33 Facts About Jaz Coleman

Jaz Coleman came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke.

Jaz Coleman still continues to play keyboards and synths in studio recordings.

Jaz Coleman moved to New Zealand in the 1990s and became a citizen of that country in 2018.

Jaz Coleman studied piano and violin under Eric Coleridge, head of music for Cheltenham College, until the age of 17, and was a member of several cathedral choirs in England.

Jaz Coleman studied in Leipzig, East Germany, in 1978, and Cairo Conservatoire in 1979, completing an extensive study of Arabic quarter tones at the latter institution.

In 1978, Jaz Coleman founded Killing Joke with drummer Paul Ferguson in Notting Hill, England.

Jaz Coleman told biographer Jyrki "Spider" Hamalainen that forming the band felt "it was the destiny".

Jaz Coleman contributed lead vocals and keyboards to the band's songs, which are categorised as post-punk, and the music later inspired the industrial rock and metal genres.

Jaz Coleman once quit Killing Joke temporarily following a gig in 1982; the day after, he travelled to Iceland and announced his intention to become a classical composer.

In 1990, in collaboration with Anne Dudley, Jaz Coleman released his first purely instrumental album entitled Songs from the Victorious City, which is formally classified as "World Music", but is primarily composed of a mixture of middle eastern folk themes mixed with western pop-oriented themes.

In 1995, Jaz Coleman released his first of three albums of symphonic rock music: Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd, which peaked at number one in the Billboard Magazine Top Classical Crossover Albums chart, and Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin were both written and produced by Jaz Coleman with Peter Scholes conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

In June 2007, Jaz Coleman collaborated with over 150 youth musicians in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, based in Cleveland, Ohio, to perform the entirety of Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin along with additional orchestrations of Led Zeppelin's music.

Jaz Coleman has worked with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, who have issued a CD of his Symphony No 1 "Idavoll" with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and as composer-in-residence to the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

In 2001, Jaz Coleman was commissioned by the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden London for his first large scale opera entitled The Marriage at Cana.

Also in 2003, Jaz Coleman completed a second work with Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke Trio in the role of friend and producer of their album, East Meets East, released through EMI Classics.

In 2004 and 2005, Jaz Coleman arranged the Sarah Brightman album Harem and wrote a further 12 Arias to be recorded with her.

Jaz Coleman continues with his work as composer in residence of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

In 2009, Jaz Coleman recorded the Nirvana Suite with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and played summer festivals across Europe with Killing Joke.

Jaz Coleman travelled from Japan to South India with former bandmate Paul Raven's ashes and participated in Pradakshina.

In 2010, Jaz Coleman completed his Magna Suscitatio for solo violin, chorus and full orchestra, which illustrates the process of transformation and illumination of the human condition "from our current barbaric state".

Jaz Coleman began work with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and was in discussion about a series of concerts.

In 2014, Jaz Coleman began the year by conducting the NSO Symphony Orchestra for the opening ceremony of the Dubai World Cup, which was broadcast to 160 countries.

Later that year, Jaz Coleman recorded with the Moscow State Film Orchestra and performed his Zep Symphony some 30 kilometres outside St Petersburg at Gatchina Palace for the White Night gala with the Minsk Philharmonic.

One month later, Jaz Coleman recorded The Nirvana Dialogues with the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra for Universal records.

In September 2016, Jaz Coleman was invited by the Etrange festival in Paris for a "carte blanche" programme of six films and a spoken word performance.

In 2002, Jaz Coleman starred in a Czech film by Petr Zelenka, Rok dabla.

Jaz Coleman co-produced a documentary-style music film with Filmmaker Shaun Pettigrew called "The Death And Resurrection Show", named after a song on Killing Joke's 2003 album.

Together with Martin Williams and Malcolm Welsford, Jaz Coleman founded the York Street Studio in New Zealand.

The studio was closed after Jaz Coleman produced the ninth album of New Zealand band Shihad, FVEY, which was released in the second half of 2014.

In 2006, Jaz Coleman wrote a book about permaculture, free energy, freedom and freedom-loving individuals.

In 2001, Jaz Coleman recorded the multi-platinum album Promeny with Czech band Cechomor, which won three Andel awards.

Jaz Coleman was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture for his contribution to contemporary music, and was decorated by the French government on 27 September 2010, while Killing Joke were in concert at the Bataclan theatre in Paris.

Jaz Coleman is a supporter of the concept of environmental sustainability and has invested in the creation of two ecovillages in the South Pacific and in Chile.