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BULLSEYE MUSIC
John
Patrick
Composer, Keyboards and All That Jazz…
John Patrick has been one of the UK’s top
professional musicians for over five decades. Probably best known
as an accomplished jazz keyboard player and leader of one of the
UK's premier rhythm sections, he is also a renowned composer and
music director with a massive breadth of musical experience ranging
from running his own Big Band to directing Film, TV and Recording
Sessions and conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the
Royal Albert Hall for the prestigious industry charity concert
Filmharmonic in aid of the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund.
 In fact, John is one of the few people who can claim
to be a truly ‘all round’ musician. He is a prolific writer of
original jazz compositions and his work as a music producer has
included Big Band specials for many Independent Local Radio
stations. He also composes themes, incidental and background music
for Radio & TV drama and light entertainment programmes. One of his
most successful compositions for television is the theme music for
the hit TV game show ‘Bullseye’. The show
has been on TV for 25 years. One show had a staggering 19.8 million
viewers. Bullseye, already having archived ‘cult‘ status is now
described by the British press and media as an Iconic show of
British Television.
John was one of the first and eventually longest
serving musicians working in commercial television. From his
original break on the ITV show Lunchbox in the early 1960s he was
music director on many groundbreaking light entertainment shows such
as the BBC's Dee Time and ITV's The Golden Shot, New Faces and
TISWAS. This lead to his appointment as Head of Music for Central
Television in 1983, a position he held for 11 years.
Also in the 1970s he became a central figure in the
growth of Independent Local Radio (ILR) and is particularly
remembered for his work with Birmingham's ILR station (BRMB), and
also serving as a Board Member for many years.
He continued as Chairman of the National Executive
Committee of the British Musicians' Union for an unprecedented 32
years, finally stepping down in 2001. During this time, he travelled
extensively to represent the BMU across the globe. He built up
contacts with senior executives throughout the entertainment world
in the broadcasting, recording, theatre and film industries
and was a long-standing member of the Executive
Committee of the International Federation of Musicians.
A champion of the rights of British musicians for
over 30 years, he has developed a substantial knowledge of the
complex field of rights issues, particularly those for performers.
As one of the Performing Artists’ Media Rights Association (PAMRA)
founder-directors John provided to that organisation, during it’s
formative period, a unique and valued perspective in the area of
performers’ rights and, at present, is Vice-Chairman of the Board.
To this day, John remains busier in partial
retirement than most people are in full time employment!
He is a member of the Royal Society of Musicians and
also an Honorary Member of Los Angeles Local 47 of the American
Federation of Musicians. He appeared at the Kemah Jazz Festival,
Houston, Texas in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and has accepted an
invitation to return in 2005.
As well as being one of the UK's most sought after
musicians, John is also one of the UK's most in demand musical
exports and is a regular performer at international jazz festivals.
In addition to heading the John Patrick Big Band he runs a regular
jazz trio, which has accompanied some of the biggest names in
international music, including Ben Webster, Art Farmer, Bobby Shew,
Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Sonny Stitt, Nat
Adderley, Johnny Griffin, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Scott
Hamilton, Carl Fontana, Bill Watrous, Ken Peplowski, Harry 'Sweets'
Edison, James Moody, and Mundell Lowe to name but a few!!!
He remains a strong supporter of the British jazz
scene in a practical way through his membership of several jazz
organisations including the Birmingham Festival Committee and the
jury for the BBC Radio 2 Big Band Competition. He retains a
long-standing passion and commitment to the development of jazz for
young people, is a former Board Member of the European Jazz Youth
Orchestra, and Jazz Services, and regularly conducts Big Band Master
classes.
In addition to his musical links, John was a
Magistrate in Birmingham for 24 years and sat as a Judge in the
Birmingham Crown Court until his retirement at the age of 72 in
October 2003.
He is an active supporter of environmental groups
including the National Trust, English Heritage, the International
Fund for Animal Welfare, the World Wildlife Fund and the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
Birmingham born, John has lived in the Midlands all
his life. He is a devoted fan of his local soccer team West Bromwich
Albion and also enjoys chess, films and - naturally - music.
e-mail jcp.uk@btinternet.com
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