Steve Beresford

Steve Beresford has been a central figure in the British and international musical improvisation scenes for over forty years, improvising on the piano, with electronics, and other instruments alongside artists such as Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, John Zorn, and with the London Improvisers Orchestra and Alterations (with David Toop, Terry Day, and Peter Cusack).

He has written songs, compositions for large and small groups, and soundtracks for short films, feature films, television programs, and commercials. He has been on the editorial boards of Musics and Collusion magazines, writes about music in various contexts, and has taught music at the University of Westminster. Together with Blanca Regina, he is a member of Unpredictable Series, which produces events and sound and video recordings of experimental music and art.

Steve has collaborated with Christian Marclay on numerous multimedia works. He has also worked with The Slits, Najma Akhtar, Stewart Lee, Ivor Cutler, Prince Far-I, Alan Hacker, Tania Chen, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Faradena Afifi, Ray Davies, Mandhira De Saram, The Flying Lizards, Zeena Parkins, The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Ilan Volkov, Rachel Musson, Vic Reeves, Lore Lixenberg, Valentina Magaletti, and many others.

Beresford has an extensive discography as a performer, arranger, free improviser, composer, conductor, and producer, and in 2012 he received the Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers.

In 2021, Bloomsbury published a book by Andy Hamilton: Pianos, Toys, Music and Noise: Conversations with Steve Beresford.

In 2022, Siglio published the book Call and Response, which combines photographs by Christian Marclay with important improvisations by Beresford.

In 2012-2013, he taught a course in musical improvisation to students at the School of Music Therapy in Noto.