Martin Speake

Alto saxophonist Martin Speake was born in 1958 in Barnet, England, where his childhood found him surrounded by music. He was drawn initially to the rock and pop music of the day, but shortly after he left school at the age of 16, Speake purchased an alto saxophone after hearing an album by Ornette Coleman, and the course of his life as a jazz horn player became set. He studied classical saxophone at Southgate Technical College and Trinity College of Music from 1977 to 1981, after which he began gigging with other musicians, most notably the sax quartet Itchy Fingers, who tour...