Alex Maguire, piano. "b. 6 January 1959, Croydon, Surrey, England. Maguire remembers improvising at the piano before he received any lessons, which began at the age of eight. He studied music at the University of London and gained a BA degree; he also took lessons from Wanda Jeziorska, Andrew Ball, and Howard Riley. He names as his inspiration a number of respected figures in the free improvising scene, such as Tony Oxley and Evan Parker, as well as jazz players Cecil Taylor and Eric Dolphy. Maguire says he is interested in 'pre-literate music, anything original rather than imitative (irrespective of idiom)'. He has studied with classical composers John Cage and Michael Finnissy and his arsenal of techniques and figures, which stretch from avant garde classical piano to jazz, from kwela to R&B, has made him much in demand. His sympathy as an accompanist is only matched by his imagination, perverse and frequently humorous. He formed a partnership with drummer Steve Noble and played with him at Company Week 1989. He has also worked with Tony Oxley's Celebration Orchestra and Sean Bergin's MOB groups, and toured with his own nine-piece, the Cat O' Nine Tails, featuring drummer Louis Moholo and saxophonist Alan Wilkinson. Of particular note are his appearances on recordings by reed player Michael Moore, 1999's Mt. Olympus and 2001's White Widow. Maguire also plays with Elton Dean (saxophone), Fred T Baker (bass) and Liam Genockey (drums) in the free jazz quartet Psychic Warrior."