John Warren
Biography
John Warren (b.1938) is a Canadian composer/ arranger/ saxophonist who has been working in Britain since the early sixties. His experience as a player and writer covers a wide range of contemporary music forms.
Since 1968 the John Warren Band has performed his jazz compositions in Europe and England, appearing on radio and TV in Germany and on the BBC, and recording his original suite for jazz trio and big band “Tales of the Algonquin”. His work has been commissioned by the leading radio orchestras throughout Europe, and has arranged for the musical theatre and films. With the saxophonist John Surman he collaborated on the music for the Brass Projuect, a ten-piece improvisation group which has performed at the North Sea, Orvieto, Munich, Lisbon, and Glasgow festivals and recorded for ECM records.
For the past three years he has directed two educational projects run by Jazz Action: a big band (Voice of the North) and an eight piece group (The Warren Project) - playing challenging music by Warren and other composers. These two ensembles have performed across the north with guest appearances by Andy Sheppard, Ken Wheeler and Tommy Smith. John Warren is currently a lecturer in harmony and composition on the Jazz, Popular and Commercial Music degree course at Newcastle College.