BASS

I have been playing the double bass and bass guitar from the age of 7 and have been playing as a session musician for recordings and live gigs from my days as a youth musician. I'm a grade 8 double bassist (ABRSM) with extensive experience performing classical repertoire and musical theatre, alongside deep roots in Jazz, Funk, Soul, R&B and various world music traditions.

I am a versatile, “work-horse” type bassist with a natural feel for groove, and a deep passion for music of black origin, a love carefully nurtured early on by my parents and older sister. I draw huge inspiration from bassists such as Victor Wooten, Esperanza Spalding, Gary Crosby, James Jamerson, Endea Owens, Marcus Miller and Thundercat, while continually learning and evolving my sound within London's incredible hotbed of musical talent. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with a wide range of musicians and performing at venues and festivals including The Jazz Café, Southbank Centre, Koko, Soho Jazz Festival and We Out Here festival.

Perhaps the most formative was my time playing with the Grand Union and Grand Union Youth Orchestras; ensembles founded by the late, inspiring, Tony Haynes, that celebrated the diverse musical traditions of East London's immigrant communities. Here we would bring together regional instruments, sounds and musical expertise to create both intimate local performances and ambitious orchestral programmes, telling stories that spanned from tales the Silk Road to the middle passage. As a pre-teen in Romford, travelling independently across East London to rehearsals and concerts was always an adventure. One that taught me, through music, a powerful lesson in how cultures connect us as people.

At 11, I began a two-year spell at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where my passion for practice transformed into a real hunger for improvement. Under Elizabeth Hosford, I developed my classical double bass technique, tackling orchestral works from Berlioz to Bach. I was also helped significantly by the teaching of Jonathan Taylor, whose mentorship in jazz led me, at 13, and our jazz quartet blue shift to win the Yamaha National Jazz competition (u15) in 2011, with the final held at that year’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival. For our prize, we performed a set at the 606 club in Chelsea and received brand-new Yamaha instruments and equipment for our department.

My musical journey began at Havering music school under the inspiring guidance of the Michael Speed, whose passion for bass instilled in me an early love of the double bass and an appreciation of how techniques could cross over onto the bass guitar. At the same time, I was encouraged me to take part in a wide range of music workshops and programmes, broadening my ear and expanding my musical world.

I then received a music scholarship to Tonbridge School where I continued to grow my classical music skills and knowledge, whilst independently experimenting with music production and writing poetry. I was also able to learn and build proficiency in the piano, trombone and drums in these years as well as performing with with National Youth Music Theatre as a pit musician. This experience taught me the invaluable art of coordinating music with live stage movement, a lesson that has since proved essential in supporting and working with vocalists.

During my four years studying architecture in Edinburgh, I took a hiatus from performance due to the demands of the course, though I kept my skills sharp through practice. On returning to London after the 2021 lockdown, I threw myself back into the scene, playing at jams, and then more and more gigs and recordings over time.

Bass playing has been central to my life and identity. I love anchoring the rhythm section and creating a solid platform for others to shine, while also stepping forward more expressively when the moment calls. I'm always learning, always evolving and excited for the musical adventures ahead. for recording or gig enquiries, head to the contact page and explore images from past engagements below.

(I'm currently taking on fewer music gigs while focusing more on my art, but please don’t hesitate to reach out for bookings. You can also catch me jamming regularly with The Five Points Project)