Lionel Grigson
English jazz musician and educator (1942–1994) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lionel Grigson (12 February 1942 – 14 June 1994) was an English jazz pianist, cornettist, trumpeter, composer, writer and teacher, who in the 1980s started the jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music.[1] As Simon Purcell wrote in The Independent, "Whether he inspired or inflamed, Grigson's energies often acted as a catalyst and his interest in, and support for, young jazz musicians contributed significantly to the growth and consolidation of jazz education in Britain....Within the context of a leading international conservatoire, the Guildhall School of Music, in London, Grigson did much to demonstrate and explain the underlying principles common to jazz, classical and indeed all music, and as a result produced a generation of jazz educators possessing a thorough grounding in an area where much educational work is left to chance."[2] Among his published books are Practical Jazz (1988), Jazz from Scratch (1991) and A Jazz Chord Book, as well as studies on the music of Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk.
Lionel Grigson | |
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Born | Lionel Jermyn Grigson (1942-02-12)12 February 1942 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
Died | 14 June 1994(1994-06-14) (aged 52) London, England |
Education | Dartington Hall School |
Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
Occupation(s) | Jazz pianist, composer, writer, educator |
Known for | Professor of Harmony and Improvisation at Guildhall School of Music (1983–93) |
Children | Hannah Grigson |
Parent | Geoffrey Grigson (father) |
Relatives | Cass Grigson (grandson) |
The only son of poet and critic Geoffrey Grigson, Lionel Grigson died in London at the age of 52, leaving behind his only child, his daughter Hannah Grigson.