Art Themen (b. 1939) is a British
jazz saxophonist
(and orthopaedic surgeon).
Themen was born on 26 November 1939 in Manchester. In 1958 he began his
medical studies at the University of Cambridge,
going on in 1961
to complete his studies at St Mary's Hospital
Medical School in London,
qualifying in 1964.
He specialised in orthopaedic medicine, eventually becoming a consultant.
Themen started playing jazz with the Cambridge University Jazz
Group, and then in London playing with blues musicians Jack
Bruce and Alexis Korner. In 1965 he
played with the Peter Stuyvesant
Jazz Orchestra in Zürich,
going on to play with such English luminaries as Michael
Garrick and Graham Collier's Music.
In 1974
he entered on what was to be one of his central musical relationships
when he started playing with Stan Tracey. He has played
with all of Tracey's groups, touring with him all over the world as
well as around the UK. He has also played and toured with musicians
such as Nat
Adderley, Ian
Carr, George Coleman, and Al Haig.
His style originally owed much to the influence of Dexter
Gordon and Sonny Rollins, but later influences
included such disparate saxophonists as Coleman
Hawkins, Evan
Parker, and the “sheets of sound” John Coltrane.
Discography
- 1982: Bebop "Live" — Al Haig, Peter King, & Art
Themen
- 1997: Classics — Howard Riley & Art Themen
Quartet
Art is now concentrating on his jazz career, following his
recent retirement as consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
External links
