In Short/'To The Point' About Me...

I'm a Jazz/Soul/Hip Hop singer-songwriter and professional drummer, born in Bristol, raised in Felton and Blagdon, Chew Valley.

When I perform solo, I sing and play piano and use a live looper to layer beat-boxing and harmonies to create a big one-man sound.

Some of my songs are based on Love, Lust, Loss and Relationships. Often, they are based merely on a feeling or are born out of a sudden impulse of music in my head.

My biggest musical influences include Amy Winehouse, Jose James, J Dilla, D'Angelo, A Tribe Called Quest, Bob Marley, Sarah Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.

When I write and perform, I like to think you can here most, if not all of these guys up in there somewhere....


As A Drummer...

I've been playing drums for Eleven years professionally and I still play with the likes of Jazz/Funk Saxophonist and Bristol's Music Ambassador, James Morton, Guitarist and Solo Artist Guy Calhoun (The Good The Bad & The Funk) and my live Hip hop project, DeCyphers on monthly Monday evenings at The Canteen.

I also run a monthly Jazz Jam night at The Steam Crane on North St, drumming with The Steam Trio.


A Bit More In Depth About Me...

I’m a drummer and singer songwriter born in Bristol and raised in Chew Valley. I’m now in Central Bristol, singing as a solo artist and sideman, drumming for a myriad of different projects, including my own!

I’ve been playing drums for over 11 years and singing for almost as long. I’d describe my own music as Jazz/Soul/Hip Hop.

Some of my biggest influences have to be Amy Winehouse, D’Angelo & J-Dilla to name just a few.

At the moment, I play drums for DeCyphers Hip Hop band on the first Monday of every month at The Canteen.

I play drums for The Steam Trio, a straight ahead jazz (bop) band that me and a friend run and use to host a monthly jazz jam at The Steam Crane on every third Wednesday.

I sometimes play drums for James Morton, Funk/Jazz sax player and Bristol’s music Ambassador.

I also sometimes drum for The Good, The Bad & The Funk ,which is a Funky/Jazz/Boogaloo trio including Mr Dan ‘Pinstripe’ Moore on Organ and Mr Guy Calhoun on Electric Guitar and Vocals.

In 2013 I had the honor and privilege of drumming for the great Mr Carl Orr at Kuala Lumpur International Jazz Festival, on my birthday weekend. Best Birthday ever! Sorry mum… Actually, we crashed a Pee Wee Ellis concert down the road from my house for my 18th and he joined us for cake afterwards… 2nd best birthday ever…

In the past two years I have played drums for two signed artists of a similar ilk. I held the drum throne for Javeon on his UK tour supporting Clean Bandit last summer including dates at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Bristol’s Love Saves The Day Festival.

This year, I took to the tubs once more for Geovarn, a recent Sony Signing and took part in his campaign embarking as a newly signed artist playing a number of shows in London including ILUVLIVE at Under The Bridge, Chelsea.

Going back a bit, I played drums in The Suitables. An eight-piece Ska/Reggae/Hip hop band. Together we gained management and mentor guidance from Gorillaz/Blur/Thin Lizzie’s management. Through this team we recorded at Damon Albarn’s studio in London and played Glastonbury BBC Introducing and The Rabbit Hole Stage. The band hasn’t played together for some 5-6 years, but a reunion gig has been talked about on a number of occasions and it's sure to happen one day soon!

I’ve been writing my own material slowly but surely for the past few years and I’m now gigging regularly as a solo artist playing Keys, Singing, Beat-boxing and layering harmonies using a loop station all in real time.

I hit the Bristol Jazz jams wherever possible and I love to get up and drum and/or sing a few jazz standards in between pints of Cider or a glass of red.

I’ve recently recruited some of my very favorite Bristol based musicians to form my very own backing band to take my solo project to the next level. Without wishing to ‘blow my own trumpet’ I’d say these guys are arguably some of the best musicians this country has to offer.

I play regularly all around Bristol including places like The Steam Crane on North Street, The Canteen on Stokes Croft and No.1 Harbourside in the City Centre, by the boats!

I busk a lot around Bristol too in between gigs, mainly in the City Centre, Broad-Mead and Clifton.

I’m really starting to push my own stuff out there and this July 2015 marks my debut performance as a front man in my very own band on 16th July at The Steam Crane for my new live music night, ‘James’s’. My band and I will be playing my original material mixed with some covers and arrangements. All Jazz/Soul/Hip Hop type-vibe.

Here’s to tomorrow, whatever it may bring…