Karl Jenkins
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins,[1] CBE, FRAM, HonFLSW (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus" (1995, from the Adiemus album series), Palladio (1995), The Armed Man (2000), his Requiem (2005) and his Stabat Mater (2008).
For other people with similar names, see Carl Jenkins (disambiguation).
Karl Jenkins
Karl William Pamp Jenkins
- Jazz
- rock
- classical
- Composer
- musician
- Keyboards
- oboe
- saxophone
1970–present
- Nucleus
- Adiemus
- Soft Machine
Jenkins was educated in music at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, and he is a fellow and an associate of the latter. He joined the jazz-rock band Soft Machine in 1972 and became the group's lead songwriter in 1974. He continued to work with Soft Machine until 1984, but has not been involved with any incarnation of the group since. He has composed music for advertising campaigns and has won the industry prize twice.
Biography[edit]
Early life and education[edit]
Jenkins was born and raised in Penclawdd, Gower, Wales (now part of Swansea). His mother was Swedish, and his father was Welsh. He received his initial musical instruction from his father, who was the local schoolteacher, chapel organist and choirmaster. He attended Gowerton Grammar School.[2]
Jenkins studied music at Cardiff University and then commenced postgraduate studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music.[3]
Early career: Graham Collier's group and Nucleus[edit]
For the bulk of his early career, Jenkins was known as a jazz and jazz-rock musician, playing baritone and soprano saxophones, keyboards and oboe, an unusual instrument in a jazz context. He joined jazz composer Graham Collier's group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group Nucleus, which won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. In 1971, Jenkins collaborated with Linda Hoyle on her album Pieces of Me, co-writing 8 of the 11 tracks, playing piano and oboe, as well as arranging and conducting the orchestra.[4]
Soft Machine[edit]
In 1972, Jenkins joined the Canterbury jazz fusion rock band Soft Machine, playing saxophone, oboe and flute along with keyboard instruments. The group played venues including The Proms, Carnegie Hall, and the Newport Jazz Festival. The album Six, on which Jenkins first played with Soft Machine, won the Melody Maker British Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Jenkins also won the miscellaneous musical instrument section (as he did the following year). Soft Machine was voted best small group in the Melody Maker jazz poll of 1974. The albums in which Jenkins performed and composed were Six (1973), Seven (1973), Bundles (1975), Softs (1976) and Land of Cockayne (1981). Jenkins was the group's primary composer on Seven and the subsequent three albums.
After Mike Ratledge left the band in 1976, Soft Machine did not include any of its founding members, but kept recording on a project basis with line-ups revolving around Jenkins and drummer John Marshall. Although Melody Maker had positively reviewed the Soft Machine of 1973 and 1974, Hugh Hopper, involved with the group since replacing bassist Kevin Ayers in 1968, cited Jenkins's "third rate" musical involvement in his own decision to leave the band,[5] and the band of the late 1970s has been described by band member John Etheridge as wasting its potential.[6]
Awards and achievements[edit]
Jenkins was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of Wales in 2006.[18] He has been made both a fellow (FRAM) and an associate (ARAM) of the Royal Academy of Music] in 2003,[19] and a room has been named in his honour. He also has had fellowships at Cardiff University (2005),[20] the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Trinity College Carmarthen and Swansea Metropolitan University.[9] In 2022, he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (HonFLSW).[21]
In 2008, Jenkins' The Armed Man was listed as No. 1 in Classic FM's "Top 10 by living composers".[22]
He has been awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of Leicester,[23] the Chancellor's Medal by the University of Glamorgan and honorary visiting professorships at Thames Valley University, London College of Music and the ATriUM, Cardiff.[24]
Jenkins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours and promoted to Commander of the same Order (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours, in both cases for services to music.[1][25][26] In the 2015 Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor "for services to Composing and Crossing Musical Genres."[27][28]
Jenkins is joint president of the British Double Reed Society[29] and Patron of the International Schools Choral Music Society (ISCMS).[9]
In 2016, Jenkins received the BASCA Gold Badge Award for his unique contribution to music.[30]
Jenkins' work Tros y Garreg (Welsh for Crossing the Stone) was performed at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023,[31] with Jenkins in attendance.[32]
