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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Jez Lowe| image = Jez Lowe 2011.jpg| caption = Lowe on stage in 2011| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| Born = Easington Colliery, 1955| death_date =| origin =| instrument =| genre =| occupation = folk music|folk singer and songwriter| years_active = ca. 1979-| label =| associated_acts = The Bad Pennies; Jake Walton| website = http://www.jezlowe.com/| notable_instruments =| Awards = Jez Lowe (born 1955) is an England|English folk music|folk singer-songwriter . Lowe was born and raised in County Durham , in a coal mining family with Irish people|Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England , particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery . He attended St Francis RC Grammar School in nearby Hartlepool and later studied languages at Sunderland Polytechnic . He performs both as a solo artist and with his backing band, The Bad Pennies. In addition to singing his songs, Lowe accompanies himself and The Bad Pennies on guitar , harmonica , cittern , and piano .
Songwriting
He grew up witnessing the decline of the coal-mining industry that had defined the region's economic profile for generations. A great many of Lowe's compositions address the economic distress that the North Country has suffered as a result of this industrial decline, and the social repercussions thereof. " Pit pony|Galloway s," " Four Loom Weaver|Nearer to Nettles ," and "These Coal Town Days" are among the songs that directly address economic conditions. In the much larger category of social impact songs, well known Lowe compositions are " Durham Miners' Gala|Big Meeting Day ," "Greek Lightning," and "Last of the Widows." (His song, "Last of the Widows", was written in 1991 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Easington Colliery#The Easington Pit Disaster of 29 May 1951|pit disaster at Easington Colliery.) Numerous other songs by Lowe deal with the general issues of poverty and limited social opportunity in the region.
Recent projects
In 2006 Lowe contributed to the BBC Radio 2 'Radio Ballads' documentary series broadcast on Radio 2 as a homage to the original series of the same title pioneered by Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker (producer)|Charles Parker in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Jez Lowe was commissioned to write 22 new songs for the documentary-folk series, which were not all performed by Lowe but featured guest vocals from the likes of Barry Coope, Bob Fox and many more. The series went on to win two Sony Radio Academy Awards.
In 2008 Lowe was nominated as 'Folksinger of the Year'in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, but ultimately lost the category to young Scottish singer and instrumentalist Julie Fowlis .
Most recently in March 2009 Lowe was invited to collaborate with seven other songwriters on the prestigious ' Darwin Song Project ' co-ordinated by Shrewsbury Folk Festival in celebration of local connections to Charles Darwin|Darwin 's birthplace in the bi-centennial year of his birth. The songwriting project has been the subject of a featured documentary programme on BBC Radio 4 and Mike Harding hosted folk programme on BBC Radio 2.
Albums
( N.B. This list is not yet comprehensive. Dates given are for original releases.)
Persondata | NAME =Lowe, Jez | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 1955 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Jez Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English folk singers Category:English folk guitarists
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