Mark Lockheart

In the mid-nineties Mark toured and recorded with Django Bates’ Delightful Precipice, performing at many international festivals and also recording a great deal with jazz, folk and pop artists June Tabor, Stereolab, Jah Wobble, Robert Wyatt, Prefab Sprout, Don Um Romao, Thomas Dolby, Anja Garbarek and on Radiohead’s Kid A album. Mark received the Peter Whittingham Award in 1997 to record his semi-orchestral 11-piece group the Scratch Band. This formed the basis of his album Through Rose-Coloured Glasses, which was released in 1998 to critical acclaim and voted by Time Out as one of the top ten albums of 1998. A commission in 2001 from the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival led to a suite of pieces inspired by dance forms, which formed the basis for the Scratch Band’s second album, Imaginary Dances. With the help of a major touring grant from Arts Council England, the Scratch Band undertook a ten-date nationwide tour.

In 2003 Mark joined Seb Rochford’s Polar Bear and has toured throughout Europe and recorded four CDs with the group, including the 2005 Mercury-nominated Held On The Tips Of Fingers and the recent 2010, critically acclaimed Peepers on the Leaf label. In 2005 Mark released his critically acclaimed multi-tracked saxophone and clarinet album Moving Air (basho records) and in 2007 was featured soloist (along with John Pattitucci and Gwilym Simcock) in Mark Anthony Turnage’s About Water which was premiered on the Southbank with the London Sinfonia in June 2007. 2009 saw the release of Mark’s stunning album In Deep on the Edition record label, Jazzwise described the album as “one of the most glorious bits of writing and playing you’ll hear this year”. In 2010 Mark released his first big band album Days Like These recorded with the Hamburg-based NDR Big Band. This year also saw Mark as a featured soloist in Mark Anthony Turnage’s Anna Nicole opera. Also this same year Mark was awarded the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Musician Of The Year 2010, primarily for his In Deep album, but also in recognition of his varied work with other groups on the UK scene. Mark has also been nominated for the Paul Hamlyn award for composition 2012. Mark is currently performing a busy schedule with experimental jazz group Polar Bear and will shortly be releasing (on his own Subtone label) a new CD featuring deconstructions of Duke Ellington compositions. Entitled Ellington In Anticipation the CD was released in February 2013, followed by a major UK tour.

Teaching Experience

Mark teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and Middlesex University, as well as occasional teaching and master classes in composition and saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music.

Creative Outputs

Recordings:
Matheran (Isis, 1993) with guitarist John Parricelli
Through Rose-Coloured Glasses (1998) with The Scratch Band
Six albums with group Perfect Houseplants (1992 – )

Broadcast:
Perfect Houseplants – BBC Broadcast at EBU in Vienna, 1998
Perfect Houseplants – BBC Radio 3 Norwich and Norfolk Festival
Music for BBC Radio 4 plays – Slow Burn and False Fingerings

Awards

2013 Jazz Electives Commission for Birmingham Jazz Lines, 1st performance June 2014

2012 Art Council of England Grant for The Arts Award

2010 Jazz Musician of The Year

2004 Hertfordshire Music Service commission

2000 Imaginary Dances

1999 New Folk Songs

Peter Whittingham Award, 1997