Joe Higham
- Instruments : Tenor saxophone, Alto saxophone, Soprano saxophone, Bb clarinet, Eb clarinet, Duduk, Balaban, Arabic nay
- Date of birth : 26/08/1960
Here is how he introduces himself :
... I play in many different bands, including standard jazz settings (as do many of us), and still place the art of "melodic" improvisation "in the tradition", as my first love. One of these projects, Chris Mentens Jazz Van, has recently released a CD.
I'm also involved in the 'experimental-pop' productions of Herman Martin based on 70's blacksploitation movies and the more mainstream Blues/Soul music - I'm playing bass clarinet!!! - of Bai Kamara jnr (CD released in 2002 on Warner Bros).
Although mostly playing and teaching mainstream jazz (Antwerp Jazz Studio), I am actually involved in studying (initial studies with Hamid Al Basri), and working with one foot in the worlds of Arabic and Turkish music (Abdelli- Realworld Records). This led me to travel and play in countries such as Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Syria and Turkey, whilst at the same time giving me the chance to build up a small collection of 'live' field recordings, and of course meet many local musicians.
Other important groups/musicians that I'm either working or worked with :
Paolo Radoni & the Wes Montgomery Project, Bas Cooymans, Valve, Chris Mentens Jazz Van (CD), François Decamps 4tet/Hamp Digs Ham (CD), Sluvahiva (with Pierre Vaiana, Bo Van der Werf & Ben Sluijs) & L'Ensemble du Centre Culturel Arabe.
