Tim Garland has been described as a world-class jazz improviser, one of the most versatile musicians in the UK, and even a living legend. The ‘honorary northerner’ speaks to Ann Chadwick on the run up to his appearance at Harrogate International Festivals.
Harrogate International Festivals present the Tim Garland Electric Quartet on Sunday 2nd July, 7.30pm at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate. Visit harrogateinternationalfe
“Some people think that I moved to America, but I never did – I just got off at Newcastle,” Tim laughs, speaking from his home in Whitley Bay, with a view of the sea.
People thought he’d gone stateside after the American jazz icon Chick Corea invited Tim to join his band in the late 1990s, after Tim’s earlier collaborations with artists such as Ronnie Scott and John Dankworth. “I had no idea, when I first started out, I’d end up joining Chick’s band, it really was a dream come true.”
Despite having a home in London for easier access to Heathrow airport, Tim bought a home in the North East 13 years ago to bring his children up outside the big smoke. He wrote compositions for the Royal Northern Sinfonia when the Sage, Gateshead, just opened and the Arts Council was keen to encourage more creativity in the regions.
The juxtaposition of the north of England’s coastline and American jazz scene, mirrors Tim’s own yin and yang approach. Famed for his improvisation, he’s also loves composition, studying classical music and jazz at the Guildhall School of Music.
“I was already playing the piano and I loved composing and making things up but I didn’t have the patience to write it all down,” he laughs. “I was immediately taken by the rhythmic propulsion and the excitement and the spontaneity of jazz, you know, every time you played something it could be different and you didn’t need to write everything down. Perfect for me! I threw myself headlong into it. So there were these two aspects to me that continue right to this day. The love of something structured and written down, like writing a novel I suppose, against this absolutely unpredictable, very sociable, fun way of making music. The two are like my two arms, I don’t favour one against the other.”
