Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Iain Ballamy was born Guildford, England on February 20, 1964. Taking piano lessons from age of 6 to 14, he received further education at George Abbot School from 1975 to 1980. He went on to study Musical Instrument Technology from 1980 to 1982 at Merton College.

Discovering the saxophone in 1978 with three lessons, his first professional gig was in 1980, playing Ronnie Scotts as the Iain Ballamy Quartet at age 20. He was a founding member of Loose Tubes in 1984. His first recording was with Billy Jenkinsthe following year, and his first solo album, Balloon Man, was released in 1988.

During his career, his performances and recording sessions reads like a who’s who list, including but not limited to Gil Evans, Hermeto Pascoal, Carla Bley, Dewey Redman, George Coleman, London Sinfonietta, Françios Jeanneau, Randy Weston, Clare Martin, Charlie Watts Orchestra, Jeremy Stacey, Jane Chapman, Bryan Ferry, Everything But The Girl, Ian Shaw, Slim Gaillard, Ronnie Scott, Gordon Beck, and one of his closest musical collaborators, Django Bates.

In 1999, Ballamy founded the record label Feral Records, in partnership with graphic artist and filmmaker Dave McKean. He composed the musical score for the movie MirrorMask and the score for the film Luna, both directed by McKean.

Bellamy is currently a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, Trinity College of Music, and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Modern saxophonist and composer Iain Ballamy continues to explore jazz.

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