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John Warren
Originally from Montreal, John came to England in the sixties. For thirty years the John Warren Band showcased his music, played by instrumentalists of the stature of Surman, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Skidmore, Julian Arguelles, Dave O’Higgins and Henry Lowther. The band toured Britain and broadcast on BBC Radio and BBC 2 TV. Tours of Germany and Switzerland included recordings for WDR and NDR radio. John composed and recorded “Tales of the Algonquin”, a suite for Trio and big band in 1972 which has been released on CD by Vocalion.
The partnership of Surman and Warren culminated in The Brass Project - Surman’s trio combined with a seven piece brass ensemble - with both men sharing the composing duties. The band appeared at major festivals throughout Europe and a selection of their music was released by ECM Records in 1992. In 1993 the London Jazz Festival commissioned a 60-minute suite from Warren, which was premiered at the festival and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Currently based in York, John is musical director of the Voice of the North Jazz Orchestra, comprised of the best players in the North East of England. As well as performing John’s music the band has commissioned works by leading composers. The band has worked with outstanding soloists including John Surman, Bob Mintzer, Andy Sheppard and Tommy Smith. Splinter Group, an eight piece offshoot of the Voice of the North performs music from the CD “Finally Beginning” in concerts around the region. John has composed two extended works for Brass Band and jazz quintet that were commissioned by the Durham Brass Festival and recorded with Mark Nightingale and Steve Waterman as featured soloists. Leading music colleges around the country have invited John to give seminars on his music and direct performances of it with student ensembles.
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John Warren & The Brass Project: The Traveller's Tale
by Roger Farbey
The John Warren /John Surman collaboration The Brass Project(ECM 1478) recorded in 1992, was a belated follow-up to their previous 1971 collaboration Tales Of The Alonquin on Decca's Deram label. As John Kelman's 2005 review of the Vocalion reissue of Tales of the Alonquin avers, this was, in Kelman's words, a seminal recording." This archival release of the brass-heavy British ensemble appears on the burgeoning Fledg'ling label (ostensibly a folk label but increasingly reissuing rare British jazz) and ...
read moreJohn Warren: Following On
by Nic Jones
John Warren was fortunate in having the services of a cross-section of British jazz talent in the realization of Following On. Their talents and his writing and arranging meld nicely here, the overall feeling being that of friends coming together, with a view towards mutual cooperation.
There are, however, negative implications. There are times when it's hard to get behind the surface elegance and urbanity of the music. An effortlessness in Warren's work makes this inevitable, perhaps, but is often ...
read moreJohn Warren: Finally Beginning
by Nic Jones
John Warren is a veteran of the British jazz scene having turned in work with baritone saxophonist John Surman over the decades. He's here exclusively as a composer and arranger and responsible for the entire program of music, apart from a reading of Thelonious Monk's Ruby My Dear" which falls right in with the overall ethos, even as it retains its individuality.
Warren is fortunate indeed in having been able to assemble a crack band to give life to his ...
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