Keith Tippett

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Keith Tippett (originally Keith Graham Tippetts, born August 25, 1947 in Bristol) is a British jazz pianist and composer.

Tippett went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. The son of a local police officer, he was the solo soprano singer in a school production of Tom Sawyer. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance Seven. In the late 1960s, he led a sextet featuring Elton Dean on saxophone, Mark Charig on trumpet and Nick Evans on trombone.

Tippett married singer Julie Driscoll and wrote scores for TV.

In the early 1970s, his big band Centipede brought together much of a generation of young British jazz and rock musicians. As well as performing some concerts (limited economically by the size of the band), they recorded one double-album, Septober Energy. He formed, with Harry Miller and Louis Moholo a formidable rhythm section at the centre of some the most exciting combinations in the country, Including the Elton Dean quartet, and Elton Dean's Ninesense. Around the same time, he was also in the vicinity of King Crimson, contributing piano to several of their records (and even appearing with them on Top of the Pops). His own groups, such as Ovary Lodge tended towards a more contemplative form of European free improvisation. He continues to perform with the improvising ensemble Mujician and more recently (2006) Work in Progress.

Tippett has appeared and recorded in a wide variety of settings, including a duet with Stan Tracey.

[edit] Discography

• 1969 - You Are Here... I Am There
• 1970 - Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening
• 1971 - Septober Energy
• 1972 - Blueprint
• 1973 - Ovary Lodge
• 1974 - TNT
• 1975 - Ovary Lodge
• 1978 - Frames
• 1979 - The Unlonely Raindancer
• 1980 - No Gossip
• 1981 - Mujician
• 1981 - First Encounter
• 1982 - Tern
• 1984 - A Loose Kite In A Gentle Wind Floating With Only My Will For An Anchor
• 1984 - On Focus
• 1985 - Solo Improvisation/Duet Improvisation
• 1985 - The Supergrass
• 1986 - Mr Invisible
• 1986 - Mujician II
• 1987 - Mujician III
• 1987 - Couple In Spirit
• 1990 - The Journey
• 1990 - The Dartington Concert
• 1990 - 66 Shades Of Lipstick
• 1991 - Mujician and The Gregorian Ensemble: Bristol concert

(released 2001, re-released 2005 as CD 1 of "Best of Keith & Julie Tippetts")

• 1993 - The Bern Concert
• 1993 - Twilight Etchings
• 1994 - Poem About The Hero
• 1994 - Une Croix Dans L'Océan
• 1995 - Birdman
• 1996 - Couple In Spirit II

(re-released 2005 as CD 2 of "Best of Keith & Julie Tippetts")

• 1996 - Bladik
• 1997 - Colours Fulfilled
• 1997 - Friday The Thirteenth

[edit] External links

• Mind Your Own Music, the Keith Tippett/Julie Tippetts website.
• Free Music Production,Tippetts FMP releases
• Keith Tippett Discography