Larry Stabbins

Larry Stabbins was born in Bristol where he started learning clarinet at the age of eight then soprano saxophone at nine and graduating to tenor sax at ten. He did his first paid gig in his father's dance band at twelve and started a long association with pianist Keith Tippett when he was sixteen and Keith eighteen at the legendary Dugout Club in Bristol. At the same time he served his musical apprenticeship in local dancehall resident bands and countless soul bands.  He later contributed to many of Tippett's projects such as Centipede, Ark, Tapestry and the Septet. In addition to occasional duo performances, in the mid-eighties they also worked for a several years  as a trio  with percussionist Louis Moholo recording the album "Tern" on FMP, while Tippett was himself involved in various Working Week and Weekend activities and Keith's wife Julie sang on the fourth Working Week album.

In London in the early 70’s after a short spell in the Brotherhood of Breath, he attended John Stevens’ Ealing workshops and played with the Spontaneous Music Orchestra, and occasionally with SME and the Dance Orchestra.  As a result he met many of the `second generation` of British improvisors and often played the Little Theatre Club, sometimes solo, often in combinations with people such as Terry Day, Marcio Mattos, Ken Hyder, Paul Burwell, Maggie Nicholls and particularly Roy Ashbury with whom he formed a regular duo, recording Fire Without Bricks for Bead Records in 1976. During this period in London he also worked as a freelance commercial musician, playing studio sessions, nightclubs and West End shows as well as playing in more jazz based situations such as Mike Westbrook’s `Solid Gold Cadillac`.

Back in Bristol in the late seventies he was involved with the then thriving Bristol Musicians Co-op while still performing in London as a duo with Peter Cusack and in Tony Wren’s `Mama Lapato`. 

In 1979 he joined the Tony Oxley Quintet alongside Howard Riley, Barry Guy (later replaced by Hugh Metcalfe) and Phil Wachsmann and played in various permutations of it for many years (including one with Pat Thomas, Manfred Schoof and Sirone in 1992) and also Oxley’s Celebration Orchestra. At the same time he also joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra with whom he played until about 1985, and also Peter Brotzmann’s Alarm Orchestra and its successor the Tentet  `Marz Combo`.  The early 80’s also saw him play in the Eddie Prevost Quartet, Trevor Watt’s Moire Music, Louis Moholo’s Spirits Rejoice, and Elton Dean’s Ninesense as well as touring (the then East) Germany with Heinz Becker’s Quintet with Uli Gumpert, Radu Malfatti, Peter Kowald and Stefan Hubner.

Alongside this he played in the seminal pop group Weekend and formed a key writing partnership with its guitarist Simon Booth. This became the basis for Working Week, a project that took  a melange of latin, soul and jazz into the world of pop and dance music.  Born out of the burgeoning Latin Jazz Dance scene in London clubs such as the Electric Ballroom and the Wag, the new band mixed jazz with modish Latin dance rhythms and vocals by singers such as Juliet Roberts, Julie Tippetts, Robert Wyatt and Tracy Thorn. They became a dominating force in the 80s British jazz revival, the movement that made jazz fashionable again, introducing it to a new young audience and instigating a great upsurge in new talent onto the British Jazz Scene. The band toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing at most of Europe's major Jazz Festivals, recording five albums for Virgin Records.

The demise of Working Week was followed by QRZ? a fusion of jazz and rap which also recorded for Virgin and the German label Loud Minority. 

Following a period away from music during the mid nineties,he formed a trio with with Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders  " Game Theory"  playing what was described by BBC Radio 3 as "Free Jazz Techno Funk". During this period he also worked with Keith Tippett’s Tapestry, in a quartet with Howard Riley Tony Wren and Mark Sanders, in Louis Moholo’s Dedication Ochestra, in Soupsongs, playing the music of Robert Wyatt, and  in Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Orchestra.

This was followed by "Stonephace"  a project with rave producer and DJ Krzysztof Oktalski,which  featured Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley and bass player Jim Barr together with live visuals from VJ Stella Marina. The 2009 album on Tru Thoughts Recordings also features a guest appearance from legendary trumpet player Guy Barker.

Then came "Stonephace Stabbins"   a quintet featuring pianist Zoe Rahman, Karl Raschied Abel on Bass, Pat Illingworth Dms and Spry Robinson percussion.
The album "Transcendental" was released on Stabbins own Record Label Noetic Records.

After another long break away from music he has a new Band /Project  "137" with Portishead Guitarist Adrian Utley, Jim Barr from Get the Blessing and Portishead on Bass  plus Sebastien Rochford from Polar Bear and Accoustic Ladyland on Drums. 

New Album "Strangeness Oscillation" on Noetic Records