Nigel Mazlyn Jones -

Nigel Mazlyn Jones (born June 26, 1950) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist from Dudley, West Midlands, who issued five albums on self-press Isle of Light between 1976 and 1991. As a producer, he oversaw the recording of the 1984 album Silent Dance by symphonic-folksters Solstice.

Background

Nigel Mazlyn Jones was born on June 26, 1950 in the Black Country and started on guitar in 1962 after first making a homemade instrument from firewood. He worked at Dudley Zoo in the 1960s and drew early stimulus from the castle grounds and surrounding landscape. At 15 he started to play the Crypt Folk Club in Dudley, where he met Dan Fone in 1966 and absorbed the fingerstyle approach that later became central to his own playing.

By 17 he was working with local guitarist Rob Lloyd, and the pair played across the Midlands and beyond, including a residency in late-night acoustic shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. During that period Jones also worked briefly with guitarist Dave Titley and bassist Alan Appleby in the acoustic groups Mosaic and Prince Heathen.

In 1969 Jones moved to the Channel Islands, where he worked with the great apes for Gerald Durrell. That period sharpened his environmental outlook and deepened the landscape-driven perspective that later fed his writing. He eventually settled near the north coast of Cornwall and built his recording activity around the Isle of Light name, which he used for both label and studio work.

Mosaic

Parlophone issued Mosaic’s “Bluebird” as a 7-inch single in October 1971.

The release caught Jones in one of his last group settings before the solo albums. Mosaic paired a Vanda-Young song on the A-side with a Dave Titley original on the reverse.

A. “Bluebird” (2:37) — Vanda, Young
B. “Bird of Time” (2:21) — Titley

Tony Cox arranged the single, which Phil Pickett produced before recording a pre-Sailor album with Georg Kajanus.

Ship to Shore

Nigel Mazlyn Jones released his first album, Ship to Shore, in 1976 on Isle of Light.

Jones sets Ship to Shore on intricate acoustic guitar figures, open vocal phrasing, and arrangements that widen and tighten around his voice yet retain the solitary pull at the center. His twelve-string and acoustic parts carry most of the structure, while selected bass, violin, mandolin, drums, cymbals, and lead guitar deepen the surface in careful increments. Jones wrote and arranged all eight tracks.

Ship to Shore turns on close-recorded acoustic guitar, with Jones often mixing strummed motion and picked detail while his vocal sits high and exposed against the arrangements. “The Man and the Deer” strips the sound to guitar and mandolin, which gives the piece a hushed, intimate pull. “How High the Moon” keeps a spare, mesmeric pace, with the guitar line circling in steady figures as the song holds its tension without raising its voice. “Follow Every Sunset” opens the album’s lighter side with a clearer, more open lift, while the title track stretches into a long-form piece built from layered acoustic texture, vivid spatial detail, and sharper surges that break the album’s otherwise contained surface.

A1. “A Singularly Fine Day” (5:20)
A2. “Take Me Home” (6:22)
A3. “The Man and the Deer” (5:36)
A4. “Follow Every Sunset” (3:45)

B1. “How High the Moon” (3:30)
B2. “Reality” (3:43)
B3. “Port Quin Song (The Lady on the Beach)” (3:41)
B4. “Ship to Shore” (12:10)

Nigel Mazlyn Jones recorded Ship to Shore at Nest Studios on March 14, 15, and 16, 1976, then mixed the album there on March 17 with engineers Jake Commander and Kim Holmes.

Julian Russell handled the design and photography.

Sentinel & The Fools of the Finest Degree

Nigel Mazlyn Jones released his second album, Sentinel & The Fools of the Finest Degree, in 1979 on Isle of Light and Avada.

Jones broadens the second album with fuller band arrangements, more electric lead work, and sharper shifts between direct song form and longer atmospheric passages. His twelve-string, lead guitar, vocoder, and vocals remain central, while drums, bass, saxophone, violin, piano, and synthesizer thicken the album’s edges and push several tracks into a denser, more projected attack. Jones wrote and arranged all eight tracks.

“All in the Name of Love,” “Flying,” and “Roll Away” carry the album’s more outward drive through firmer rhythm and brighter instrumental detail. “Sentinel” and “All in All” open more space around the voice and keyboard bed, while “Water Road,” “Fools,” and “The Wheel” extend the album’s longer-form side with broader pacing and more pronounced tonal shifts.

A1. “All in the Name of Love”
A2. “Sentinel”
A3. “Flying”
A4. “Roll Away”

B1. “Water Road”
B2. “All in All”
B3. “Fools”
B4. “The Wheel”

Nigel Mazlyn Jones recorded Sentinel & The Fools of the Finest Degree at Millstream Studios and Isle of Light Studios, then mixed the album at Millstream Studios with engineers John Acock and Mick Dolan.

Robert Williams supplied the front cover, Brian Stott handled the back cover, Kai-Thomas Roth and Julian Russell prepared the inner sleeve artwork, Rob Scattergood handled typography, and Jones directed the package.

Breaking Cover

Nigel Mazlyn Jones released his third album, Breaking Cover, in 1982 on Isle of Light.

Jones pushes Breaking Cover into a wider sonic field built from acoustic and electric six- and twelve-string guitars, piano, hammered dulcimer, synth, viola, saxophone, recorder, bass, drums, and sound collage. The arrangements move with more contrast than the earlier records, from tightly structured songs to slower, more spacious pieces where electronics and instrumental color sit closer to the foreground. Jones wrote, arranged, and produced all nine tracks.

“20th Century,” “Warsore,” and “Water and Stone” set the album in motion through a firmer band attack and a more charged vocal presence. “Lighthouse” and “Kelda” thin the texture and let the instrumental detail breathe, while “Someone at the Door” and “River of Love” bring keyboards, strings, and rhythm parts into a denser weave. “No Human Interference…Angels Over Water” and “Breaking Cover (The Hare’s Leap)” close the album on its widest scale, with the writing leaning harder into sustained atmosphere and long-form development.

A1. “20th Century”
A2. “Warsore”
A3. “Water and Stone”
A4. “Lighthouse”
A5. “Kelda”
B1. “Someone at the Door”
B2. “River of Love”
B3. “No Human Interference…Angels Over Water”
B4. “Breaking Cover (The Hare’s Leap)”

Nigel Mazlyn Jones recorded Breaking Cover with Guy Evans and mixed the album with John Acock.

The original album came with a lyric sheet, and some copies also included a tri-fold information sheet.

Water From the Well

Nigel Mazlyn Jones released Water From the Well as a cassette album in 1987 on Isle of Light.

Jones divides Water From the Well into a song side and an instrumental side, which gives the cassette a more deliberate split than the earlier LPs. The first half keeps the voice at the center through compact song forms, while the second half turns toward atmosphere, travel-piece pacing, and instrumental sketching.

“P(apa) E(cho) A(lpha) C(harley) E(cho),” “Wave on Wave,” “All Wired Up,” “The Dance of Love,” and the title track form the vocal side. “Eden,” “Himalaya!,” and “First Light” occupy the instrumental half.

A1. “P(apa) E(cho) A(lpha) C(harley) E(cho)”
A2. “Wave on Wave”
A3. “All Wired Up”
A4. “The Dance of Love”
A5. “Water From the Well”
B1. “Eden”
B2. “Himalaya!”
B3. “First Light”

Mazlyn Jones

Nigel Mazlyn Jones released Mazlyn Jones on Isle of Light in 1991.

Jones uses the self-titled album as a retrospective restatement as much as a new release, revisiting key earlier pieces alongside newer material in a pared but assured setting. His voice, guitar work, and production hold the center throughout, and the arrangements balance long acoustic-led forms with more forceful passages that open around flute and layered string textures. Jones wrote, arranged, performed, and produced all nine tracks.

“Breaking Cover (The Hare’s Leap),” “Sentinel,” and “Ship to Shore” return in new versions that tie the album back to his earlier catalog, while “Beside the Waters,” “Be Aware,” “Fire Beacon Point,” “Beyond This Point,” “Fools of Love… & Fallen Angel,” and “The Touch” extend the sequence with the same landscape-centered, long-line writing. Nick Turner adds flute on “Fire Beacon Point.”

A1. “Breaking Cover (The Hare’s Leap)” (7:03)
A2. “Beside the Waters” (3:40)
A3. “Sentinel” (4:10)
A4. “Be Aware” (4:34)
A5. “Fire Beacon Point” (4:38)

B1. “Ship to Shore” (10:15)
B2. “Beyond This Point” (4:45)
B3. “Fools of Love… & Fallen Angel” (6:03)
B4. “The Touch” (5:10)

Nigel Mazlyn Jones recorded Mazlyn Jones with Isle of Light Mobile.

Discography: