Tony Oxley was born and raised in Sheffield, England. He was a self-taught pianist at the age of eight and began playing drums at 17 years old. He studied music theory while he was in the Black Watch military band, 1957-1960. This helped him improve his drumming technique. He led his own quartet that performed in England from 1960 to 1964. In 1963, he joined Gavin Bryars as well as Derek Bailey in the trio Joseph Holbrooke. In 1966, Oxley made his way to London and became the house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s. He accompanied such musicians as Joe Henderson and Charlie Mariano, Stan Getz and Sonny Rollins until the 1970s. He also participated in various musical groups, including those of Mike Pyne, Alan Skidmore, and Gordon Beck. 1969 saw Oxley appear on John McLaughlin’s album Extrapolation. He also formed his own quintet with Kenny Wheeler and Jeff Clyne. They released the album Baptized Traveller. The group recorded the 1971 album 4 Compositions for a Sextet. Paul Rutherford joined them on trombone. Along with Derek Bailey, Oxley and other musicians helped to found Incus Records that year. Also the Musicians Cooperative. He also received a three-month “artist-in-residence” at the Sydney Conservatorium in Australia in 1970. He joined the London Jazz Composers Orchestra around this time and began to collaborate with Howard Riley. He became an instructor of jazz at the Barry Summer School in Wales in 1973. In 1974, he founded Angular Apron. He worked with many musicians throughout the 1980s, including Didier Levallet and Tony Coe. In the latter half, he also formed his own Celebration Orchestra. Oxley was also a frequent touring companion to Anthony Braxton in 1989 and established a lasting working relationship with Cecil Taylor. He joined an international quartet in 1993 that included Bobo Stenson and Tomasz Stanko. From Wikipedia
