Jazz Articles about Mark Lockheart

About Mark Lockheart

Album Review

Glorious Assembly Jazz Orchestra: Glorious Assembly

Read "Glorious Assembly" reviewed by Mark McKergow

by Mark McKergow
June 6, 2026

The Glorious Assembly Jazz Orchestra is the creation of Emmy Award-winning film composer David Mitcham . After a career writing music for the screen, often with jazz undertones, Mitcham has chosen to expand his ambitions by directing a full-on extended big band playing new compositions on Glorious Assembly. The 20- piece group features some of the UK's top players, with additional specialists on flute, E-flat clarinet, bass and contrabass clarinet, and tuba. The palette is further expanded by performers doubling on ...

Album Review

Dave Holland / Norma Winstone / London Vocal Project directed by Pete Churchill: Vital Spark

Read "Vital Spark" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
February 13, 2026

Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and the London Vocal Project, directed by Pete Churchill, combine to present Vital Spark, an album featuring a collection of Kenny Wheeler compositions for choir and jazz ensemble, written in the last period of his life.Seven of the nine pieces on the album were mailed to Churchill over the course of a few years. He managed to resolve and arrange these part-formed fragments. Winstone added her lyrics, alongside Wheeler's settings of poems by Stevie Smith, Lewis ...

Album Review

Polar Bear: Dim Lit

Read "Dim Lit" reviewed by Andrew Hunter

by Andrew Hunter
July 2, 2025

When Polar Bear released Dim Lit in 2004, shortly after being nominated for Best Band at the BBC Jazz Awards, it was clear that the British quartet led by drummer Sebastian Rochford were going to make some waves. Mark Lockheart (sax) was already in the middle of a successful career, having played with Django Bates and been part of the seminal 1980s British big band Loose Tubes. Pete Wareham (sax) was playing with Rochford in Acoustic Ladyland. Tom Herbert added ...

Album Review

Laura Jurd: The Big Friendly Album

by Chris May
September 7, 2022

The Big Friendly Album is what it is called and that is exactly what it is. London-based trumpeter/cornetist and composer Laura Jurd's fourth album under her own name is a big hearted, gorgeously lyrical, feel-good romp, which does not preclude cerebral engagement but which wears its complexities so lightly that one barely notices them. Jurd last came to the attention of All About Jazz during The Great Pause, with the release of the perfect little masterpiece To ...

Radio & Podcasts

Exploring New Directions with Mark Lockheart, Jorge Rossy, Daniel Carter and more

by Bob Osborne
January 27, 2022

Exploring new directions in jazz from around the world, this show has recent releases from Mark Lockheart, Jorge Rossy, Daniel Carter, Joaquin Muro, Nicholas Bridgmen, Pepa Päivinen and Mario Laginha. There is also music from the outstanding trio of Whit Dickey, William Parker, and, Matthew Shipp. The show kicks off with the funky sounds of the Shuffle Demons. Playlist Shuffle Demons “All In" from All In (Stubby Records) 00:00 Mark Lockheart “Dreamers" from Dreamers (Edition) 07:01 Jorge ...

Album Review

Mark Lockheart: Dreamers

by Chris May
January 14, 2022

As a founder member of Loose Tubes and Polar Bear, saxophonist Mark Lockheart was at the forefront of two waves of reinvigoration of British jazz, one in the 1980s, the other in the 2000s. By age and experience, in 2022 he qualifies as close to an elder statesman of the music. But somehow one still thinks of Lockheart as a Young Turk. Mostly this is because he continues to search for new contexts in which to make his music.

Album Review

Mark Lockheart: Days On Earth

Read "Days On Earth" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
January 9, 2019

Mark Lockheart's Days On Earth encapsulates the term fusion in its most literal sense. This actually refers to the amalgamation of two different species of music; jazz and classical. It was deliberately organised so that the individual musicians from each respective genre were paired with their opposite number from “the other side." Something akin to footballers marking their opponents or parliamentary pairings during a vote. Pairing examples include flautists Roland Sutherland (jazz) with Anna Noakes (classical) or clarinettists James Allsopp ...