Iain Ballamy
Iain Ballamy
For more recent info on Iain's career see his home page: www.ballamy.com
Saxophonist Iain Ballamy is one of a 'generation of young musicians who have crested the wave of fresh popularity which has invigorated British jazz in recent years'. (Richard Cook/Brian Morton, Penguin Guide to Jazz, 1992)
A turning point in Iain's career was his key role within the Eighties anarcho-musical big band Loose Tubes, one of the first points where his collaboration developed with Django Bates. With Django, he was a member of Bill Bruford's Earthworks since its inception, of Django's own groups Delightful Precipice and Human Chain (including 2 recordings on JMT), while he also played regularly in the groups of guitarist Billy Jenkins. Ballamy has also played with other notables including Hermeto Pascoal, the late Gil Evans (for the film Absolute Beginners), George Coleman, Dewey Redman, Carla Bley, Mike Gibbs, Brian Ferry. He made guest appearances on albums by singers Claire Martin and Ian Shaw.
He has also been encouraging other (even younger) musicians - his support for then 20 year old pianist Richard Fairhurst and 15 year old drummer Tim Giles has helped them to make their first recording Hungry Ants for Babel which reached number 4 in the national Virgin Jazz Chart.
His session with John Donaldson, and leading New York rhythm section, Ray Drummond and Victor Lewis is released on Babel Meeting in Brooklyn and was a CD of the Year in the Birmingham Post in 1994.
As the Danish press wrote after his performance at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival: 'Fantastic Englishman'.
'Iain Ballamy emerged from the Loose Tubes stable with an entirely unfashionable saxophone sound (he didn't sound like Coltrane) based on scurrying low-register clarinet-like figures, a delicate tone and an urgent, but sparingly used upper register wail. He doesn't sound like anyone else on the British scene.' (John Fordham, The Guardian)
'A major international saxophone voice' (Chris Parker, The Times)