Annie Whitehead (born July 16, 1955 in Oldham, Lancashire) is an English jazz trombone player.

Annie learned trombone at school; at 14 she was already busy playing with brass bands, local dance groups and the Manchester Youth Jazz Orchestra and began her professional career at sixteen. Among her initial influences were Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and Wayne Henderson. She is also eclectic and willing to try other genres besides jazz.

In the 1970s she moved to London where she found herself in demand. In the following years she worked with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, National Health, Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt, Joan Armatrading, Chris Rea, Bill Wyman, Elvis Costello, Jah Wobble and others. In 1984 she formed her own band and released her first CD as its leader. She was a member of Working Week , has contributed to far more than 50 albums and has recorded five albums under her own name.

She had been part of the Jazz Jamaican Allstars alongside saxophone player Denys Baptiste and her own band blends reggae rhythms with jazz. In 2003 she played trombone on Robert Wyatt's award-winning album Cuckooland. Lately, she has participated in the Frank Zappa tribute band Zappatistas with jazz guitarist John Etheridge and others. In 2004 BBC Radio 4 called her "one of the country's great trombonists."

Annie also has done work with her partner Jennifer Maidman. Jennifer praises Annie as a trombonist and as a person who, "has offered me support, encouragement, total honesty and commitment but most of all her unconditional love without which I might never have found the real me"

Discography

• Mix up 1984
• This is ...Rude 1994
• Naked 1997
• Home 2000
• The Gathering 2000

Credits

See for a list of albums she played on.

References

1. Jazz Birthdays
2. Working Week: Biography - The Workers
3. Biography at www.earthmusic.com
4. John Etheridge - The Zappatistas
5. BBC radio 4

Sources and external links

• ABRSM
• Europe Jazz network