Art Themen, Saxophone, with Terry Hutchins Qrt

A fantastically exciting, playful and inventive saxophonist, Art Themen has been a beloved character of the British jazz scene for 60 years, famously combining his role as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon with saxophone duties in the bands of Alexis Korner and Stan Tracey among many others.

Nominated in the 2023 Parliamentary Jazz Awards for instrumentalist of the year, Art is the owner of Ronnie Scott’s tenor saxophone. The instrument, reputedly owned by Hank Mobley before Ronnie Scott, was sold at auction after Ronnie’s death in 1996 and was kept privately in Oxford at Allegro Music before being offered for sale to Art upon the retirement of Allegro’s owner, Roger Baycock. 

— Dave Gelly, The GuardianThemen is one of the very few totally original, utterly engaging jazz musicians around.