Home » Jazz Articles » Take Five With... » Take Five With Joe Higham

Take Five With Joe Higham

By AAJ Staff
May 20, 2009
View read count

Instrument(s):

Saxophones, clarinets.

Teachers and/or influences? John Ruocco, Charlie Banacos.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I saw

Elton Dean

saxophone
1945 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Elton Dean and Ninesense play. I was at art college, hesitating between playing music and making art, but seeing Elton's band start up with the likes of

Louis Moholo-Moholo

drums
1940 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Moholo-Moholo,

Harry Miller

bass
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry Miller,

Keith Tippett

piano
1947 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Tippett and

" data-original-title="" title="">Alan Skidmore blowing this amazing wall of sound, I knew I wasn't going to be continuing my art school studies much longer!

Favorite venue:

Jazz Station in Brussels. Great sound, great public, well-treated by the organisers and it's a real jazz club that works ... what else do you need?

The first Jazz album I bought was: Ornette Coleman, Live at the Golden Circle (Blue Note).

CDs you are listening to now:

Ben Allison, Little things run the world (Palmetto); Twelves Trio, Here Comes the Woodman with his Splintered Soul (1965 Records);

Chris Menten's Jazz Van, Burnin' (Werf);

Lucky Thompson meets Oscar Pettiford (Fresh Sounds).

How would you describe the state of jazz today? A mess, to many chiefs and not enough Indians, although there's plenty of exciting music out there to discover.

Somehow I think that the public is a little too interested in technique, the next young star, and who wins which competition etc.; it would be nice to have more people going out and listening to the music, this way we'd also have more venues.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing? More venues, more people coming out to listen, that's what keeps the jazz economy growing. We also need more cross border cooperation concerning gigs and festivals in other countries.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a: Archeologist.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Charles Ives Songs Series 2: The...
< Previous

Next Page
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.