Simon Spillett

SIMON SPILLETT

 

 

BBC JAZZ AWARDS 2007 "RISING STAR"

 

JAZZ JOURNAL MAGAZINE RECORD OF THE YEAR 2009 "SIENNA RED"

 

 

Photo by Jerry Storer

 

"He's stood old head and young shoulders above many of his contemporaries as a live performer for several years. Gets five stars for knowing how to play jazz when so many of his generation think they can but they can't"   BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

 

"He brings a commitment and hard swing to his playing that I find most exhilarating. He is steeped in the history of jazz, composes catchy jazz themes and is a great communicator with audiences. Great as he is now, I am sure he will develop into something quite formidable in years to come"  ALAN BARNES

 

"Formidable"  HUMPHREY LYTTELTON

 

"It is a joy to discover Simon Spillett. He is to Bebop what Harry Allen and Scott Hamilton are to Mainstream"  STEVE VOCE, JAZZ JOURNAL

 

"Those of us who have heard him...have been left blinking in disbelief. It's not just his mastery of the tenor saxophone, phenomenal though that is, but the absolute conviction of his playing that is so impressive"  DAVE GELLY, THE SUNDAY OBSERVER

 

"Tubby Hayes may have passed away..but there's no question that his boisterous spirit has found an heir in Simon Spillett, who has been turning heads up and down the country"  CLIVE DAVIS, THE SUNDAY TIMES

 

"Spillett loves nothing better than to embark on blistering runs across standards,wresting every ounce of juice from the harmonies...his instrumental facility and creative fecundity startlingly like his erstwhile mentor"  PETER VACHER, JAZZ UK

 

"He's now a serious challenger....for the British Hard Bop sceptre....as if Spillett is attempting to cram life itself into each outburst" MARTIN LONGLEY, BBC MUSIC WEBSITE

 

"I have heard no-one in years who compares to tenorist Simon Spillett, a miraculous player"  JOHN MARTIN, THE JAZZ RAG

 

"The world's leading Tubbiologist" JACK MASSARIK, JAZZWISE

 

"Spillett is a bruising scruff-of-the-neck hard bopper who has absorbed all the giants but plumps for Tubby Hayes as a role model. Generates huge excitement and swagger"  MOJO MAGAZINE

 

"This is saxophone playing of the highest order"  ALUN MORGAN,  JAZZ JOURNAL

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Described in Jazz Review as "A formidable musician and composer playing and writing in an uncompromising Hard Bop style", Simon Spillett (born 1974) has risen meteorically in the past few years to become one of the most dynamic and distinctive tenor saxophonists on the UK jazz scene.

 

Starting as a teenager with saxophone lessons from BBC Big Band veteran jazzman Vic Ash, Simon became a professional musician aged 21 and worked his way through a very practical jazz apprenticeship which saw him playing at prestigious venues such as Ronnie Scott's, The 100 Club, The Spice Of Life, The 606 and The Jazz Cafe.

 

His current quartet is one of the most energetic groups on the UK circuit and features three of the finest UK jazzmen: pianist John Critchinson, bassist Andrew Cleyndert and drummer Martin Drew, who were all members of bands led by one of Simon's heroes, the late Ronnie Scott.

 

Simon is also a regular member of The Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, boasting some of the most formidable names in British jazz and with this band he has accompanied stars including veteran jazz singer Jon Hendricks, pop icons Will Young, Mick Hucknall, Andrea Corr and Sharleen Spiteri as well as celebrated vocalist Monica Mancini.

 

Simon's driving and energised style has often been compared favourably with that of his idol, the late great Tubby Hayes, arguably the most accomplished of the post-war British Bebop generation, and his approach does indeed share a similar love of dare-devil tempos and all-out, no-holds-barred, intensity.

 

His passionate commitment to unabashed straight-ahead jazz has attracted much attention and garnered him welcome praise. Added to these skills, he is also a rhapsodic ballad player. Above all, he remains a proudly "British" jazz musician.

 

Simon and his quartet are in demand at jazz venues across the UK and have played at many major festivals including Brecon International Jazz  Festival, Swanage Jazz Festival, Wigan International Jazz Festival, Wavendon Jazz Festival, Southport Jazz On A Winters Weekend, Cleethorpes Beachcomber Jazz Festival and others.

 

In 2007, Simon released his debut album "Introducing Simon Spillett", produced by Alan Barnes for the Woodville label (WVCD 116), featuring a mix of themes associated with Tubby Hayes and Simon's own compositions. The album has received universal praise from the leading jazz critics and broadcasters (see above), as well as featuring on BBC Radio 2 The Best Of Jazz and BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up.

 

The follow-up album "Sienna Red" (Woodville WVCD 120) was released in spring 2008 and has met with universal critical acclaim in the jazz press (see Reviews and Photos page) and has won Record of The Year in the 2009 Jazz Journal magazine's critics poll as well as receiving a nomination for Album Of The Year in the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards. Jazz Journal magazine described it as "heralding the first leadership flowering of a major British soloist"

 

In July 2007, Simon won the "Rising Star" category in the BBC Jazz Awards participating in a broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and 3 playing with The BBC Big Band directed by Guy Barker. He has also received nominations in the Rising Star and Tenor Saxophone categories of The British Jazz Awards.

 

Besides working as a guest soloist and with his own line-ups, Simon has also worked with Sir John Dankworth, Alan Barnes, Alan Plater, Tina May, Martin Drew, Dave Newton, Spike Wells, Lianne Carroll, Peter King, Danny Moss, Steve Melling, Bobby Wellins, Jim Mullen, Alan Skidmore, Vic Ash, Dave O'Higgins, Clark Tracey, Art Themen, Ray Gelato, Pete Long, Allan Ganley, Tony Coe, John Etheridge, Harry Beckett, Tommy Whittle, Steve Waterman, Alec Dankworth, Jim Hart, Gwilym Simcock, Derek Nash, John Donaldson, Tony Levin, Tony Kinsey, Jack Parnell and many, many more.

 

Alongside Tubby, Simon's favourite saxophonists include John Coltrane, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Ronnie Scott, Bobby Wellins, Ben Webster, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins and Alan Skidmore.

 

As one of the most popular and entertaining of the new wave of young British jazz musicians, Simon delivers a high energy performance of straightahead jazz which all will enjoy.

 

Simon Spillett plays Rico Reeds www.ricoreeds.com