Today Colin Towns is one of the most respected and admired composers of
TV and Film music. He's also a fine jazz pianist with a jazz orchestra
that can knock the spots off any other band around.
Colin Towns was born in the East End of London in 1949, learning to play
the piano as a child. By the age of 13 he was playing professionally.
During the 1960s he played in a variety of dance bands and jazz groups.
In 1976, he was hired by the ex-Deep Purple singer, Ian Gillan, to
replace Mike Moran as the keyboard player in the Ian Gillan Band, writing
several hit songs for the band, including "Fighting Man".
During his time with Ian Gillan, Towns also began to write music that
was outside the heavy-metal strictures of Gillan's work, the result of
which was an invitation to submit a demo soundtrack tape to the
producers of Mia Farrow's latest film /Full Circle. /The music was used
and credited by many as the best thing in the film.
Colin began to build on the praise he'd received for 'Full Circle', and
soon began to receive commissions to write more music for TV and film,
plus a huge number of jingles for TV commercials, including such
memorable melodies as those for Branston Pickle, Cadbury's Milk Tray,
and Nescafe Gold Blend, plus around another 500 to date.
His film and TV credits include the theme and incidental music for
Dalziel & Pacoe, Doc Martin, Not Only But Always, Goodbye Mr Chips,
and The Puppet Masters.
Colin's theatre work includes music for an RSC production of Henry V,
and the orchestrations for Ben Elton's musical about the life of Rod
Stewart, Tonight's The Night.
Like Duke Ellington before him, Colin Towns has used his commercial
success to keep an explosive 19-piece jazz orchestra on the road and in
the recording studios.
Actually the recording studios, and Provocateur Records, are owned by
Colin Towns, which means he's able to produce whatever he likes -- and
what he likes is hard, driving big band jazz that has a cutting edge as
sharp as a razor.
To hear tenor saxophonist Alan Skidmore -- on the CD, Colin Towns Mask
Orchestra: Another Think Coming -- chew his way into "Trash Talk",
pulling drummer Ian Thomas, and the rest of the orchestra along by their
tongues and ears, is to listen to jazz of the highest calibre, jazz that
people can live off for a lifetime, making them want to listen to it
again and again, making them want to shout words of encouragement at the
CD player.
The work of Colin Towns is music of joy and sorrow, of heat, and of a
deep blue coolness that is quite troubling in its intensity. It makes
people dance, it makes people listen, it makes people realise they're
listening to jazz.
