David John Cliff, known professionally as Dave Cliff, born June 25, 1944 in Hexham, Northumberland, England, is a British jazz guitarist. After moving to Leeds, the guitarist earned a diploma in jazz studies from Leeds College of Music in 1967, where Peter Ind served as a mentor, and was influenced by Lennie Tristano. After relocating to London, Cliff established a presence on the local jazz scene in 1971. Notable career events included touring the United Kingdom with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh between 1976 and 1977, and touring with Soprano Summit in 1978. The guitarist released a debut solo album, The Right Time, in 1987 with Geoff Simkins, followed by West Coast Blues (1991), Sipping at Bells (1995), The Dave Cliff Geoff Simkins 5 Play the Music of Tadd Dameron (1997), and When Lights Are Low (1998). Later releases included Tribute to Paul Desmond (1998) with Mark Ramsden, Tranzatlantic Interplay (2004) with Phil DeGreg, and Everything I Love (2005) with Howard Alden. Cliff performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, collaborated with musicians such as Harry Allen and Nina Simone, and won the BT Jazz Awards in 1998 in the guitar category. The guitarist retired from professional playing around 2015 due to Parkinson's disease.
