CHRISTIAN BREWER

(29/10/1965 – 27/02/2021) The death of London-based alto saxophonist Christian Brewer has stunned the British jazz scene. Aged just 55, he’d been battling cancer for some time, yet there was something in both his musical soul and his character that made him seem as if he was indestructible. Indeed, ever since the 1990s he’d been a ubiquitous and popular presence on the UK jazz circuit, well-regarded for his dedicated, post-bop playing and leading a long line of bands featuring those stylistically hand-in-glove. His early musical life was split between clarinet studies and both the Leeds and Guildhall Schools of Music yet the true beauty of his playing was that it was shot through with road-apprenticed, old-school values. His talent took him across the globe, from Africa to China, and found him as much in demand by pop artists like Seal and Paul Weller as appreciated by fellow jazzmen. For a time he read more...