Alex Lloyd
Instrumentalist teacher arranger & composer
Alex Lloyd is a saxophonist based in the UK.
Heavily experienced with a variety of genres including Jazz, R&B, Blues, Rock and Roll, and Soul, he is equally at home in a function band as he is in a Big Band.He plays the entire range of saxophones. However, his primary focus is the baritone saxophone, an instrument that allows him to anchor massive big band horn sections or deliver rich, driving solos with a barrel-chested sound which has been compared with the great Duke Ellington saxophonist, Harry Carney.
"...an impressive and full – throated specialist on the instrument who is totally steeped in the great legacies of Harry Carney, Bruce Johnstone, Joe Temperley, and Ronnie Cuber.” - Jay Craig (Buddy Rich/ Frank Sinatra/ BBC Big band)
About alex
As a teenager, Alex began his professional career working with local Blues and R&B bands in the Southwest of England.
At the age of 18, he started playing in the Big Band of legendary British Jazz composer Mike Westbrook, whom he worked with on and off for 4 years.
He has since gone on to work with top UK jazz orchestras including The Echoes of Ellington Orchestra, The Dave Hankin Big Band, Capital City Jazz Orchestra, Exeter Jazz Orchestra and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Jazz Orchestra.
He is also the baritone player for the pioneering Welsh Big Band, Siglo Section. In 2023, he recorded the first of 2 albums (‘Mosaics’) with his own Big Band (Al Lloyd & His Orchestra) for Warner X5/SoulMusic Records, followed by a second in 2024 (‘Midnight Midflight’) which featured liner notes by acclaimed saxophonist and journalist, Simon Spillett.
Further work
Alongside his Big Band work, Alex has recorded, performed and/or arranged for a range of artists including The Drifters, Chairmen of the Board, Georgie Fame, Julian Argelles, Dennis Rollins, Lou Gare (AMM fame), Steve V. King, Dayton Grey, Hayley Ria-Christian, Michael Williams and more. One of the highlights of Alex’s career was recording with members of the legendary Motown house band, the Funk Brothers, on a record to commemorate their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame produced by Detroit producer, Drew Schultz.As a composer and arranger, Alex has written songs for several independent UK Soul artists, featuring 4 charting entries on the Amazon download charts and UK Soul charts respectively. These include songs for Dayton Grey and his own Soul Connection Orchestra.
Showreel
Featuring excerpts from performances with various big bands.
“A musician who not only plays jazz on the baritone saxophone with a tone of fruit-cakey richness, but who has played in settings as varied as the sprawling Mike Westbrook Orchestra and Motown’s legendary house band, the Funk Brothers” – Simon Spillett, 2024.
