Harry Lightfoot
| Harry Lightfoot | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, session musician |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Website |
harrylightfoot |
Harry Lightfoot is a British musician and composer. In addition to being a saxophone session musician, he has composed music for film and television.
Education and career
After being awarded a full scholarship at the Birmingham Conservatoire at the Birmingham City University in Birmingham, England, Lightfoot graduated with honours in jazz music in 2007.
Through his saxophone studies with Julian Siegel and Jean Toussaint, he honed his musical-improvisation skills. He developed his own style, forging hard-bop lines with a cleaner pop vocabulary. Over the years, the early influences of Cannonball Adderley and Michael Brecker gradually gave way to a more pop-based style of improvisation and he started his musical career as a session saxophonist with various pop artists.
Lightfoot has played with musicians including Leon Jackson, The Vaccines and Diana Vickers and Rhydian Roberts.
Farleigh and The Paris 1940s
Whilst in Birmingham he met like-minded musicians Pete Robertson (of The Vaccines), Martyn Spencer and Joe Archer. They formed the pop band Farleigh and were signed by Accorder Music publishing in 2009. This led to their debut extended-play album with record producer Jez Coad.
Joined by singer Thom Kirkpatrick (of This Beautiful Noise), the band totally changed direction and formed The Paris 1940s in early 2010. This marked a return to a more jazz-influenced pop, turning heads with their covers of the music of Lady Gaga, Motörhead and Oasis.
Film and television
Upon the completion of his degree, Lightfoot began building his compositional portfolio and soon secured a publishing contract with Accorder Music.
He has composed for many leading production companies including BAFTA-winning Indus Films and computer-gaming company Namco Bandai Games.
His works include the BBC Two documentary series The Fisherman's Apprentice with Monty Halls, the six-part BBC Four series Tales from the Wild Wood, the short film Shopping for One – written and created by Hollywood post-productionist Stephen Nixon – and Allegra McEvedy's Turkish Delight for UKTV's Good Food channel.
He has also composed music for television commercials which have aired around the world.
See also
References
- Staff (undated). "Harry Lightfoot". Accorder Music. Retrieved 24 February 2013.