Alexander Hawkins
| Alexander Hawkins | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 May 1981 Oxford, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano, Hammond organ |
| Years active | Late 1990s–present |
| Website | alexanderhawkinsmusic.com |
Alexander Hawkins is a British jazz pianist and composer. He leads three main groups: the Alexander Hawkins Ensemble; the Convergence Quartet (with Taylor Ho Bynum, Harris Eisenstadt and Dominic Lash); and the Hammond organ-based Decoy (with John Edwards and Steve Noble).
Hawkins was born in Oxford on 3 May 1981. His father played piano and clarinet and introduced Hawkins to jazz through early Duke Ellington recordings. Hawkins at first played classical music, principally on organ. He was educated at Radley College, although he is uncomfortable with the privileged nature of this education and rarely refers to it in interviews. He decided to concentrate on piano practice when he was 18. He started playing jazz in his mid-teens and played gigs in pubs with friends.
Hawkins lived in Cambridge for three years as a law undergraduate and for another three while studying for a PhD in criminology. There were few opportunities to play jazz there, so he was restricted to listening and practicing. He decided not to study jazz academically, as he felt that the courses available were too prescriptive and that he had sufficient technique to play what he wanted. He also avoided transcribing and imitating the playing of others, concentrating instead on developing his own piano style.
After returning to Oxford from university, Hawkins played regularly with bassist Dominic Lash and saxophonist Pete McPhail. Hawkins used his early experience of playing church organs when he started playing Hammond organ. In the late 2000s Hawkins was part of Barkingside, a quartet.
The Convergence Quartet was formed in 2006 by Hawkins and Lash, as the latter knew drummer Harris Eisenstadt and Hawkins and Lash invited cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum to play with them. All of the members of the quartet provide compositions for it. Their third album, Slow and Steady, was appraised by a Down Beat reviewer: "Genre, personal style, consent and dissent are all grist for the mill, and the music is best appreciated by considering how these vectors move the proceedings along."
The genesis of the Hammond organ-based trio Decoy lay in the owner of the record label Bo'Weavil, who wanted to create a Hammond recording, and drummer Steve Noble. The trio – Hawkins, Noble and bassist John Edwards – played one initial session for Bo'Weavil, which was released as different material on LP and on CD. There playing does not feature formal compositions. Some of their concerts and recordings have included guest Joe McPhee.
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