The British jazz musician, composer and recording artist Tony Coe has died. He was 88.

Born in Canterbury, Kent, Coe was a precocious talent who, by the time he was 17, was playing jazz clarinet professionally.

During his compulsory National Service, Coe joined the army and played clarinet in the military band and saxophone with the unit Dance Band. Demobilised in 1955, Coe played in France (with the Micky Bryan Band) and in the UK with the Joe Daniels band. In what would be his big break, he was recruited to play with Humphrey Lyttelton in 1957. His four-year stint with Lyttelton brought Coe to the attention of critics and jazz fans nationally and internationally.

Coe went on to play with the John Dankworth Orchestra, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, guitarist Derek Bailey’s free improvisation group Company and American jazz stars such as Stan Tracey, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bob Brookmeyer.

Tony Coe. Photo Supplied.

Coe performed under Pierre Boulez and led a series of groups of his own, including Coe Oxley & Co (with drummer Tony Oxley), and the Matrix, a small ensemble formed by fellow clarinettist Alan Hacker.

In 1976, a grant from...