In Memoriam: Graham Collier

Graham CollierBritish jazz bassist and composer Graham Collier has passed away at the age of 74.

After three years as a musician in the British Army, he won a Down Beat magazine scholarship to Berklee School of Music, where he became it’s first British graduate in 1963.

Collier’s lifelong career included 19 albums of his original works, his last being 2009’s directing 14 Jackson Pollocks, but he was also a renowned educator. He regularly gave lectures and spoke at workshops and wrote seven books on jazz. In 1987, he created the jazz degree at London’s Royal Academy of Music and was the artistic director for the program until 1999. His efforts were recognized in 1987, when he was awarded an Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Our condolences to the family and friends of Graham Collier.

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