Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman
(born February 26, 1960) is a musician, composer, singer/song-writer and music producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to post-punk/metal/industrial band Killing Joke. In addition, he was also the band's keyboardist and has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces and produced diverse musical groups, such as Oceania.
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Biography
Coleman was born in
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire,
England to an
English father and an
Indian mother who are both school teachers. He began piano and violin lessons at the age of six, and was a member of several cathedral choirs in
England. He won prizes for violin throughout his teens, and in adulthood has studied opera, composition, and orchestration.
[1] According to his own account, Coleman also studied international banking for three years in
Switzerland.
[2]
He is a supporter of the concept of environmental sustainability and has invested in the creation of two
eco-villages in the
South Pacific and in
Chile.
[3] Coleman holds four passports and has residences in
Prague,
Switzerland, and
New Zealand where he owns a recording studio.
Coleman also produced much of
Shihad's early material, including the album
Churn. He has been married twice and has children. He claims that he has an
IQ of over 190.
Killing Joke
In 1978 he founded
Killing Joke with drummer
Paul Ferguson in
Notting Hill, London with whom he recruited guitarist
Geordie Walker and bassist
Martin Glover (aka Youth).
The group released its first single in October 1979 and their first eponymous album was released in 1980. Coleman contributed lead vocals and keyboards to the bands' songs, and thanks to his stage persona and Walker's guitar sound and playing, the group soon became pioneers of a
post-punk heavy guitar sound that has inspired
industrial rock and
metal genres. Known for controversial political and social opinions, the events of Coleman's public life are intertwined with his colourful association with
Killing Joke. He is known for his aggressive and powerful stage presence, and sense of ritualistic pageantry in movement and dress. Whilst his stage voice is a particularly harsh growl (which has become more aggressive over the years), albums such as
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns,
Night Time and
Outside The Gate proved he could also sing impressively in a standard rock/pop manner. He remains active in both recording and touring with the band.
Solo composition and recordings
Coleman has studied and played music from many cultures, and is a
multi-instrumentalist. He studied
Arabic music at the
Cairo Conservatoire and has a passion for
Czech folk music and
Maori music, among others. One of his
Maori pieces is the "Second Symphony for Maori Voice and Orchestra".
He was involved in adding a verse in the
Maori language to the
New Zealand national anthem; it was sung by
Maori singer
Hinewehi Mohi at the 1999
Rugby World Cup match, and after some controversy the verse was officially added.
[4]
Along with
Anne Dudley of
Art of Noise fame, in 1990 Coleman co-wrote and co-performed the middle-eastern instrumental album called "
Songs From the Victorious City" (which is a reference to
Cairo,
Egypt). 1994 saw the release of "
Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones", which features 11 classic
Rolling Stones songs performed by
The London Symphony Orchestra. Coleman is responsible for the arrangements of majority of the songs. In 1995 he released his first of three albums of symphonic rock music.
Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd and
Kashmir: The Symphonic Led Zeppelin were both written and produced by Coleman with
Peter Scholes conducting the
London Philharmonic Orchestra. On June 8, 2007, Coleman collaborated with over 150 youth musicians in the
Contemporary Youth Orchestra, based in Cleveland, OH, to perform the entirety of Kashmir: Symphonic
Led Zeppelin along with additional orchestrations of Led Zeppelin's music. In 1999 he produced and arranged an album of
Doors material for orchestra, performed by classical musicians including
Nigel Kennedy and the Prague Symphony Orchestra, called "Riders on the Storm: The Doors Concerto" (CD released in 2000). He 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 2002 he was commissioned by
IRCAM to compose a three-part concerto "Music of the Quantum",
[7] expressing the ideas of the
quantum and
emergence in musical form, which he co-produced with his older brother, Piers Coleman (born February 13, 1958).
[8]
In October 2006 it was announced that Coleman had been chosen as
Composer in Residence for the
European Union. As Composer in Residence he will be given a grant to write and perform music for the EU on special occasions.
In May 2009 it was announced that Jaz Coleman has been awarded the prestigious award of
Chevalier des Arts by the French Government, in recognition of his significant contributions to Music and the Arts.
Film
In 2002 Coleman starred in a multiple award-winning
Czech film by
Petr Zelenka Rok dábla
(
Year of the Devil
). Switching to yet another artistic role, he has been co-directing a documentary-style music film called "The Death And Resurrection Show", named after a song on
Killing Joke's 2003 album. He also appeared on the soundtrack to
Disney's animated feature film
Mulan
(1998).
Books
Coleman is writing a book about permaculture, free energy, freedom and freedom-loving individuals. The main thesis is on how to survive without money. The book will be divided into two parts; one part concentrating on the music and other on the ideas behind it.
[10] The book is planned to be published in 2009.
[11]
Notes