Birthday concert is a fitting celebration of living legend composer Mike Gibbs

Mike Gibbs is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest composers and arrangers in the history of jazz - and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire staged a special 85th birthday concert in his honour.

Gibbs, born in Zimbabwe and performing and recording extensively during his career in the USA, the UK and Europe, was present at the concert on Thursday.

He is celebrated for the rich textures of his arrangements, as well as the extraordinary imagination and structural variety he creates in his works, and away from the jazz world he has been in demand to record with popular artists including singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.

The special Birmingham concert featured imaginative and often compelling arrangements of his works by six musicians who are either graduates of the conservatoire or teach there: Alcyona Mick, Charlie Bates, Olivia Murphy, Liam Brennan, Ed Puddick and Ben Partridge.

Their interpretations of Gibbs’ compositions were excellently played at the conservatoire’s Eastside Jazz Club by a 14-piece ensemble of students, with the brilliant Birmingham-born saxophonist Julian Arguelles as guest soloist.

The ensemble was conducted throughout by Puddick, and it opened with his arrangement of Gibbs’ Almost Ev’ry Day, followed by more very fine works by the composer, including Tennis Anyone?, You Get The Picture, Tis As It Should Be, Ballet, Tunnel Of Love and Sweet Rain.

Arguelles’ soloing, mainly on soprano saxophone, is always eloquent, and he demonstrated his masterly control of light and shade in his phrasing, with a lovely soft edge to the warm tone he produces. For the ballad Sweet Rain, though, he switched to tenor saxophone, and his shaping of the solo and the depth of feeling he produced were simply magnificent. A wonderful way to end this memorable concert.

The Birmingham concert followed tribute concerts to Mike held over two nights last month at London’s Vortex club as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.