SmoothJazz Weekend Radio Station: Paul Higgs and Pavane

Summer Lullaby is Paul Higgs’ second album with Pavane – a band of virtuoso musicians. With sultry, jazz-infused rhythms beckoning you to dance, and classical grandeur that evokes timeless elegance, the album has summer's tranquillity at its heart. The music on the album is unashamedly melodic and reflective, and each piece explores and builds on that mood.

Paul (Angel Award Winner and Ivor Novello Nominee) is renowned as one of the UK’s leading trumpet players and composers, especially known for his versatility as is fully displayed on the new album, which features all original compositions along with a Bacharach/David classic.

Paul served for many years as a regular Musical Director for the National Theatre of Great Britain and contributed to shows by the Royal Shakespeare Company, establishing himself as a versatile musician, equally at home playing jazz, classical, or contemporary music.

His exceptional talent has seen him perform in major venues around the world, including the Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and the Berlin Concert Hall. He has performed with luminaries including Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Johnny Dankworth, Lulu, Tony Hatch, John Williams, Nancy Wilson, and Shorty Rodgers, to name just a few.

Music has always been an integral part of Paul Higgs’ life. A child prodigy, he played piano melodies before he could talk, became enamoured with and learned to play a four-valve plastic trumpet at age five, entered music school when he was six, joined the school’s brass band at eight, taught himself to play classical guitar at nine, began piano lessons at 11, formed his own professional “function band” at 12 while also playing in several big bands, and that same year scored a 17-part big band arrangement of the theme of the TV show Hawaii 5-0 that was used by those groups for the next 15 years. At 14 Paul joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in which he played a major part until he was 25, serving as their composer and arranger, and playing trumpet, piano, guitar, and bass.

At 22 he played his first West End theatre show with Lulu, and this led to Higgs being asked to work with the prestigious National Theatre where he eventually became the Musical Director for more than two-dozen productions.

At the same time, he was also occasionally hired by the Royal Shakespeare Company. During this productive time Higgs worked with the cream of actors and directors in the British theatre world including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Trevor Nunn, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Nicholas Hytner, Zoe Wanamaker CBE and Michael Sheen OBE. This top-level theatre life was extremely hectic and required great ingenuity and resourcefulness. On one occasion, the day before the opening night of a 17th Century play, the composer asked Paul if he played the accordion. When he replied “no,” the composer said, “Wrong answer!” By the following day Paul had obtained an accordion, practiced the part, and leapt on stage to play it perfectly while dressed in knickerbockers, tights, and a tri-corner hat.

In addition to the above, Paul has composed and arranged music for numerous films and TV shows including Are You Ready For Love, Land Girls, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Drop The Dead Donkey, Family Matters, and Travelog, to name just a very few. In 1988 he was commissioned to compose a piece for The Proms at The Royal Albert Hall, and for the 2012 Olympic Games he was commissioned for the Government Art Collection alongside artist Mel Brimfield.

The combination of theatre work, backing big-name acts on-stage, working actively on recording sessions, and contributing to film and television music has tested Higgs’ musical abilities time and again. He has developed a stellar reputation for being able to handle virtually any type of project with sensitivity and understanding, and to each challenge he brings his energy, enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge of different genres and periods of music.

UK 2024 TOUR DATES

6th Apr Kirk Langley Village Hall, Derbyshire

13th Apr Southend-On-Sea Jazz Centre

17th Apr Quaglinos, London

21st Apr Ronnie Scotts, London

24th Apr The Fleece Jazz Club, Leavenheath

26th Apr Dunston Village Hall

27th Apr Caunton Dean Hole Community Centre

12th May Ipswich Jazz & Blues Club

17th May 2 Sisters Arts Centre, Felixstowe

18th May Berkhamsted Jazz Club

15th Jun Hadleigh Jazz Club, Town Hall