later he appeared with jazz groups such as the Don Ellis Connection, Loco Mundo, Jucamaya (with Ian Hill), and supported artists such as Karin Krog, Alan Barnes, John Hallam and Digby Fairweather. From 2007 Adrian was able to devote more time to music. Interplay was the immediate result, and the band plays throughout the Midlands and beyond. Afforded the talents of Alan Wakeman, Richard Baker, Neil Hunter and David Balen, Interplay is the fullest expression of Adrian’s diverse musical interests to date. Their debut CD ‘Introducing Interplay’ came out in 2010 and a second album ‘Global’ was released in the autumn of 2013. Gilles Peterson called it a ‘beautiful record’. Interplay have appeared with occasional guests, Claude Deppa, John Etheridge and Norma Winstone. in 2009 Adrian was invited to join Celtic Fusion band Shkayla, led by Limerick-born violinist and composer Joe O’Donnell, whose former work includes East of Eden, Rory Gallagher and Isla St. Clair. Shkayla, featuring guitarist Si Hayden, draws on music from many cultures as well as the Celtic tradition and keeps Adrian in touch with his rocky side too! Adrian trained as a Music Leader in 2008, resuming his music education work in association with Warwickshire’s Adult and Community Learning Service. He now has a well-established workshop practice in teaching jazz improvisation to adults as well as double bass and electric bass. He runs participatory music sessions for pre-school and primary-aged children and their carers and trains sessional tutors to cascade the work. Adrian continues to perform in a wide spectrum of other settings, mainly jazz, blues and soul. As a freelance bassist he has worked with such notable performers as Roy Forbes, Mike Fletcher, Arnie Somogyi, Chris Ingham, Neil Bullock, John Wheatcroft and Tony Kofi and Simon Spillett.