Larry Stabbins learned
clarinet at school from the age of eight, when his musical idol was
Acker Bilk. He started playing
saxophone at the age of eleven. He was soon playing in local dance bands, doing his first paid gig aged twelve, and later also playing in
soul bands such as Bristol group The Strange Fruits, particularly the music of
Junior Walker and
James Brown. He started working with pianist
Keith Tippett when he was sixteen and later contributed to various Tippett projects such as
Centipede, Ark, Tapestry and the Keith Tippett Septet. In addition the two also worked for a time in a trio with South African percussionist
Louis Moholo. In London in the early 1970s, after a brief period in the
Chris McGregor’s
Brotherhood of Breath, he played with
John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Orchestra, and occasionally with the
Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME). During this period he also worked as a freelance commercial musician, playing studio sessions, nightclubs and
West End shows, as well as playing in more jazz-based situations such as
Mike Westbrook’s 'Solid Gold Cadillac'. In the 1980’s he joined the
Tony Oxley Quintet and played in various versions of the band and also with the Celebration Orchestra, for many years. Around the same time he joined the
London Jazz Composers Orchestra as well as
Peter Brötzmann’s Alarm Orchestra and its successor the
tentet 'Marz Combo'. He also worked with, among others, the
Eddie Prevost Quartet,
Trevor Watts’ Moire Music, Louis Moholo’s Spirits Rejoice,
Elton Dean’s Ninesense and the
Heinz Becker Quintet. He also played in the cult pop group
Weekend and started writing with its guitarist
Simon Booth. This later evolved into
Working Week, a band that took a mix of Latin, soul, jazz and
funk into the pop charts. From the
Latin Jazz Dance scene in London clubs, the band mixed jazz with
Latin dance rhythms and vocals by singers such as
Juliet Roberts,
Julie Tippetts,
Robert Wyatt and
Tracy Thorn. The band toured extensively in Europe and Japan, performing at most of Europe's major Jazz Festivals and recording five albums for
Virgin Records. Following the breakup of Working Week he formed 'QRZ?' a fusion of jazz and
rap which also recorded for
Virgin Records and for the German label Loud Minority. In recent years Stabbins has worked with Keith Tippett’s
Tapestry Orchestra, in Louis Moholo’s Dedication Orchestra, in a quartet with
Howard Riley, playing the music of Robert Wyatt in
Soupsongs, and in
Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Orchestra. The album
Stonephace (2009) on Tru Thoughts Recordings, a collaboration with
rave producer and DJ Krzysztof Oktalski, featured
Portishead guitarist
Adrian Utley and Helm DeVegas on keyboards, plus a guest appearance by trumpeter
Guy Barker. His latest project 'Stonephace Stabbins' features
Mercury nominated pianist
Zoe Rahman, Crispin "Spry" Robinson from 1990's Jazz/Rap band
Galliano on percussion, Karl Rasheed Abel on bass and Pat Illingworth on drums, all of whom also play in Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra. ==Discography==