Paul Rogers
One of Europe's finest bassists and a busy free improvisation player comparable to John Edwards and Barry Guy, Paul Rogers is mostly known for his long-standing tenure in the free improv quartet Mujician. A player of finesse and feeling, he has appeared on dozens of albums, performing with Paul Dunmall, John Stevens, Daunik Lazro, Michel Doneda, Evan Parker, Ramon Lopez, and Ivo Perelman to name but a few. He released his first solo album in 1995.
Rogers was born in Chester, Wales, 1956. He picked up his first acoustic guitar at the age of 12 and a bass guitar at 14. He bought his first double bass three years later and after mastering its rudiments, took off to London to become a jazz musician. Mike Osborne (who worked with Keith Tippett at the time) introduced him to the free jazz community. For the next eight years or so, Rogers multiplied sideman duties, performing with most musicians circumscribed to the British jazz triangle formed by Tippett, Mike Westbrook, and Elton Dean, including the first's sextet (1978) and the last's quintet (1979). He also improvised with members of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble.
1984 marks a change in his career. After years of shifting through collaborators, he began to develop a lasting relationship with drummer Tony Levin within two trios with Alan Skidmore and Paul Dunmall. The latter group evolved into Mujician with the addition of Tippett in 1988, but it would have to wait a few more years before imposing itself. Meanwhile, Rogers spent 18 months in New York, playing with Gerry Hemingway, Don Byron, and Tom Cora, among others, but making very few recordings. Back in England in late 1989 his recording career really took off with Elton Dean's Unlimited Saxophone Company, Jon Lloyd's Syzygy, and a tour with drummer Pip Pyle's group Equip'Out. There he met pianist Sophia Domancich, who became his life companion, and with whom he has since recorded a handful of albums.
1992 saw the release of Mujician's The Journey, the first of many albums on the U.S. label Cuneiform. From then onward, the group would provide Rogers with his best exposure and critical acclaim (causing funny mix-ups among critics between him and Free/Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers). His first album of double bass solos, Heron Moon, came out in 1995. Four years later he led an augmented lineup of Domancich's trio on Time of Brightness. A second CD of solo performances, Listen, appeared in 2002. Since the late ‘90s, Rogers has lived in France and, although still involved, has been performing regularly with Parisian jazzmen like Louis Sclavis and Ramon Lopez.
© François Couture /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Brian Irvine & Jennifer Walshe: 13 Vices (Live)
Jennifer Walshe, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Mark Sanders, Red Note Ensemble, Brian Irvine
Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on 17 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Tradition
Elton Dean, Howard Riley, Paul Rogers, Mark Sanders
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 29 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Asynchronous
Fred Van Hove, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Paul Lytton
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 29 Apr 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heron Moon
Contemporary Jazz - Released by RaRe Music on 29 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Folks
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 29 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Cul-de-Sac Kids
Children - Released by Globe Records on 20 Jul 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
That’s My Life
Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Tony Orrell
Alternative & Indie - Released by 577 Records on 23 Jan 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vesuvius
Alexander von Schlippenbach, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Craig Madden Morris: Circle of Love & Other Choral Offerings
Composer's Choir, Paul Rogers, Daniel Shaw, Catherine Williams, Bronx Symphony Orchestra, Joseph Dellicarri
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Ravello Records on 11 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Cat Bad Cat
Debbie Sanders, Paul Rogers, Neil Metcalfe, Tori S.P.
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Debbie Sanders on 1 Nov 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
High Times
Alternative & Indie - Released by 5082104 Records DK on 15 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Drew Stripe
Alternative & Indie - Released by 5082104 Records DK on 27 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peace and Joy
Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Philip Gibbs, Hamid Drake
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Slam Productions on 9 Nov 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
News from the North
Simon Picard, Paul Rogers, Tony Marsh
Jazz - Released by Intakt Records on 6 Dec 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Caught Myself Dreaming
Jazz - Released by GarageLand on 4 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favourite Scenes from Shakespeare
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Saland Publishing on 3 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Future Fidelity
Paul Rogers, Stuart Roslyn, Peter Tong
Soundtracks - Released by KPM Main Series on 28 Sep 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Meditations
Alternative & Indie - Released by 5082104 Records DK on 13 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo