Born in Wigan (Manchester, UK) in 1983 I am a pie-eater through and through but I've never worked down the mines so I guess I'm a "new-age" Wiganer or sommet like that!
I grew up around an amazing network of music ranging from Big Bands & Orchestras to Brass Bands & Theatre, but my major education was through the Wigan Jazz Orchestra where I got to play with such amazing musicians as Bobby Shew, James Morrison, Conte Candoli, Don Lusher, and Georgie Fame. Aside from the outstanding musicanship taught through WJO was the importance of proffesionalism and punctuality which are qualities I will value for the rest of my career. My most recent education was at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts where I got the chance to combine my Jazz and Classical noodlings with a more Pop/RnB approach, exploring keyboard programming, recording studios and producing. I was honoured to recieve the Greenberg Jazz Prize after my studies but I still continue to learn from every musician I meet and every gig I do, but for now that concludes my 'schooling days!'
Artists
Over the years I have worked with many artists...some famous, some still on their way to gaining the recognition they deserve, but all are very talented and great fun to work with. More recent artists include Natasha Bedingfield, Lily Allen, Vanessa Mae, Simon Webbe, Lighthouse Family, Sean Kingston, and Unklejam as well as upcoming artists Samantha Sanderson, Toni James and Santa Carla.
The broad range of work I do has enabled me to cover many different skills, from programming to improvisation, sight reading through to arranging, but my biggest love is Musical Direction. MD'ing credits include Natasha Bedingfield (with Sean Kingston), productions of West Side Story, Evita, Grease, Joseph, The Full Monty and Into the Woods.
Inspiration
As with all muso's there are 100's of great CD's piled in the studio, but the most inspritational ones (and the funkiest!) include: Stevie Wonder, Jason Rebello, Black Eyed Peas, Brad Mehldau, Prince, Michelle Petrucciani, Tower of Power, John Scofield, Donny Hathaway, and the eternally great Oscar Peterson. Most of my favourite artists are loved by musicians worldwide because they succeed in pushing the boundaries of popular music without alienating the average listener, and they generally draw inspiration from all styles of music and these are qualities I try to add to my own playing.
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