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Artist
Denys Baptiste
12+ albums
saxophonecontemporary jazzTenor Saxjazzdenys baptiste
about
MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE: AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR 1999 MOBO AWARDS: BEST JAZZ ACT 1999 BRITISH JAZZ AWARDS: RISING STAR 2000 Nominated for: BBC JAZZ AWARDS: Best Album 2004 BBC JAZZ AWARDS: Best New Work 2004 MOBO AWARDS: Best Jazz Act 2004 PARLIAMENTARY JAZZ AWARDS: Best Album 2005 A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Denys Baptiste has carved out a successful career as a major artist and composer on the UK jazz scene. As well as being a brilliant saxophonist, Denys is known as a hugely talented composer whose music is highly accessible. Be Where You Are (DUNECD03), his wonderful 1999 debut album, earned him a clutch of major music awards including An Album Of The Year in the Mercury Music Prize and the MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act. He followed this in 2001 with his second album, Alternating Currents (DUNECD05), also receiving great critical acclaim. 2003 saw the release of his third and most ambitious recording/touring project to date: Let Freedom Ring! (DUNECD010). In 2004, Denys became an official endorsee of Selmer Paris Saxophones. Let Freedom Ring! is a suite commissioned by the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival in 2003 and written in four movements to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's momentous I Have A Dream oration. Denys combines contemporary jazz with rousing gospel, blues, Afro-Cuban music and the poetry of Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri to deliver a joyously uplifting, celebratory and totally accessible piece inspired by, and paying ho
