Gordon Beck

Gordon Beck – born September 16, 1935 in Brixton, London, England – was a British jazz pianist and composer. He was taught to play piano by his father, who was a violinist. He moved to Canada in 1957 to pursue a career as an engineering technical draughtsman. While in Canada, he was introduced to the recorded works of Bill Evans, George Shearing and Dave Brubeck. Inspired to follow music as a career, he returned to England in 1958. He became a professional musician in 1960 when he performed in Monte Carlo with saxophonist Don Byas. Back in England in 1962, he began working as a sideman for drummer Tony Kinsey and saxophonists Peter King, Vic Ash, Harry Klein, and Tubby Hayes. In 1967, he formed a trio and with the addition of guitarist John McLaughlin, recorded the album Experiments with Pops. He then formed the band Gyroscope, the members of which evolved into Ronnie Scott’s house band. After recording the album Frankfurt Jazz Festival (1970) with Phil Woods’ European Rhythm Machine, he became an in-demand session musician. In the early 1970’s, he joined other pianists from around the world in a supergroup project called Piano Conclave. While he recorded many collaboration albums and releases under his own name – including One for the Road (1977), The French Connection (1978), Sunbird (1979), The French Connection 2 (1982), and Reflections (2003) – his work as a freelance sideman dominated most of his career. He recorded with artists such as Lena Horn, Clark Terry, Gary Burton, and others. Some of his most popular collaborations include albums and tours with Allan Holdsworth and a short stint with British jazz rock band Nucleus (1973-1974). Due to ill health, he stopped performing in 2005. Gordon Beck died on November 6, 2011.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.