alexward.org: "Alex Ward was born in 1974, and began learning piano and clarinet at the ages of 5 and 9 respectively. While growing up in Grantham, he developed an interest in a wide range of music, largely inspired by trawling through his parents’ record collection. The presence of a copy of Ornette Coleman’s “This Is Our Music” led him to investigate subsequent developments from jazz, including free improvisation. As a result of this interest, he went on a summer course on improvisation run by Community Music in 1986, where he met Derek Bailey, who invited him to play at various events including Company Weeks in 1988, 1990 and 1994. Bailey also organised the recording and release in 1991 of his first CD, a duet with percussionist Steve Noble, “Ya Boo, Reel and Rumble”. During this period, Ward developed his approach to improvisation, shaped by twin interests in jazz and contemporary classical music, and also through regular practical experience of improvising on clarinet and alto sax with the Stamford-based collective AWARE, led by Brian Parsons."
