Jaz Coleman
Encyclopedia
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is a musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to rock band
Killing Joke
. In addition, he is also the band's keyboardist and has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces.
descent who are both school teachers. He studied piano and violin under Eric Coleridge, head of music for Cheltenham College, until the age of 17 and was a member of several cathedral choirs in England. In 1973, Jaz was awarded the Rex Watson Cup at the Cheltenham International Festival of Music. Jaz Coleman studied in Leipzig DDR in 1987 and Cairo Conservatoire in 1979 where he made an extensive study of Arabic quartertones. According to his own account, Coleman also studied international banking for three years in Switzerland and is an ordained priest, with a church in New Zealand.
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
. Coleman has joint British and New Zealand citizenship and has residences in Prague
, Switzerland, and New Zealand. He has been married twice and has three children.
Together with Malcolm Welsford
, he founded the York Street Recording Studio
in New Zealand.
Coleman was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
by the French Minister of Culture for his contribution to contemporary music. He was decorated by the French government on 27 September 2010, while Killing Joke were in concert at the Bataclan
in Paris
.
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.
temporarily following a gig in 1982. The day after he travelled to Iceland
and announced his intention to become a classical composer. Ten years of studying and ongoing Killing Joke
involvement later, he took up conducting and worked with some of the world's leading orchestras. Conductor Klaus Tennstedt
described him as a "new Mahler
". 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 Māori music, among others. One of his Māori pieces is the Second Symphony for Māori Voice and Orchestra. Along with Anne Dudley
of Art of Noise, in 1990 Coleman co-wrote and co-performed the middle-eastern instrumental album called Songs From the Victorious City
, which refers to Cairo
, Egypt
.
1994 saw the release of Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones, which featured eleven Rolling Stones songs performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
, produced by Martin Glover
and engineered by Chris Kimsey
and Malcolm Welsford
. Coleman arranged the majority of the songs. In 1995 he released his first of three albums of symphonic rock music. Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd
, which peaked at number one in the Billboard Magazine
Top Classical Crossover Albums chart, and Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin were both written and produced by Coleman with Peter Scholes conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra
. On 8 June 2007, Coleman collaborated with over 150 youth musicians in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
, based in Cleveland, Ohio
, USA 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 2001 Coleman was commissioned by the Royal Opera House
in Covent Garden
London for his first large scale opera entitled The Marriage at Cana, which in essence is the Gnostic theme of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene
and her subsequent exile to Provence
(predating Dan Brown
's The Da Vinci Code
). The libretto was composed by genealogist Sir Laurence Gardner
, author of the controversial bestseller Bloodline of the Holy Grail. The nine acts of the opera were painted by the oil-on-canvas artist Andrew Jones
, whose work was exhibited at the premiere of the opera on December 9, 2001 at the Royal Opera House. The opera received great critical acclaim and is to be recorded with Sarah Brightman
.
Also commissioned by the Royal Opera House was Coleman’s Unwanted, a concerto grosso for violin, viola and string orchestra whose theme portrays the plight of the Romany people of central Europe. This work was in collaboration with Czech photographer Jana Trzilova, whose portraits of the Roma taken within her own country moved the composer with their deep compassion and humanity.
On March 22, 2003, he was commissioned by the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter ICAM
to compose a three-part concerto Music of the Quantum, expressing the ideas of the quantum
and emergence
in musical form, which he co-produced with his older brother, Piers Coleman
(born 13 February 1958), who is a condensed matter physicist at Rutgers University
. The event was performed at Columbia University
to a spectacular response. It was repeated the following year at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague.
On March 22, Sir Laurence Gardner’s book Secrets of the Lost Ark, which expounds on anti-gravity
and prehistory
, was published. Coleman and Gardner publicly exchanged their work (book and scores) at the Occulture Lectures in Brighton
on July 20, 2003, a gesture appropriate to Coleman’s interest in themes of renaissance, collaboration, and working in parallels.
In April 2002, Coleman received an outstanding three Grammies and quadruple platinum sales for his concerto for the Czech folk group and orchestra production entitled Promeny. 2003 saw Promeny being performed in 8,000-10,000 seat auditoriums throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That same year, Coleman completed a second work with Nigel Kennedy
and the Kroke Trio
in the role of friend and producer of their album, East Meets East
, released through EMI Classics
.
In 2004 and 2005 he arranged the Sarah Brightman
album Harem
and wrote a further 12 Arias to be recorded with her. He also continues with his work as composer in residence of the Prague Symphony Orchestra
. In early 2006 Joseph McManners
performed Coleman's Daughter of England at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic to standing ovation. He also toured with Killing Joke
in the early part of the year and won a Lifetime Achievement Award from Kerrang!
magazine. International premieres of Coleman's classical works are too numerous to mention.
In 2008, Coleman outlined an alternative educational programme based on Renaissance
principles with the aim of promoting the principles of self-education. He completed a series of arias for mezzo-soprano titled The Secret Pilgrimage based on the sacred sites he visited during that year. Coleman became composer-in-residence of Berlin’s Kammerorchester.
In 2009, Coleman recorded the Nirvana Suite with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra
, and played summer festivals across Europe with Killing Joke. Coleman travelled from Japan
to South India
with former bandmate Paul Raven’s ashes and participated in Pradakshina
.
In 2010, so far Coleman has completed his Magna Suscitatio for solo violin, chorus and full orchestra, which illustrates the process of transformation and illumination of the human condition “from our current barbaric state”. Coleman has also set to work on an ambitious programme with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and is currently in discussion about a series of concerts whilst preparing for a world tour with his beloved Killing Joke. Coleman’s second symphony recorded by the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra is due for release with the Nirvana Suite. He is currently writing a mass for choir and orchestra consisting of Killing Joke’s music with the original lyrics translated into Latin for full chorus for a recording and two nights in London in 2011. He is also passionate about setting up the European-Pacific Academy of Renaissance Arts, which he intends to base in New Zealand
and different locations around Europe. Jaz Coleman is completing his first literary work which promotes the principles of self-education he has benefited from throughout his life. Coleman is actively involved in the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centres of New Zealand. Coleman is open about the source of his inspiration, noting “my entire outlook has been shaped by Rosicrucian principles”.
Rok ďábla (Year of the Devil
). The film has become a multiple award-winning cult classic (Crystal Globe, Czech Lion). 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.
Coleman has contributed to several film soundtracks, such as Walt Disney’s Mulan
(1998; with Vanessa-Mae
on violin) and UK Channel 4
TV film Cinderella
(released on 01/01/2000; music composed by Jaz and Youth). Individual songs appeared in soundtracks like: Weird Science
(1985; "Eighties" by Killing Joke), Showgirls
(1995; "Hollywood Babylon" by Killing Joke) or Year of the Devil
(2002; "Pukaea" by Jaz Coleman and Hinewehi Mohi, "Universe B" and "Exorcism" by Killing Joke).
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
. In addition, he is also the band's keyboardist and has composed orchestral and soundtrack pieces.
Biography
Coleman was born in Cheltenham to an English father and an Anglo-Indian mother of half-BengaliBengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
descent who are both school teachers. He studied piano and violin under Eric Coleridge, head of music for Cheltenham College, until the age of 17 and was a member of several cathedral choirs in England. In 1973, Jaz was awarded the Rex Watson Cup at the Cheltenham International Festival of Music. Jaz Coleman studied in Leipzig DDR in 1987 and Cairo Conservatoire in 1979 where he made an extensive study of Arabic quartertones. According to his own account, Coleman also studied international banking for three years in Switzerland and is an ordained priest, with a church in New Zealand.
He is a supporter of the concept of environmental sustainability and has invested in the creation of two eco-villages in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
and in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Coleman has joint British and New Zealand citizenship and has residences in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Switzerland, and New Zealand. He has been married twice and has three children.
Together with Malcolm Welsford
Malcolm Welsford
Malcolm Welsford is a New Zealand Record Producer and is best known for his work with Shihad, The Feelers and Supergroove.-Early career:Welsford's professional recording career began in 1984 at a small largely unknown Studio called Frontier Studios, Wellington New Zealand...
, he founded the York Street Recording Studio
York Street Studio
York Street Recording Studio is a Recording Studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded and built by producer and engineer Martin Williams, producer Malcolm Welsford and Jaz Coleman it quickly became New Zealand's leading music recording, mixing and mastering facility...
in New Zealand.
Coleman was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
by the French Minister of Culture for his contribution to contemporary music. He was decorated by the French government on 27 September 2010, while Killing Joke were in concert at the Bataclan
Bataclan (theatre)
The Bataclan is a "salle de spectacle" at 50 boulevard Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. It was built in 1864 by the architect Charles Duval. Its name refers to Ba-Ta-Clan, an operetta by Offenbach...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Killing Joke
In 1978 he founded Killing JokeKilling Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
with drummer Paul Ferguson
Paul Ferguson
Paul Ferguson is a rock drummer, best known for his work in the post-punk/industrial group, Killing Joke, and cult English punk band, Pink Parts. Ferguson was a founder member of Killing Joke, and was their drummer from 1978 to 1987, and was known as 'Big Paul Ferguson' during this period...
in Notting Hill, London
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
with whom he recruited guitarist Geordie Walker
Geordie Walker
Kevin "Geordie" Walker is a rock musician, best known as the guitarist from the post-punk group Killing Joke.-Life and career:...
and bassist Martin Glover
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
(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
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
heavy guitar sound that has inspired industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
and metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
genres. Known for controversial political and social opinions, the events of Coleman's public life are intertwined with his colourful association with Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
. 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
Night Time
Night Time is the fifth studio album by Killing Joke, released in 1985. It was an international hit, featuring some of their best-known tracks like "Night Time", "Eighties", "Love Like Blood", and "Kings and Queens"....
and Outside The Gate
Outside the Gate
Outside the Gate is the seventh album by English post-punk group Killing Joke and is arguably the most controversial release among their fans....
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 once quit Killing JokeKilling Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
temporarily following a gig in 1982. The day after he travelled to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and announced his intention to become a classical composer. Ten years of studying and ongoing Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
involvement later, he took up conducting and worked with some of the world's leading orchestras. Conductor Klaus Tennstedt
Klaus Tennstedt
Klaus Tennstedt was a German conductor from Merseburg; he conducted such orchestras as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Kiel Opera in Northern Germany; North German Radio Orchestra, in Hamburg; the Minnesota Orchestra; and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.-Life and career:He studied violin and...
described him as a "new Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
". Coleman has studied and played music from many cultures, and is a multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
. He studied Arabic music at the Cairo Conservatoire
Cairo Conservatoire
The Cairo Conservatoire is the primary music conservatory in Egypt. It was established in 1959 and is located in the same building complex as the Cinema Institute and the Higher Institute for Theatrical Arts, Haram, Giza, Greater Cairo, while the Cairo Symphony Orchestra is based at Cairo Opera...
and has a passion for Czech folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and Māori music, among others. One of his Māori pieces is the Second Symphony for Māori Voice and Orchestra. Along with Anne Dudley
Anne Dudley
Anne Dudley is an English composer and pop musician, and was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in both the classical and pop genres. She is perhaps best known, however, as one of the core members of the synthpop band Art of Noise and also as a film...
of Art of Noise, in 1990 Coleman co-wrote and co-performed the middle-eastern instrumental album called Songs From the Victorious City
Songs From the Victorious City
Songs From The Victorious City is an album in the world music genre written by Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman, recorded in Cairo and London. It takes its name from Cairo itself, in Arabic القاهرة , literally "The Triumphant" or "The Victorious".-Track listing:# The Awakening - # Endless Festival - #...
, which refers to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
1994 saw the release of Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones, which featured eleven Rolling Stones songs performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, produced by Martin Glover
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
and engineered by Chris Kimsey
Chris Kimsey
Christopher Kenneth Kimsey is a record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' Undercover and Steel Wheels albums...
and Malcolm Welsford
Malcolm Welsford
Malcolm Welsford is a New Zealand Record Producer and is best known for his work with Shihad, The Feelers and Supergroove.-Early career:Welsford's professional recording career began in 1984 at a small largely unknown Studio called Frontier Studios, Wellington New Zealand...
. Coleman arranged the majority of the songs. In 1995 he released his first of three albums of symphonic rock music. Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd
Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd
- Chart position :...
, which peaked at number one in the Billboard Magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Classical Crossover Albums chart, and Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin were both written and produced by Coleman with Peter Scholes conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
. On 8 June 2007, Coleman collaborated with over 150 youth musicians in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Founded in 1995, the award winning Contemporary Youth Orchestra is the first and only youth orchestra in the country dedicated to the study and performance of contemporary orchestral literature...
, based in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, USA to perform the entirety of Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin along with additional orchestrations of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's music. In 1999 he produced and arranged an album of Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
material for orchestra, performed by classical musicians including Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
and the Prague Symphony Orchestra
Prague Symphony Orchestra
The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Dr...
, called Riders on the Storm: The Doors Concerto (CD released in 2000). He has worked with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, who have issued a CD of his Symphony No. 1 "Idavoll" with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was established in the early 1980s and has become one of New Zealand's major performing organisations. The instigation of its Composer-in-Residence programme in 1990 has made the orchestra an important force in the promotion of New Zealand composed...
, and as composer in residence
Artist in residence
Artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities allow visiting artists to stay and work so that they may apply singular focus to their art practice....
to the Prague Symphony Orchestra.
In 2001 Coleman was commissioned by the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
London for his first large scale opera entitled The Marriage at Cana, which in essence is the Gnostic theme of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
and her subsequent exile to Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
(predating Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
's The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
). The libretto was composed by genealogist Sir Laurence Gardner
Laurence Gardner
Laurence Gardner was a writer and lecturer in the "alternative history" genre of research.-Career:Laurence Gardner's first book Bloodline of the Holy Grail was published in 1996. The book was serialized in the Daily Mail and a best seller...
, author of the controversial bestseller Bloodline of the Holy Grail. The nine acts of the opera were painted by the oil-on-canvas artist Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones may refer to:*Andrew Lee Jones , American executed for murder*Andrew Jones , Australian politician*Andrew Jones , American visual artist...
, whose work was exhibited at the premiere of the opera on December 9, 2001 at the Royal Opera House. The opera received great critical acclaim and is to be recorded with Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
.
Also commissioned by the Royal Opera House was Coleman’s Unwanted, a concerto grosso for violin, viola and string orchestra whose theme portrays the plight of the Romany people of central Europe. This work was in collaboration with Czech photographer Jana Trzilova, whose portraits of the Roma taken within her own country moved the composer with their deep compassion and humanity.
On March 22, 2003, he was commissioned by the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter ICAM
ICAM
ICAM is short for "I couldn't agree more" - also see list of internet slangIt may also refer to:* Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing* Intercellular adhesion molecule* Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter...
to compose a three-part concerto Music of the Quantum, expressing the ideas of the quantum
Quantum
In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
and emergence
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
in musical form, which he co-produced with his older brother, Piers Coleman
Piers Coleman
Piers Coleman is a British - American theoretical physicist, working in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics. Coleman is currently Professor of Physics at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He is the elder brother of musician and composer Jaz Coleman.-Biography:Coleman was raised in...
(born 13 February 1958), who is a condensed matter physicist at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. The event was performed at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
to a spectacular response. It was repeated the following year at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague.
On March 22, Sir Laurence Gardner’s book Secrets of the Lost Ark, which expounds on anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
and prehistory
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, was published. Coleman and Gardner publicly exchanged their work (book and scores) at the Occulture Lectures in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
on July 20, 2003, a gesture appropriate to Coleman’s interest in themes of renaissance, collaboration, and working in parallels.
In April 2002, Coleman received an outstanding three Grammies and quadruple platinum sales for his concerto for the Czech folk group and orchestra production entitled Promeny. 2003 saw Promeny being performed in 8,000-10,000 seat auditoriums throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That same year, Coleman completed a second work with Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
and the Kroke Trio
Kroke
KROKE – A Kraków instrumental ensemble of the world music genre. The band's name in Yiddish means Kraków.The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they were associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences...
in the role of friend and producer of their album, East Meets East
East Meets East
East Meets East is a collaborative studio album released through EMI Classics in 2003 by violinist Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke band , surrounded by several guest artists of international reputation such as Natacha Atlas, Mo Foster, and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.The album revisits some...
, released through EMI Classics
EMI Classics
EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
.
In 2004 and 2005 he arranged the Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
album Harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
and wrote a further 12 Arias to be recorded with her. He also continues with his work as composer in residence of the Prague Symphony Orchestra
Prague Symphony Orchestra
The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Dr...
. In early 2006 Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners is an English actor and singer. He lives on a non-working farm in Petham near Canterbury and recently left Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys for Tonbridge School after being awarded a drama and academic scholarship.-Singing career:McManners decided to become a singer after he...
performed Coleman's Daughter of England at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic to standing ovation. He also toured with Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
in the early part of the year and won a Lifetime Achievement Award from Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine. International premieres of Coleman's classical works are too numerous to mention.
In 2008, Coleman outlined an alternative educational programme based on Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
principles with the aim of promoting the principles of self-education. He completed a series of arias for mezzo-soprano titled The Secret Pilgrimage based on the sacred sites he visited during that year. Coleman became composer-in-residence of Berlin’s Kammerorchester.
In 2009, Coleman recorded the Nirvana Suite with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Czech National Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra in Prague in the Czech Republic. It was established in 1993 by trumpet player Jan Hasenöhrl...
, and played summer festivals across Europe with Killing Joke. Coleman travelled from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to South India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with former bandmate Paul Raven’s ashes and participated in Pradakshina
Pradakshina
Pradakshina or Pradakshinam , meaning circumambulation, consists of walking around in a 'circle' as a form of worship in Hindu ceremonies in India. The devotees walk around the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost chamber of the shrine housing the temple deity. It is done around sacred fire , trees and...
.
In 2010, so far Coleman has completed his Magna Suscitatio for solo violin, chorus and full orchestra, which illustrates the process of transformation and illumination of the human condition “from our current barbaric state”. Coleman has also set to work on an ambitious programme with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and is currently in discussion about a series of concerts whilst preparing for a world tour with his beloved Killing Joke. Coleman’s second symphony recorded by the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra is due for release with the Nirvana Suite. He is currently writing a mass for choir and orchestra consisting of Killing Joke’s music with the original lyrics translated into Latin for full chorus for a recording and two nights in London in 2011. He is also passionate about setting up the European-Pacific Academy of Renaissance Arts, which he intends to base in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and different locations around Europe. Jaz Coleman is completing his first literary work which promotes the principles of self-education he has benefited from throughout his life. Coleman is actively involved in the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centres of New Zealand. Coleman is open about the source of his inspiration, noting “my entire outlook has been shaped by Rosicrucian principles”.
Films and soundtracks
In 2002 Coleman starred in a Czech film by Petr ZelenkaPetr Zelenka
Petr Zelenka is an award-winning Czech playwright and director of theatre and film. His films have been recognized at international festivals in Moscow and Rotterdam...
Rok ďábla (Year of the Devil
Year of The Devil
Year of the Devil is a 2002 Czech film directed by Petr Zelenka. It stars musicians who act as themselves: Czech folk music band Čechomor, musicians and poets Jaromír Nohavica, Karel Plihal and British musician and composer Jaz Coleman...
). The film has become a multiple award-winning cult classic (Crystal Globe, Czech Lion). 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
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
2003 album.
Coleman has contributed to several film soundtracks, such as Walt Disney’s Mulan
Mulan (soundtrack)
Mulan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the 1998 Disney animated film, Mulan. Released on June 2, 1998, the album featured songs by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, conducted by Paul Bogaev, and score composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith...
(1998; with Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson , known professionally as Vanessa-Mae , is an internationally known British violinist. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion", as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style...
on violin) and UK Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV film Cinderella
Cinderella (2000 TV film)
Cinderella is a TV film released on January 1, 2000 in the UKand directed by Beeban Kidron. The cast is led by movie legend Kathleen Turner who plays the Wicked Stepmother Claudette...
(released on 01/01/2000; music composed by Jaz and Youth). Individual songs appeared in soundtracks like: Weird Science
Weird Science (film)
Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
(1985; "Eighties" by Killing Joke), Showgirls
Showgirls (soundtrack)
Showgirls is the soundtrack album of the 1995 film Showgirls.-Track listing:# "Animal"#* Performed by Prick#* Written by Kevin McMahon#* Produced by Warne Livesey...
(1995; "Hollywood Babylon" by Killing Joke) or Year of the Devil
Year of The Devil
Year of the Devil is a 2002 Czech film directed by Petr Zelenka. It stars musicians who act as themselves: Czech folk music band Čechomor, musicians and poets Jaromír Nohavica, Karel Plihal and British musician and composer Jaz Coleman...
(2002; "Pukaea" by Jaz Coleman and Hinewehi Mohi, "Universe B" and "Exorcism" by Killing Joke).