Liam Noble

b. England. From childhood onward Noble devoted himself to the piano, pursuing formal studies first at Oxford University and later completing postgraduate work at the Guildhall in London. Not long after finishing those courses he entered Stan Sulzmann’s circle, appearing in the saxophonist’s duo and in a two-piano quartet that also included John Taylor, the pianist who had first suggested him to Sulzmann. He went on to work in groups directed by Harry Beckett, John Stevens, Anita Wardell and Tim Whitehead, and he recorded and toured with Moondog as well. Wider notice arrived with the 1998 solo release Close Your Eyes, a set that mixed free improvisations with Noble’s original pieces. During the final years of the decade he belonged to a quartet headed by Bobby Wellins, performed with the Christine Tobin Band and joined Randy Brecker’s English Sextet. In duo format alongside drummer Paul Clarvis he has interpreted music from West Side Story and explored what the pair describe as “stream of consciousness” improvisations. He subsequently assembled his own ensemble—initially for live work, later for recordings—featuring saxophonists Chris Biscoe and Sulzmann together with bassist Mick Hutton and Clarvis on drums. Additional collaborators have included Lol Coxhill, Julian Siegel, Steve Waterman and Kenny Wheeler. In 2002 Birmingham Jazz commissioned him to create a song cycle drawn from Japanese death poetry; the project united him with vocalists Kelsey Michael and Tobin plus instrumentalists Dave Wickins and Biscoe. Beyond the piano Noble also employs keyboards and samples, reflecting an expanding engagement with electronic textures and timbres. Distinctive, inventive and reflective yet marked by wit, his performances and compositions reveal a player and writer of exceptional technical command.