Biography
Residing across Madrid, Doha in Qatar, and the United Kingdom, Roger “Chip” Wickham works as saxophonist, flutist, producer, and composer. His modal jazz draws from the expansive traditions of the 1960s and 1970s while matching that foundation with the inventive Manchester scene of the present century—GoGo Penguin, Matthew Halsall, Nat Birchall—alongside the marketplaces of the Middle East and the lively late-night barrios of Madrid. Prior to issuing two well-received solo albums—the self-produced La Sombra in 2017 and Shamal Wind the following year—Wickham pursued an entirely separate path in music. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s he served as producer and multi-instrumentalist at Grand Central Records, collaborating and performing with Rae & Christian, the Pharcyde, Jimpster, Nightmares on Wax, and Graham Massey, among numerous others. He subsequently expanded his role as sideman, touring and recording with higher-profile figures such as Badly Drawn Boy and Roy Ayers, before relocating to Madrid in 2007 and launching his solo career.
Born in Brighton yet raised in Manchester, Wickham first encountered jazz through his father’s record collection, absorbing the work of Harold McNair, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. He took up flute and then saxophone during his teenage years and continued playing while attending secondary school. From that period through his twenties he remained immersed in the United Kingdom’s breakbeat, hip-hop, and house scenes. Wickham secured a position as sideman, engineer, and producer with Manchester’s Grand Central Records, then devoted the next decade to writing, producing, and remixing for an array of artists.
After settling in Madrid in 2007 he joined the city’s surging soul-jazz movement as it reached international attention. He gathered musician friends from both the United Kingdom and Spain to establish the Fire Eaters. Although the ensemble initially formed as a backing unit for longtime associate Eddie Roberts of the New Mastersounds, it evolved into an independent group, issuing several singles and an album for Légère Recordings under the name Eddie Roberts & the Fire Eaters. One of his most prominent projects from this era was Fried Samba in 2007, created with his electro-Latin outfit Malena. He also released a pair of singles on Madrid’s Lovemonk label that fused raw funk with heavy Latin rhythms, steering him toward sustained exploration of soul-jazz and hard funk.
Wickham stayed active beyond Spain as well. In 2008 he contributed alto and tenor saxophone plus flute to Matthew Halsall’s breakthrough album Sending My Love. He also performed and recorded with the New Mastersounds, which led to a guest appearance on their Japanese tour after the success of the single “Chocolate Chip,” titled for his signature flute break. The single’s reception generated further opportunities, prompting extensive session writing and production for acts including Lack of Afro, Deep Street Soul, and others, resulting in dozens of credits. This work eventually brought an invitation to join the Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Selected via poll from Charles’ BBC 6 radio program, Wickham performed alongside leading figures of the United Kingdom’s funk and soul circuit, among them James Taylor, Snowboy, the Haggis Horns, John Turrell, and Mick Talbot. The earlier experience with Halsall nevertheless continued to resonate, intensifying Wickham’s desire to focus exclusively on jazz. He formed a quartet with three veteran Spanish jazz musicians—pianist Gabri Casanova, double bassist David Salvador, and vibraphonist/percussionist Antonio Pax—and recorded La Sombra, a spiritual jazz album produced and mixed by Wickham that contained six original compositions plus an impassioned reading of the Federico García Lorca-and-Ricardo Pachón Capitán-penned “La Leyenda del Tiempo,” long associated with Camaron de la Isla.
Lovemonk issued La Sombra in 2017 to widespread praise; at age 42 Wickham delivered his debut jazz solo album. The recording received enthusiastic coverage worldwide and appeared on Jazz FM playlists, while earning strong backing from BBC presenters Craig Charles and Gilles Peterson—the latter placed it on his “Best Album of 2017” list and featured the track “Red Planet” on Volume 12 of the Brownswood Bubblers series. An EP titled La Sombra Remixes presented a fresh version of “Red Planet” by Detroit house artist Andrés together with the “La Sombra (Spaceways Radio Edit)” by Build an Ark’s Carlos Niño.
That spring, Wickham’s wife accepted a teaching post in Doha, prompting him to establish a second residence in Qatar even as he continued traveling regularly among Madrid, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. Just as he had done in Madrid, he absorbed surrounding sounds and influences while studying jazz recordings shaped by regional folk and classical traditions, particularly those of Lateef, Sahib Shihab, and bassist/oudist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. He reconvened his band along with additional contributors to create Shamal Wind. Although Salvador remained on double bass, the ensemble introduced pianist Phil Wilkinson (with Casanova handling electric piano on “Rebel No. 23”). Guests included trumpeter Halsall on “The Mirage,” percussionist David “El Indio” García, and vibist Ton Risco. Wickham performed on all three of his instruments, composed the material, and produced the sessions, blending contemplative spiritual jazz, vigorous soul-jazz, and intricate hard-bop. Shamal Wind appeared in May 2018 to heightened acclaim and was followed by a successful tour across Europe and Asia.
Two years later, in May 2020, Wickham released Blue to Red, an album centered on soaring flute melodies, lush harp arpeggios, and shimmering keys. He positioned the flute prominently within a spiritual jazz framework deeply informed by Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef, all set against a production backdrop of hip-hop, electronic, and club music that merged his varied production background with his Manchester jazz roots. Session contributors included harpist Amanda Whiting of the Gondwana Orchestra, keyboardist Dan Goldman, and drummer Jon Scott.
Born in Brighton yet raised in Manchester, Wickham first encountered jazz through his father’s record collection, absorbing the work of Harold McNair, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. He took up flute and then saxophone during his teenage years and continued playing while attending secondary school. From that period through his twenties he remained immersed in the United Kingdom’s breakbeat, hip-hop, and house scenes. Wickham secured a position as sideman, engineer, and producer with Manchester’s Grand Central Records, then devoted the next decade to writing, producing, and remixing for an array of artists.
After settling in Madrid in 2007 he joined the city’s surging soul-jazz movement as it reached international attention. He gathered musician friends from both the United Kingdom and Spain to establish the Fire Eaters. Although the ensemble initially formed as a backing unit for longtime associate Eddie Roberts of the New Mastersounds, it evolved into an independent group, issuing several singles and an album for Légère Recordings under the name Eddie Roberts & the Fire Eaters. One of his most prominent projects from this era was Fried Samba in 2007, created with his electro-Latin outfit Malena. He also released a pair of singles on Madrid’s Lovemonk label that fused raw funk with heavy Latin rhythms, steering him toward sustained exploration of soul-jazz and hard funk.
Wickham stayed active beyond Spain as well. In 2008 he contributed alto and tenor saxophone plus flute to Matthew Halsall’s breakthrough album Sending My Love. He also performed and recorded with the New Mastersounds, which led to a guest appearance on their Japanese tour after the success of the single “Chocolate Chip,” titled for his signature flute break. The single’s reception generated further opportunities, prompting extensive session writing and production for acts including Lack of Afro, Deep Street Soul, and others, resulting in dozens of credits. This work eventually brought an invitation to join the Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Selected via poll from Charles’ BBC 6 radio program, Wickham performed alongside leading figures of the United Kingdom’s funk and soul circuit, among them James Taylor, Snowboy, the Haggis Horns, John Turrell, and Mick Talbot. The earlier experience with Halsall nevertheless continued to resonate, intensifying Wickham’s desire to focus exclusively on jazz. He formed a quartet with three veteran Spanish jazz musicians—pianist Gabri Casanova, double bassist David Salvador, and vibraphonist/percussionist Antonio Pax—and recorded La Sombra, a spiritual jazz album produced and mixed by Wickham that contained six original compositions plus an impassioned reading of the Federico García Lorca-and-Ricardo Pachón Capitán-penned “La Leyenda del Tiempo,” long associated with Camaron de la Isla.
Lovemonk issued La Sombra in 2017 to widespread praise; at age 42 Wickham delivered his debut jazz solo album. The recording received enthusiastic coverage worldwide and appeared on Jazz FM playlists, while earning strong backing from BBC presenters Craig Charles and Gilles Peterson—the latter placed it on his “Best Album of 2017” list and featured the track “Red Planet” on Volume 12 of the Brownswood Bubblers series. An EP titled La Sombra Remixes presented a fresh version of “Red Planet” by Detroit house artist Andrés together with the “La Sombra (Spaceways Radio Edit)” by Build an Ark’s Carlos Niño.
That spring, Wickham’s wife accepted a teaching post in Doha, prompting him to establish a second residence in Qatar even as he continued traveling regularly among Madrid, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. Just as he had done in Madrid, he absorbed surrounding sounds and influences while studying jazz recordings shaped by regional folk and classical traditions, particularly those of Lateef, Sahib Shihab, and bassist/oudist Ahmed Abdul-Malik. He reconvened his band along with additional contributors to create Shamal Wind. Although Salvador remained on double bass, the ensemble introduced pianist Phil Wilkinson (with Casanova handling electric piano on “Rebel No. 23”). Guests included trumpeter Halsall on “The Mirage,” percussionist David “El Indio” García, and vibist Ton Risco. Wickham performed on all three of his instruments, composed the material, and produced the sessions, blending contemplative spiritual jazz, vigorous soul-jazz, and intricate hard-bop. Shamal Wind appeared in May 2018 to heightened acclaim and was followed by a successful tour across Europe and Asia.
Two years later, in May 2020, Wickham released Blue to Red, an album centered on soaring flute melodies, lush harp arpeggios, and shimmering keys. He positioned the flute prominently within a spiritual jazz framework deeply informed by Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef, all set against a production backdrop of hip-hop, electronic, and club music that merged his varied production background with his Manchester jazz roots. Session contributors included harpist Amanda Whiting of the Gondwana Orchestra, keyboardist Dan Goldman, and drummer Jon Scott.
Albums
Singles
