R.I.P. Michael Garrick (1933-2011).

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Ian Mann on the recent death of one of the UK's most respected jazz musicians and composers.

I was saddened to hear both Kevin Le Gendre and Jez Nelson mentioning the recent death of pianist and composer Michael Garrick on their Radio 3 jazz programmes.

Garrick was one of the UK’s most respected jazz musicians and composers, always innovative but with a healthy respect for the jazz tradition and with a deep seated love for the music of Duke Ellington. He was a masterful composer and arranger, writing for everything from small groups to jazz orchestra and big band and his 1960’s jazz and poetry collaborations have become legendary. In 2010 he was awarded the MBE for his services to jazz. Our guest contributor Trevor Bannister has written extensively about Michael’s music and live performances elsewhere on this site.   

I first became aware of his music in the late 1970’s and have acquired a number of his classic albums over the years as CD re-issues.Sadly I never actually got to see Michael play live but I have seen his son Chris, himself a brilliant jazz violinist, perform on many occasions. 

Michael had suffered with heart problems for a number of years and died at Harefield Hospital on November 11th 2011. He had been musically active until the end. All at The Jazzmann send their condolences to his family and friends and particularly his musician sons Chris and Gabriel.