Jaz Coleman

Jaz Coleman
Jaz Coleman backstage at Chicago Metro, 1991.
Background information
Born	26 February 1960 (1960-02-26) (age 49)
Origin	Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Genres	Post-punk, industrial metal, classical music
Occupations	Singer, keyboardist, songwriter, conductor
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Cooking Vinyl Red Ink Sony Zoo Entertainment/Volcano EG Virgin

Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman (born 26 February 1960, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is a musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to post-punk/metal/industrial band Killing Joke. In addition, he was also the band's keyboardist and has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces and produced diverse musical groups, such as Oceania.

Biography

Coleman was born in Cheltenham to an English father and an Indian mother who are both school teachers. He began piano and violin lessons at the age of six, and was a member of several cathedral choirs in England. He won prizes for violin throughout his teens, and in adulthood has studied opera, composition, and orchestration.^[1] According to his own account, Coleman also studied international banking for three years in Switzerland.^[2]

He is a supporter of the concept of environmental sustainability and has invested in the creation of two eco-villages in the South Pacific and in Chile.^[3] Coleman holds four passports and has residences in Prague, Switzerland, and New Zealand where he owns a recording studio.^[1] Coleman also produced much of Shihad's early material, including the album Churn. He has been married twice and has children. He claims that he has an IQ of over 190.

Killing Joke

In 1978 he founded Killing Joke with drummer Paul Ferguson in Notting Hill, London with whom he recruited guitarist Geordie Walker and bassist Martin Glover (aka Youth).^[1] The group released its first single in October 1979 and their first eponymous album was released in 1980. Coleman contributed lead vocals and keyboards to the bands' songs, and thanks to his stage persona and Walker's guitar sound and playing, the group soon became pioneers of a post-punk heavy guitar sound that has inspired industrial rock and metal genres. Known for controversial political and social opinions, the events of Coleman's public life are intertwined with his colourful association with Killing Joke. He is known for his aggressive and powerful stage presence, and sense of ritualistic pageantry in movement and dress.^{[citation needed]} Whilst his stage voice is a particularly harsh growl (which has become more aggressive over the years), albums such as Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, Night Time and Outside The Gate proved he could also sing impressively in a standard rock/pop manner.^{[citation needed]} He remains active in both recording and touring with the band.

Jaz Coleman performing at the 2009 Ilosaarirock festival.

Solo composition and recordings

Coleman has studied and played music from many cultures, and is a multi-instrumentalist. He studied Arabic music at the Cairo Conservatoire and has a passion for Czech folk music and Māori music, among others. One of his Māori pieces is the "Second Symphony for Māori Voice and Orchestra".^[1] He was involved in adding a verse in the Māori language to the New Zealand national anthem; it was sung by Māori singer Hinewehi Mohi at the 1999 Rugby World Cup match, and after some controversy the verse was officially added.^[4]

Along with Anne Dudley of Art of Noise, in 1990 Coleman co-wrote and co-performed the middle-eastern instrumental album called "Songs From the Victorious City" (which is a reference to Cairo, Egypt). 1994 saw the release of Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones, which featured eleven Rolling Stones songs performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Coleman was responsible for the arrangements of majority of the songs. In 1995 he released his first of three albums of symphonic rock music. Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd and Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin were both written and produced by Coleman with Peter Scholes conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. On 8 June 2007, Coleman collaborated with over 150 youth musicians in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, based in Cleveland, Ohio, to perform the entirety of Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin along with additional orchestrations of Led Zeppelin's music. In 1999 he produced and arranged an album of Doors material for orchestra, performed by classical musicians including Nigel Kennedy and the Prague Symphony Orchestra, called "Riders on the Storm: The Doors Concerto" (CD released in 2000). He has worked with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, who have issued a CD of his Symphony No. 1 "Idavoll", with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and as composer in residence to the Prague Symphony Orchestra.^[1][5][6] In 2002 he was commissioned by IRCAM to compose a three-part concerto "Music of the Quantum",^[7] expressing the ideas of the quantum and emergence in musical form, which he co-produced with his older brother, Piers Coleman (born February 13, 1958).^[8]

In October 2006 it was announced that Coleman had been chosen as Composer in Residence for the European Union. As Composer in Residence he will be given a grant to write and perform music for the EU on special occasions.^[6][9]

In May 2009 it was announced that Jaz Coleman has been awarded the prestigious award of Chevalier des Arts by the French Government, in recognition of his significant contributions to Music and the Arts.^{[citation needed]}

Films

In 2002 Coleman starred in a multiple award-winning Czech film by Petr Zelenka Rok ďábla (Year of the Devil). Switching to yet another artistic role, he has been co-directing a documentary-style music film called "The Death And Resurrection Show", named after a song on Killing Joke's 2003 album. He also appeared on the soundtrack to Disney's animated feature film Mulan (1998).

Books

Coleman is writing a book about permaculture, free energy, freedom and freedom-loving individuals. The main thesis is on how to survive without money. The book will be divided into two parts; one part concentrating on the music and other on the ideas behind it.^[10] The book is planned to be published in 2009.^[11]

References

External links

• Killing Joke's Official Site
• The-Raft.com Interview with Jaz Coleman
• Prague-tv Interview with Jaz Coleman
• Rockdetector.com Interview with Jaz Coleman