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Michael Garrick MBE (30 May 1933 – 11 November 2011)[1] was an English jazz pianist and composer, and a pioneer in mixing jazz with poetry recitations and in the use of jazz in large-scale choral works.

Biography

[edit]

Garrick was born in Enfield, Middlesex,[2] and educated at University College, London, from which he graduated in 1959 with a BA in English literature. As a student there he formed his first quartet, featuring vibraphonist Peter Shade. Recordings of this are on HEP (Chronos and Silhouette, released on Gearbox vinyl). Aside from some lessons at the Ivor Mairants School of Dance Music, Garrick was "an entirely self-taught musician" (he had been expelled from Eleanor B. Franklin-Pike's piano lessons for quoting from "In the Mood" at a pupils' concert), though he attended Berklee College, Boston, as a mature student in the 1970s.

Soon after graduating, Garrick became the musical director of "Poetry & Jazz in Concert", a roadshow devised by poet and publisher Jeremy Robson, and involving writers as diverse as Laurie Lee, Adrian Mitchell, Vernon Scannell, Spike Milligan, Dannie Abse, and John Smith. Garrick's quintet at this time included Joe Harriott and Shake Keane.[3] Garrick came to special prominence in the British contemporary jazz world initially as the pianist with the Don Rendell–Ian Carr quintet from 1965 to 1969, and led his own sextet from 1966.[4]

Garrick is perhaps best known for his jazz-choral works, the first of which he started in 1967. Jazz Praises, an extended religious work for his sextet and a large choir, was performed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and elsewhere.[3] With poet John Smith he produced a series of such works, starting in 1969 with Mr Smith's Apocalypse for sextet, speakers, and chorus, which had its premiere at the Farnham Festival. The culmination of this partnership was A Zodiac of Angels, a choral jazz ballet performed opposite Carmina Burana under the baton of Victor Fox in the Opera Theatre Manchester in January 1988 and using symphony orchestra, seven jazz soloists including Norma Winstone, full choir and a dance company. Indian classical music has influenced many of his compositions.[4]

Aside from his performing, recording, and composing, Garrick was heavily involved in jazz education, and held teaching posts at the Royal Academy of Music and at Trinity College of Music, London; he continued to teach at summer schools, both for the Guildhall School of Music and on his own Jazz Academy Vacation Courses, from 1989 at Beechwood in Tunbridge Wells. For many years he took his trio into schools presenting interactive events to introduce children to jazz.

His own record label, Jazz Academy Records, features many albums by his Michael Garrick Jazz Orchestra and has trio, solo, quartet and other small groupings, some including singers Norma Winstone, Anita Wardell and Jacqui Dankworth.[3] In 2009, Garrick began a collaboration with vocalist Nette Robinson. At the time of his death he had also begun to develop work with a quartet including vibraphonist Jim Hart, which would have reworked some of the music of the Modern Jazz Quartet and would have provided an echo of his own first quartet, half a century earlier. That year, he also participated in the release of a 1964 recording, The Girl with Brown Hair, featuring his trio (with Colin Barnes on drums and Dave Green on bass) backing Dick Morrissey.[5]

Garrick was appointed MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours.[6] He published his autobiography Dusk Fire: Jazz in English Hands, co-written with Trevor Bannister, in the same year.

Garrick died on 11 November 2011 after suffering heart problems for some years.[1]

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]
Recording date Title / co-leader Label Year released Personnel / Notes
1958 Silhouette Gearbox 2010 Quartet, with Brian Barnes (drums, vocals), Josephine Stahl (vocals), Peter Shade, Paul Hemmings
1959? Blues for the Lonely Columbia 1959 With Joe Harriott, Shake Keane, Jeremy Robson; released as an EP
1959-02,
1960-02,
1960-03 		Kronos Hep 2013 Quartet (with Peter Shade, Paul Hemmings, Brian Barnes) and James Grant Kellas Sax Section
1963? A Case of Jazz Airborne 1963 [EP 7"]
1963-03,
1963-06 		Poetry and Jazz in Concert (Record 1 & Record 2) Argo 1964 Quintet, with Dannie Abse, Laurie Lee, Adrian Mitchell and Jeremy Robson, featuring Joe Harriott, Shake Keane. Reissued as Poetry and Jazz in Concert (Vocalion, 2006)[2CD].
1964? Moonscape Airborne 1964 Trio, with Dave Green (bass), Colin Barnes (drums) [10"]
1964-11 October Woman Argo 1965 Quintet, with Shake Keane (trumpet), Joe Harriott (alto sax), Coleridge Goode (bass), Colin Barnes (drums), Elizabethan Singers
1965-05 Promises Argo 1965 Sexted, with Ian Carr (trumpet, flugelhorn), Joe Harriott (alto sax), Tony Coe (tenor sax, clarinet), Dave Green, Coleridge Goode (bass), Colin Barnes (drums)
1965-05 Before Night/Day with Jeremy Robson Argo 1966 Released as an EP
1966-01,
1966-02 		Black Marigolds Argo 1966 Septet with Ian Carr (trumpet, flugelhorn), Don Rendell (soprano sax, tenor sax), Joe Harriott (alto sax), Tony Coe (tenor sax), Dave Green (bass), Colin Barnes and Trevor Tomkins (drums), John Smith (poetry)
1968-10 Jazz Praises at St Paul's Airborne 1968 Sexted
1968 Prelude to Heart Is a Lotus Gearbox 2013 Sextet, with Ian Carr (trumpet, flugelhorn), Art Themen (soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet, flute), Don Rendell (soprano sax, tenor sax, flute), Coleridge Goode and Dave Green (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums), Norma Winstone (vocals)
1969? Poetry and Jazz 250 Argo 1970 Sexted [2LP]
1969 A Jazz Cantata (For Martin Luther King) Erase 1969 Commissioned by the Farnham Festival. Text by John Smith
1967-07,
1969-10 		A New Serious Music Rhythm & Blues 2021
1970-01 The Heart Is A Lotus Argo 1970 Sextet, with Norma Winstone (vocals)
1971 Mr Smith's Apocalypse Argo 1971 As Garrick's Fairground
1972-04 Home Stretch Blues Argo 1972 As Michael Garrick Band with Henry Lowther (trumpet, flugelhorn), Art Themen (soprano sax, tenor sax), Don Rendell (tenor sax, flute), Dave Green (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums), Norma Winstone (vocals)
1972 Cold Mountain Argo 1972 Trio, with Dave Green (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums)
1973 Troppo Argo 1974 With Henry Lowther (trumpet, flugelhorn), Art Themen (soprano sax, tenor sax), Don Rendell (tenor sax, flute), Coleridge Goode and Dave Green (bass), Trevor Tomkins (drums), Norma Winstone (vocals)
1978 You've Changed HEP 1981 Trio, with Don Weller, Chris Laurence, Alan Jackson
1993 A Lady in Waiting Jazz Academy 1994 Trio, with Dave Green (bass), Alan Jackson (drums)
1994-06,
1994-07 		Meteors Close at Hand Jazz Academy 1994 With Andy Bush, Mike Diprose, Ollie Preece, Martin Shaw, Steve Waterman and Ian Wood (trumpet, flugelhorn), Brian Archer, Matt Coleman, Pat Hartley, Bill Mee and Mark Da Silva (trombone), Scott Garland, Jimmy Hastings, Mike Hall, Martin Hathaway, Bob McKay, Mike Page, Jim Tomlinson and Matt Wates (sax), Phil Lee and Colin Oxley (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums) [2CD]
1994–
1995 		Parting Is Such Jazz Academy 1995 With Don Rendell (tenor sax), Chris Garrick (violin), Dave Green (bass), Alan Jackson (drums)
1995–
1996 		For Love of Duke... and Ronnie Jazz Academy 1997 Quartet and Orchestra, with Gabriel Garrick, Ollie Preece, Steve Waterman and Ian Wood (trumpet), Brian Archer, Bill Mee and Mark Da Silva (trombone), Mike Hall, Martin Hathaway, Bob McKay, Jim Tomlinson and Matt Wates (sax), Dominic Ashworth (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums), Jacqui Dankworth (vocals)
1999 Down on Your Knees Jazz Academy 2008 Big Band, with Mark Armstrong, Gabriel Garrick, Paul Jayasinha, Martin Shaw and Steve Waterman (trumpet), Brian Archer, Matt Coleman, Dave Holt, Bill Mee, Mark Nightingale and Malcolm Earl Smith (trombone), Paul Booth, Ben Castle, Mike Hall, Bob McKay, Jim Tomlinson and Matt Wates (sax), Dominic Ashworth (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums), Anita Wardell (vocals)
2001 The New Quartet Jazz Academy 2002 The New Quartet, with Martin Hathaway (soprano sax, alto sax), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums)
2002 Green and Pleasant Land Jazz Academy 2003 Strings Quartet, with Dominic Ashworth (guitar), Chris Garrick (violin), Paul Moylan (bass); in concert
2003-07 Peter Pan Jazz Dance Suite Jazz Academy 2003 Jazz Orchestra, with Mark Armstrong, Quentin Collins, Gabriel Garrick, Dave Priseman, and Nick Smart (trumpet), James Adams, Dave Eaglestone, and Mark Da Silva (trombone), Jamie Anderson, Paul Booth, Mick Foster, Martin Hathaway, Bob McKay and Matt Wates (reeds), Dominic Ashworth and Pete Callard (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums), Anita Wardell (vocals)
2004 Big Band Harriott Jazz Academy 2004 Jazz Orchestra
2005 Children of Time Jazz Academy 2005 Jazz Britannia Orchestra with Norma Winstone (vocals), with Martin Shaw, Steve Waterman and Gabriel Garrick (trumpet), Mark Da Silva, Alastair White and Dave Eaglestone (trombone), Jamie Anderson, Mick Foster, Martin Hathaway, Bob McKay and Matt Wates (sax), Dominic Ashworth (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums),
2005 Yet Another Spring Jazz Academy 2009 Jazz Orchestra with Norma Winstone (vocals), with Martin Shaw, Steve Waterman and Gabriel Garrick (trumpet), Mark Da Silva, Alastair White and Dave Eaglestone (trombone), Jamie Anderson, Mick Foster, Martin Hathaway, Bob McKay and Matt Wates (sax), Dominic Ashworth (guitar), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums),
2006? Inspirations Jazz Academy 2006 The New Quartet, with Martin Hathaway (soprano sax, alto sax), Paul Moylan (bass), Alan Jackson (drums)
2008? Introducing Mick Garrett-GIGS Gats Production 2008 Trio
2009? Lady of the Aurian Wood – A Magic Life of Duke Jazz Academy 2009 Jazz Orchestra
2010? Tone Poems Jazz Academy 2010 Jazz Orchestra
2011 Home Thoughts Jazz Academy 2011
2012 Bovingdon Poppies Garrick Archive 2012 Lyric Ensemble, with Nette Robinson (vocals), Michael Garrick (piano), Tony Woods (soprano, alto sax, alto clarinet, flute), Matt Ridley (bass), Chris Nickolls (drums)
1973 / 1978 Late Autumn Sunshine My Only Desire Records 2025 All Stars Ensemble, with Norma Winstone vocals; Henry Lowther trumpet, flugelhorn; Art Themen tenor saxophone; Dave Green bass; Trevor Tomkins drums (recorded 1973 and 1978)[7]

Main sources:[8][9]

Almost all of Garrick's early recordings have been reissued on CD, especially through the Vocalion label. Moonscape was reissued in 2007 on Trunk Records. Albums from the 1990s to 2010 appeared mainly on his Jazz Academy label.

As co-leader

[edit]

With The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet

  • Dusk Fire (Columbia, 1966)
  • Phase III (Columbia, 1968)
  • Live (Columbia, 1969)
  • Change Is (Columbia, 1969)
  • Live in London (Harkit, 2003) – live rec. 1965

As sidemen

[edit]

With Nette Robinson

  • Remembered Time (Jazz Academy, 2010) – as Michael Garrick Trio

Compositions

[edit]
  • Praises: a miscellany of religious texts and images for jazz group, organ, and chorus. Recorded in 1965: Simon Preston (organ), Louis Halsey's Elizabethan Singers, and jazz quintet with Joe Harriott (alto sax) and Shake Keane (trumpet)
  • Mr Smith's Apocalypse: cantata (poems by John Smith). Commission from Farnham Festival, 1969. Same forces as Praises, plus readers. Recorded in 1970 with the Garrick septet.
  • Judas Kiss: the Passion of Christ. Text compiled from the four gospels. Commission from Nottingham Festival, 1971. Same forces as Mr Smith's Apocalypse, with string orchestra added in 1990. Not commercially recorded.
  • A Hobbit Suite or Gemstones: suite based on J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit, in nine sections. Commission from Mersey Arts, 1973 for jazz sextet, including the voice of Norma Winstone. Later expanded for jazz orchestra. Recorded in 1994 (selections from expanded version).
  • Jazz Portraits: an ongoing project from 1975, depicting figures from jazz such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Thelonious Monk, and Bill Evans; for large and small ensembles.
  • Underground Streams: an after-death soliloquy, with interludes from angels and other heavenly beings. Based on Rudolf Steiner's 1912 lecture-cycle Life between Death and Rebirth. Commission from the Jazz Centre Society, London, 1978. Forces: voice, guitar, and piano. First performance at South Bank Centre, June 1978 with Norma Winstone (voice), Phil Lee (guitar), and Garrick (piano). Not commercially recorded; broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
  • Hardy Country: suite for small or large ensemble, with or without vocal part; in nine self-contained movements, plus three poem settings for speaker. Commission from South-West Arts and Eldridge Pope, brewers, of Dorchester. First performance June 1990 in the Thomas Hardy Hall by jazz quartet with Norma Winstone. Later expanded for jazz orchestra. Selections of expanded version recorded in 1994.
  • A Zodiac of Angels: suite of twelve pieces, depicting the situation and function of twelve heavenly beings as defined in A Dictionary of Angels by Gustav Davidson; selected and turned into verse by John Smith. Commission from Manchester Education Authority for symphony orchestra, six jazz instrumental soloists, jazz singer, chorus, and soloists. First performance at Royal Northern College of Music Opera Theatre, January 1988 in a fully staged (dance) version.
  • The Royal Box: suite in nine movements based on phrases connected with royalty (e.g., "The Old Pretender", "The Royal Prerogative", "A Lady in Waiting", etc.). Inspired by the media treatment of the British Royal Family, in particular Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In two versions: piano/bass/drums trio and jazz orchestra. Trio version recorded complete; selections of jazz-orchestra version recorded.
  • Bovingdon Poppies: oratorio of poem "Bovingdon Poppies" (a poem by Eva Travers), for chorus, soloists, jazz sextet, and string orchestra. First performance: Remembrance Day, November 1993.

Autobiography

[edit]
  • Michael Garrick, Dusk Fire: Jazz in English Hands (with Trevor Bannister). Earley, Reading: Springdale Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9564353-0-9

Other sources

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Michael Garrick

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Michael Garrick is an English jazz pianist, composer, and educator known for his pioneering fusions of jazz with poetry recitations, sacred choral elements, and literary inspirations, as well as his influential role in the development of modern British jazz. He was a prolific creator of compositions that blended English pastoral sensibilities with American blues traditions, often incorporating ambiguous harmonies and diatonic melodies, and his work extended to large-scale choral pieces, big-band arrangements, and tributes to jazz masters. Garrick received an MBE in 2010 for services to music and remained active as a performer, composer, and teacher until his death. Born on 30 May 1933 in Enfield, Middlesex, Garrick studied English Literature at University College London and was largely self-taught as a musician before taking lessons at the Ivor Mairants School of Dance Music and later attending Berklee College of Music in Boston as a mature student in the 1970s. He began presenting poetry-and-jazz concerts in the late 1950s, collaborating early on with saxophonist Joe Harriott and trumpeter Shake Keane, and recorded notable early albums such as October Woman and Black Marigolds. From 1965 to 1969, he held the piano chair in the Don Rendell–Ian Carr Quintet, a key ensemble in British modern jazz, before leading his own groups and producing acclaimed recordings including The Heart Is a Lotus and Cold Mountain. Among his most celebrated projects is Jazz Praises, a major choral-jazz work performed at St Paul’s Cathedral that echoed Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts in an Anglican context, alongside other literary-inspired pieces drawing from poets like Dannie Abse, Thomas Hardy, and John Smith. Garrick also made significant contributions as an educator, teaching at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music while running his own Jazz Academy summer courses and workshops that influenced generations of British musicians. He died on 11 November 2011 in Harefield, Middlesex, following complications from heart surgery, leaving a legacy as one of the most original and idiosyncratic voices in British jazz.

Early life

Birth and family background

Michael Garrick was born on 30 May 1933 in Enfield, Middlesex, England. Details about his family background, including parents or household environment, are not documented in major biographical accounts or obituaries. He was raised in London, where he spent his early years before pursuing higher education and musical development.

Education and early musical training

Michael Garrick studied English literature at University College London, graduating with a BA degree in 1959. It was during his university years that he began playing jazz, marking the start of his engagement with the music that would define his career. This period represented his early musical development, as he explored jazz performance alongside his academic studies in literature. His formal education focused on literature rather than music, with no documented attendance at specialized music institutions during his early years. Garrick's initial musical training appears to have been self-directed, emerging from personal interest in jazz while at university.

Career

Early professional career and influences

Michael Garrick began his professional career in the 1950s as a pianist in dance bands, performing regularly in London and other parts of Britain to earn a living while honing his musical skills. These engagements provided him with practical experience in ensemble playing and adapting to popular music demands of the era. As the decade advanced, he shifted toward modern jazz, joining various small combos active in the British scene and developing his distinctive voice on piano. His style was shaped by American jazz pianists such as Bill Evans, whose lyrical and harmonic approach deeply influenced Garrick, along with Lennie Tristano's emphasis on improvisation and structure. Garrick also drew inspiration from the evolving British modern jazz movement, interacting with contemporaries who were interpreting bebop and cool jazz idioms locally. By the late 1950s, he had begun leading his own groups and participating in performances that established his reputation within the jazz community. This early period of dance band work and modern jazz involvement laid the groundwork for his later explorations in combining poetry with jazz.

Poetry and jazz fusion projects

Michael Garrick emerged as a pioneer in the fusion of poetry and jazz in Britain, launching the Poetry and Jazz in Concert series in the early 1960s as a series of live events that paired contemporary poets with jazz musicians. Serving as musical director for the touring ensemble, he facilitated collaborations that integrated spoken-word poetry with jazz accompaniment and instrumental interludes. The series' landmark recording was the 1964 double album Poetry and Jazz in Concert on the Argo label (ZDA 26 and ZDA 27), captured live before an audience in Decca's Studio One, West Hampstead. It featured poets Dannie Abse, Laurie Lee, Adrian Mitchell, and Jeremy Robson (who also provided introductions), with the Michael Garrick Quintet augmented by Joe Harriott on alto saxophone and Shake Keane on trumpet and flugelhorn providing musical settings and responses to the readings. Garrick's poetry-jazz explorations continued with albums such as October Woman (1965), which incorporated Harriott alongside the Elizabethan Singers, and Black Marigolds (1966), featuring Harriott and poet John Smith. In 1969, he composed Mr Smith's Apocalypse to texts by John Smith for the Farnham Festival. The series reached a significant milestone with Poetry And Jazz In Concert 250 (1970), a double LP on Argo (ZPR 264/5) recorded live with the Michael Garrick Sextet accompanying poets including Dannie Abse, Thomas Blackburn, Laurie Lee, Spike Milligan, Jeremy Robson, Vernon Scannell, John Smith, and Douglas Hill. This release documented the 250th concert in the ongoing series, underscoring the sustained impact of Garrick's interdisciplinary work through the decade.

Compositions, recordings, and performances

Michael Garrick led a variety of ensembles as a composer and performer, emphasizing instrumental jazz across small groups and larger formats. He formed his own sextet in 1966, incorporating musicians such as vocalist Norma Winstone (employed as a frontline instrument), trumpeter Henry Lowther, and saxophonist Art Themen. He also directed his own big band, composing numerous scores for it and performing regularly with the group in clubs and churches well into his later years. His compositional output included pieces for the Don Rendell–Ian Carr Quintet, where he served as pianist from 1965 to 1969, contributing works such as Dusk Fire (1965). In 1968, he premiered Jazz Praises, a series of religious pieces for sextet and large choir, with performances and recordings at St Paul’s Cathedral where Garrick played organ. He later created A Zodiac of Angels (1988), a 70-minute work integrating jazz soloists, symphony orchestra, and chorus. Among his key instrumental recordings is Troppo (1974), released on Argo Records and led by Garrick with a septet featuring wordless vocals by Norma Winstone, trumpet and violin by Henry Lowther, saxophones and flutes by Don Rendell and Art Themen, bass by Dave Green, and drums by Trevor Tomkins. The album showcases Garrick's compositions including "To Henry, A Son," "Sons Of Art," "Fellow Feeling," "Overtones Of A Forgotten Music," and the title track "Troppo!" (co-composed with Dave Green). In 2002, Garrick composed Green and Pleasant Land, a jazz piece for string quartet commissioned by the Little Missenden festival and released on his Jazz Academy label. The work was performed and recorded live by Garricks' Strings Quartet. Garrick also released small-group piano recordings on his Jazz Academy label and, in later years, formed the Lyric Trio with singer Nette Robinson and saxophonist Tony Woods, alongside a quartet tribute to the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Teaching and academic career

Michael Garrick established himself as a prominent jazz educator in the United Kingdom, particularly from the 1970s onward, contributing to the formal teaching of jazz in academic institutions. After studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1973, he returned to London and became heavily involved in jazz education. He held teaching positions at several leading London conservatoires, including the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music. He ran his own Jazz Academy, through which he provided specialized instruction in jazz performance and composition. His educational work focused on integrating jazz into formal music training, helping to elevate its status in British conservatoire curricula during the latter part of his career. Some of his students later collaborated with him on musical projects, reflecting his influence on emerging talent in the field.

Personal life

Family and personal interests

Michael Garrick was married twice: first to Helen, with whom he had a daughter, Jane; and second to Ursula, with whom he had a daughter, Miranda, and a son, Rafael (a jazz flamenco guitarist). He also had three sons from a relationship with his former partner Susie: Christian (a jazz violinist), Gabriel (a jazz trumpeter), and Mathias (originally a trombonist and now an audiovisual specialist). He had nine grandchildren and was survived by his sisters Margie and Gwen. While aspects of his personal life remained private, obituaries document these family details. His passion for poetry extended beyond his professional fusions of jazz and literature, representing a significant personal interest.

Later years and death

Final works and health challenges

In his final years, Michael Garrick remained remarkably active as a composer and performer despite chronic heart problems that had affected him for several years. He continued leading his Jazz Academy courses and developed new projects, including a quartet tribute to the Modern Jazz Quartet that appeared poised for ongoing development. Garrick formed a close collaboration with vocalist Nette Robinson, whose precise intonation he particularly valued for realizing his challenging melodies, as part of the Lyric Trio alongside saxophonist Tony Woods. In September 2011, Garrick recorded his final album, Home Thoughts, with the group he named the Lyric Ensemble, featuring Robinson on vocals, Tony Woods on reeds, Matt Ridley on double bass, and Chris Nickolls on drums. The hour-long work presented twelve song-like pieces setting poetry by Shakespeare, Robert Browning, William Blake, Tin-Tun-Ling, and Garrick himself, blending jazz harmony, chamber textures, and modal lyricism in an intimate meditation on memory, love, and mortality. Described as a luminous farewell, the album—released posthumously in 2012—demonstrated that his compositional gifts and piano playing remained undiminished to the end. Garrick performed at Ronnie Scott's in August 2011 and gave his last public concert with the Lyric Trio on the evening of November 7, 2011, near Amersham. After the performance, his longstanding heart condition prompted medical attention, resulting in hospital admission and transfer to Harefield Hospital. Even while in hospital awaiting the procedure, he continued working on a new composition and planning upcoming concerts.

Death

Michael Garrick died on 11 November 2011 at Harefield Hospital in Harefield, Middlesex, at the age of 78. He died following complications from heart surgery intended to correct his chronic heart condition. Multiple sources report that he died following a heart operation. Characteristically dedicated to his craft until the end, Garrick continued working on a new composition and planning upcoming concerts while in hospital awaiting the procedure.

Legacy

Influence on British jazz and poetry

Michael Garrick was a pioneering figure in the British poetry and jazz movement, mounting poetry and jazz concerts from the late 1950s onward and organizing more than 250 such events blending recitations with music during the early 1960s. In 1961, he became musical director of poet and publisher Jeremy Robson's Poetry and Jazz in Concert roadshow, composing jazz settings for works by poets including Laurie Lee, Adrian Mitchell, and Dannie Abse, which helped broaden jazz's social appeal and grant it wider cultural currency in Britain throughout the decade. Described as a key figure in the 1960s poetry and jazz movement, his experiments in fusing spoken word with instrumental improvisation exerted a significant impact on the country's jazz scene since the late 1950s. Garrick's acclaimed 1960s recordings, including Black Marigolds and The Heart Is a Lotus, exemplified his integration of poetry with jazz and influenced subsequent explorations of literary themes within British jazz composition and performance. His approach contributed to the development of a more authentic British jazz identity, drawing on local cultural sources and challenging American dominance in the genre, with his large-scale choral and vocal works further expanding the possibilities for poetry-jazz fusion. Peers and critics recognized his role as a defiantly idiosyncratic innovator and pioneering educator whose efforts shaped the relationship between poetry and jazz in Britain during a formative period for the modern scene.

Awards and recognition

Michael Garrick was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to jazz. He accepted the honour on behalf of the profession as much as for himself, reflecting his decades of contributions as a pianist, composer, educator, and pioneer of jazz-poetry fusion in Britain. The award was presented by Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. No other major awards or honours are documented in available sources, and no posthumous recognitions were recorded following his death in 2011.

References

  1. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/michael-garrick-composer-andpianist-hailed-for-his-fusions-of-jazz-and-poetry-6262577.html
  2. https://www.jazzwise.com/other/article/jazz-breaking-news-influential-pianist-and-composer-michael-garrick-dies-aged-78
  3. https://londonjazznews.com/2011/11/12/rip-michael-garrick-mbe-1933-2011/
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/15/michael-garrick
  5. https://soundsofsurprise.com/2015/07/16/michael-garrick-1933-2011/
  6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80615656/michael-garrick
  7. https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/michael-garrick-composer-andpianist-hailed-for-his-fusions-of-jazz-and-poetry-6262577.html
  8. https://www.nts.live/artists/246616-michael-garrick
  9. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-garrick-mn0000337678
  10. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/michael-garrick-6264649.html
  11. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/michael-garrick/
  12. https://www.discogs.com/release/8237347-Dannie-Abse-Laurie-Lee-Adrian-Mitchell-Jeremy-Robson-Michael-Garrick-Quintet-Featuring-Joe-Harriott-
  13. https://musicbrainz.org/release/2a78b2cb-b740-4428-b83a-c0a094c98c73
  14. https://www.discogs.com/release/8781785-The-Michael-Garrick-Sextet-Dannie-Abse-Thomas-Blackburn-Laurie-Lee-Spike-Milligan-Jeremy-Robson-Vern
  15. https://www.discogs.com/release/2468338-Michael-Garrick-Troppo
  16. https://myonlydesirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/green-and-pleasant-land
  17. https://www.discogs.com/release/12550281-Garricks-Strings-Quartet-Green-And-Pleasant-Land
  18. https://jazztimes.com/blog/british-pianist-composer-michael-garrick-dies-at-78/
  19. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/8897446/Michael-Garrick.html
  20. https://myonlydesirerecords.com/jaza20-michael-garrick-home-thoughts/
  21. https://www.soundohm.com/product/home-thoughts
  22. https://www.albionbeatnik.co.uk/2015/12/18/from-straight-lines-we-make-curves-an-appreciation-of-michael-garrick/
  23. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/apr/16/jazz.artsfeatures
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