1. Geoff Leigh was born on 5 October 1945 and is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano saxophone and flute.
19 Facts About Geoff Leigh
1. 2.
Geoff Leigh was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balune, Random Bob, Black Sheep, Mirage, and Ex-Wise Heads.
3.
Geoff Leigh accepted Henry Cow's invitation to join the band in 1972, and he played on their first album Legend.
4.
In November 1973, Geoff Leigh participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells for the BBC, with Mick Taylor, Steve Hillage and members of Henry Cow, Gong and Soft Machine.
5.
Geoff Leigh guested on Henry Cow's album In Praise of Learning.
6.
In 1974, Geoff Leigh formed Radar Favourites, with Gerry Fitzgerald, Cathy Williams, Jack Monck and Charles Hayward.
7.
In 1981 Geoff Leigh moved back to Rotterdam and formed the Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest, featuring Colin McClure, Aloijsius van Saus, Gert van Seters, and Jos Valster.
8.
In 1986, Geoff Leigh headed back to Brussels, where he became even more closely involved in the world music scene, performing with Algerian singer Hamsy Boubaker, and Moroccan oud players Hassan Erragi and Abid.
9.
Around this time Geoff Leigh had a long-term musical partnership with Moroccan guimbri player, vocalist, and percussionist Jalil El Afra.
10.
Geoff Leigh continued working with Rotterdam-based percussionist Asad Oberoi, composing and performing music for several dance productions.
11.
In 1992 Geoff Leigh was diagnosed with dystonia, an incurable neurological condition, contracted after a badly performed dental operation some two years earlier, which affected his performing capabilities to such an extent that he eventually stopped playing altogether.
12.
Geoff Leigh managed to fulfil some concert obligations with Morton Fork and Sables in Brussels in early 1993, and after returning permanently to the UK, rehearsed and performed in small venues with original Radar Favourites bassist Jack Monck and Moroccan percussionist Lahcen Lahbib, as the Highly Irregulars.
13.
Geoff Leigh has several archive releases in the pipeline, including a Radar Favourites album release, and possibly an album from the Morton Fork Gang.
14.
Geoff Leigh has become something of a regular at Hastings Electric Palace Cinema, recently voted one of The Guardian's Top Ten UK arthouse cinemas, contributing live improvised soundscapes to short experimental movies.
15.
Geoff Leigh was invited to perform with Nurse With Wound.
16.
In late October 2009, Geoff Leigh played solo at the Nodutgang Festival in Bodo, Norway, and several concerts in Sweden with Magnus Alexanderson.
17.
In 2010, after playing a short tour of Italy in February with guitarist Adriano Lanzi, Geoff Leigh decided to take a break from live performances due to ongoing dental problems, which had obliged him to temporarily stop playing saxophone.
18.
Geoff Leigh plays eight concerts in Japan with Makoto Kawabata, and other concerts with Tatsuya Yoshida, Kazuto Shimizu, Mitsuru Tabata, and Darren Moore.
19.
Geoff Leigh appeared with the Murmurists at Cafe OTO in London.