Mike Chillingworth Biography
Mike Chillingworth is a London based saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He regularly performs throughout the UK and internationally with his own groups, and with many leading musicians at the forefront of British and European jazz.
Mike has released two acclaimed albums of original music as a bandleader, Friday The Thirteenth in 2024 on Ubuntu Music, featuring Ivo Neame (Phronesis), Tom Farmer (Empirical), Jon Scott (Go Go Penguin), and Scratch And Sift in 2016 on Two Rivers Records, featuring a septet of Tom Challenger, Josh Arcoleo, George Crowley, Lewis Wright, Sam Lasserson and Jon Scott.
Mike is a long standing member of acclaimed guitarist Ant Law’s quintet, alongside Ivo Neame, Tom Farmer and James Maddren, recording four albums and touring extensively throughout the UK and Europe, as well as performing live on BBC Radio 3 and numerous other media appearances.
Mike has a appeared on countless records as a sideman and collaborated regularly with musicians such as Julian Siegel, Ivo Neame, Emma Rawicz, Jim Rattigan, Josephine Davies, Gareth Lockrane, Miguel Gorodi, Rick Simpson, Troyk-estra, Stan Sulzmann’s, and as a member of the band Round Trip with the much celebrated and missed rising trumpet star Richard Turner who passed away in 2011. Mike has had radio play on BBC Radio 3, Radio 2, Jazz FM and other independent and local radio stations and internationally.
Alongside his creative and performing endeavors, Mike harbors a deep passion for both jazz and general music education, actively balancing a dynamic career as a dedicated educator.
Press cuttings and reviews
“Mike Chillingworth’s Friday The Thirteenth has been worth waiting for.”
BBC Music Magazine
“A beautifully measured quartet album that displays a wit and intelligence in its mission to experiment with polyphony while still making for a hugely listenable set” … “Mike’s blowing is a masterclass of graceful precision”
Richard Lee, UK Jazz News
“Chillingworth's sax lines are outstanding” … “Enigmatic, distinctive, fascinating and well worth a listen.”
Neil Duggan, AllAboutJazz
“Chillingworth's compositions deliver long twisty lines and thumping counterpoints, resonant voicings and a slightly bucolic Englishness that reminds me of Mike Westbrook’s writing.”
Mike Hobart, Jazzwise Magazine
“... so unabashedly playful that you can only smile.”
Fred Grand, Jazz Journal
“Law's regular partnership with shrewdly melodic alto saxist Mike Chillingworth is central to the band's power, building smouldering intensity without bravura”
John Fordham, The Guardian