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An adventurous and flexible improviser, Tony Coe was one of England's top jazzmen. He performed in settings ranging from straight-ahead bop and borderline Dixieland to post-bop and free, keeping his own strong musical personality intact throughout his career. Coe started on clarinet and was self-taught on tenor. He performed in an Army band between 1953 and 1956 and played with <a href="spotify:artist:64rUsDFcuATcV1JyYn26mf">Humphrey Lyttelton</a>'s mainstream group between 1957 and 1962. After heading his own band (1962-1964), Coe was offered a spot with <a href="spotify:artist:2Hn9fch2OLB5jZuEAVjTCe">Count Basie's Orchestra</a>, but difficulties with immigration foiled that opportunity.
Coe's versatility was clearly in evidence by the late '60s. In addition to playing with <a href="spotify:artist:5IZvXM7XkysHxK1PAlsa8Y">John Dankworth</a>'s big band (1966-1969) and the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Orchestra (1967-1973), he also worked with <a href="spotify:artist:0NiVnzdZVyaHThgTofobW2">Derek Bailey</a>'s very avant-garde <a href="spotify:artist:0K5MG1lKHRcfIxR71foMCn">Company</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4XJ0Z7EaY8Vj9T4rev8uMG">Stan Tracey</a>, and several of his own groups. Associations with <a href="spotify:artist:18KztYHX8zE5gn2VEaObL5">the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble</a> and with the Mike Gibbs big band were also beneficial. Coe, whose tenor was well-featured during <a href="spotify:artist:2EExdpjU4SK3xnJHO5paJf">Henry Mancini</a>'s Pink Panther films, also wrote advanced works for orchestras. In 1995, he won the Danish Jazzpar Prize. Influenced most by <a href="spotify:artist:23hRv3SqLMrj4i3b3tfUu4">Paul Gonsalves</a> on tenor, in addition to being a very fluent clarinetist, Coe led sessions for a variety of European labels. Tony Coe died on March 16, 2023 in Canterbury, England at the age of 88. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
Coe's versatility was clearly in evidence by the late '60s. In addition to playing with <a href="spotify:artist:5IZvXM7XkysHxK1PAlsa8Y">John Dankworth</a>'s big band (1966-1969) and the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Orchestra (1967-1973), he also worked with <a href="spotify:artist:0NiVnzdZVyaHThgTofobW2">Derek Bailey</a>'s very avant-garde <a href="spotify:artist:0K5MG1lKHRcfIxR71foMCn">Company</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4XJ0Z7EaY8Vj9T4rev8uMG">Stan Tracey</a>, and several of his own groups. Associations with <a href="spotify:artist:18KztYHX8zE5gn2VEaObL5">the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble</a> and with the Mike Gibbs big band were also beneficial. Coe, whose tenor was well-featured during <a href="spotify:artist:2EExdpjU4SK3xnJHO5paJf">Henry Mancini</a>'s Pink Panther films, also wrote advanced works for orchestras. In 1995, he won the Danish Jazzpar Prize. Influenced most by <a href="spotify:artist:23hRv3SqLMrj4i3b3tfUu4">Paul Gonsalves</a> on tenor, in addition to being a very fluent clarinetist, Coe led sessions for a variety of European labels. Tony Coe died on March 16, 2023 in Canterbury, England at the age of 88. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
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