Christian Brewer 29/10/1965 – 27/02/2021

The death of London-based alto saxophonist Christian Brewer has stunned the British jazz scene. Aged just 55, he’d been battling cancer for some time, yet there was something in both his musical soul and his character that made him seem as if he was indestructible. Indeed, ever since the 1990s he’d been a ubiquitous and popular presence on the UK jazz circuit, well-regarded for his dedicated, post-bop playing and leading a long line of bands featuring those stylistically hand-in-glove.

His early musical life was split between clarinet studies and both the Leeds and Guildhall Schools of Music yet the true beauty of his playing was that it was shot through with road-apprenticed, old-school values. His talent took him across the globe, from Africa to China, and found him as much in demand by pop artists like Seal and Paul Weller as appreciated by fellow jazzmen. For a time he lived and worked in Spain, yet no matter where he was his heart always remained in one place; straight-ahead jazz.

Back home in the UK, Brewer was a perennial fixture at venues large and small – from Ronnie Scott’s on down – and never failed to deliver evenings full of heartfelt, unaffected and honest music. He was a musician who always seemed to be working somewhere, a player who tirelessly carried the jazz message to any and everywhere that would listen. In this regard, it will be almost impossible for those that knew him – on and off-stage – to believe he’s gone. A lovely man with a lovely sound and a lovely attitude to life, among the many things his loss seems is intolerably unfair. There was great music to come. What we’re left with, however, is a powerfully timeless testimony to his world-class abilities.