Lionel Grigson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lionel Jermyn Grigson 12 February 1942 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 14 June 1994 (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) |
| Parent | Geoffrey Grigson (father) |
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.
The only son of poet and critic Geoffrey Grigson, Lionel Grigson died in London at the age of 52.
- ^ Jan Ponsford recalls: "Lionel insisted everyone who taught on the course there, or any part of it, was referred to as Professor, and given the same status as the classical educators there. I was amused when a small pay cheque arrived, for some teaching I'd done for said course, addressed to Professor J. Ponsford. Respectable at last!" From "...And On Free Improv", Rainlore's World, 1 March 2013.
- ^ Simon Purcell, "Obituary: Lionel Grigson", The Independent, 4 July 1994.