Andrew Speight
Andrew Speight is a clear-toned, hard driving alto sax player, one of
the Bay Area's most lively and lyrical exponents of straight-ahead,
joyous jazz. A native of Sydney, Australia, Speight came of age playing
with American stars like Percy Heath, Nat Adderley and Benny Carter as
they passed through town. His 1998 CD, Andrew Speight Quartet, won an
Aria Award, the Australian version of a Grammy.
Speight has been
in the U.S. since the early 90's, leading jazz programs first at
Michigan State University and now at San Francisco State. But most
importantly, Speight has been blowing the doors off of every joint lucky
enough to have him on the bandstand.
Speight appeared with
legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb on this year's highly acclaimed CD,
Marsalis Music Honors Jimmy Cobb, released by the record owed and run by
Branford Marsalis.
Andrew Speight's early introduction to the
jazz world of Sydney, and the world at large, was facilitated by the
fact that his father, John Speight, was a jazz pianist and his mother,
Niddrie Wauchope, was a singer. Big name American jazz players would
often come through on their own and pick up local backing bands, and
Speight's father would frequently get hired and bring his son along to
observe.
“My parents knew all the good musicians,” Speight told
an interviewer for the website JazzWest a few years back. “It wasn't
uncommon for there to be jam sessions at the house.”
Some of the musicians coming through included greats like Sonny Stitt and
Johnny Griffin.
“When I was 14,” Speight told JazzWest, “I got to
hear Sonny Stitt, who gave me an informal lesson. I'd give my right arm to
be able to have that lesson again.
As Speight grew to adulthood, he
started his own band, “Now's the Time,” to perform the Art Blakey-style
straight ahead jazz he had grown to love. After touring with Nat Adderly,
Joe Williams and Louie Bellson, Speight came to the U.S. in 1991 to compete
in the prestigious Thelonius Monk International Saxophone Competition, where
he was the only non-American finalist.
He went on to join the jazz
faculty of Michigan State University, collaborating while there with
Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Heath and Benny Carter. He moved to San Francisco
to join the SFSU faculty five years ago. Since arriving in the U.S., Speight
has performed at major venues and festivals and performances around the
world with the likes of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Milt Hinton, and the
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Speight has developed a distinct,
lyrical style. His playing draws inspiration from Charlie Parker’s classic
sound while reflecting his own unique perspective. The result is distinctive
and compelling--at once vintage and fresh, elegant and articulate.
Andrew Speight peforms at Jazz at Pearl's with a tremendous ensemble
including rousing and original pianist Joe Gilman, trumpeter Tom Pirrone,
bassist Michael Zisman and drummer Matt Guggemos.
