I started playing the piano when I was 7 but it wasn't until I was in my early teens that I heard Jacques Loussier play the music of J. S. Bach in a totally different way. Combined with the TV series "Oscar Peterson Invites" in the late 70's, my love of jazz began. I found myself more and more leaving written classical music and instead using my ear to play the piano more spontaneously. I also however had a flair for painting, imagining myself doing an Art foundation course when I left school, but everything changed when I auditioned for the Performing Arts course at Middlesex Polytechnic as it was then in 1978. The college setting in beautiful Trent Park in North London made up my mind - and it was there I met multi instrumentalist Stuart Hall who played me all sorts of different music and opened up my ideas about what improvised music could be.
I had been listening to Jaco Pastorius (and had ripped the frets out of an old bass guitar as many others did at the time) but it wasn't until the bassist Peter Ind came to our college and gave a concert that I knew I wanted to play the double bass. I bought an instrument and proceeded to largely teach myself by copying all my bass heroes that ranged from Mingus and Charlie Haden to Eberhard Weber. Leaving college I began getting more gigs on bass than piano but have always loved both instruments for their different roles, and still play gigs on both.
Although I dabbled in pop work in the mid 80s (Style Council, Samantha Fox, Tracie Young) I cut my teeth playing with bands such as The Tommy Chase Quartet and went on to become a founder member of The Jazz Renegades as a Hammond organist. We played in Japan and made the album "Tokyo Hi" on the Sony label when 'Acid Jazz' was at it's peak, and it was in this band I first played at Ronnie Scott's club opposite Art Blakey. Later I joined The Jonathan Gee Trio and was lucky enough to play extensively around the world, recording 3 albums along the way. Pete King (founder of Ronnie Scotts) liked our playing and we played at the club many times towards the end of his tenure there, sometimes as rhythm section for visiting artists (Joe Lovano, Benny Golson) and sometimes supporting other greats such as Michael Brecker. As a composer I toured with several touring theatre companies (Major Road, Strange Cargo, Birmingham Rep, The Fabulous Salami Brothers, Old Bull Arts Centre, Emergency Exit Arts) and worked extensively in Education for London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Richard Alston, Rambert and Northern Ballet amongst others. Over the years I've worked with many amazing jazz musicians including Gwlym Simcock, Tim Garland, Julian Joseph, Norma Winstone, Victoria Newton, Jacqui Dankworth, Michele Drees, Eddie Parker, Iain Ballamy, Robbyn Ford, Dave Samuels, - the list is too long to mention them all.
Tv credits include "Eurotrash", "Babylon", "The Write Stuff", "Unzipped" and "Freakout" for Rapido TV, Adverts and various short films in abundance. I have a studio here at home that I work in most days, writing & recording my own and other people's projects. I also run a Jazz Club (www.chipperfieldjazz.com) in my home village of Chipperfield in Hertfordshire where we've heard many artists including Tina May, Jacqui Hicks, Pete Churchill Lily Dior and Mim Grey.
I had been listening to Jaco Pastorius (and had ripped the frets out of an old bass guitar as many others did at the time) but it wasn't until the bassist Peter Ind came to our college and gave a concert that I knew I wanted to play the double bass. I bought an instrument and proceeded to largely teach myself by copying all my bass heroes that ranged from Mingus and Charlie Haden to Eberhard Weber. Leaving college I began getting more gigs on bass than piano but have always loved both instruments for their different roles, and still play gigs on both.
Although I dabbled in pop work in the mid 80s (Style Council, Samantha Fox, Tracie Young) I cut my teeth playing with bands such as The Tommy Chase Quartet and went on to become a founder member of The Jazz Renegades as a Hammond organist. We played in Japan and made the album "Tokyo Hi" on the Sony label when 'Acid Jazz' was at it's peak, and it was in this band I first played at Ronnie Scott's club opposite Art Blakey. Later I joined The Jonathan Gee Trio and was lucky enough to play extensively around the world, recording 3 albums along the way. Pete King (founder of Ronnie Scotts) liked our playing and we played at the club many times towards the end of his tenure there, sometimes as rhythm section for visiting artists (Joe Lovano, Benny Golson) and sometimes supporting other greats such as Michael Brecker. As a composer I toured with several touring theatre companies (Major Road, Strange Cargo, Birmingham Rep, The Fabulous Salami Brothers, Old Bull Arts Centre, Emergency Exit Arts) and worked extensively in Education for London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Richard Alston, Rambert and Northern Ballet amongst others. Over the years I've worked with many amazing jazz musicians including Gwlym Simcock, Tim Garland, Julian Joseph, Norma Winstone, Victoria Newton, Jacqui Dankworth, Michele Drees, Eddie Parker, Iain Ballamy, Robbyn Ford, Dave Samuels, - the list is too long to mention them all.
Tv credits include "Eurotrash", "Babylon", "The Write Stuff", "Unzipped" and "Freakout" for Rapido TV, Adverts and various short films in abundance. I have a studio here at home that I work in most days, writing & recording my own and other people's projects. I also run a Jazz Club (www.chipperfieldjazz.com) in my home village of Chipperfield in Hertfordshire where we've heard many artists including Tina May, Jacqui Hicks, Pete Churchill Lily Dior and Mim Grey.