Sad to hear of the passing at the age of 85 of drummer and percussionist Tony Oxley, one of the most revered free-jazz players that the UK has ever produced. His work on the classic John McLaughlin album Extrapolation and much later with Tomasz Stanko in the 1990s on Leosia certainly stand the test of time. Born in Sheffield, Oxley, who later lived in Germany for many years, formed a seminal jazz trio called Joseph Holbrooke with guitarist Derek Bailey and double bassist Gavin Bryars and co-founded Incus Records in 1970. Drummer Gary Husband is among many musicians to pay tribute to Oxley on social media writing: ''Very sorry to hear of the passing of the great Tony Oxley - a true individual and pioneer in free-form expression. An early inspiration on me. I’m drawn to revisit him at (to me) his greatest on his own albums and to celebrate him.''
Tags: