THE ME------------------------------------
Hi, my name is Sam, and I'm a freelance saxophone player, composer, song writer, musical director and producer based in London. I've written and performed music all of my life, and thought I'd share a few tracks here to showcase what I'm all about. I'm currently looking to collaborate with more singers, producers, publishers and labels so please get in touch if you fancy a chat. Read on to find out more about the tracks above and my current projects - particularly Pack Of Six, which is the main outlet for my song writing, as has its own myspace to be found below.
THE TRACKS-----------------------------
#1 – This Is It
A song performed by Natalie Williams, which features on Pack Of Six’s debut taster album, Cut The Cord. The song is inspired by James Taylor and Steely Dan, and reflects my annoyance at certain friendships over the years. (See below for more on this band).
#2 – Suite For Big Band Part I
This was an arrangement I did of a “Peaceful Placeâ€, a tune written by a friend and top pianist Tim Lapthorn, and is part of a bigger suite which is currently work in progress. It was the final submission of my compositional studies on the Masters course in jazz at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It is a relatively rough mix, and we only had around 25 minutes to get it down, but it gives a good idea of what is going on in the part of my brain that writes in 17 piece band mode. Listen to the end to ensure your James Bond Villain theme fantasy is fulfilled.
#3 – May Look Grey
A song I first sketched out at the age of 18, May Look Grey is about bereavement and is sung by Victoria Newton, a wonderfully versatile singer most famous for the chart hit “You Sure Make Me Feel Like Lovin You†in the 90s. The song is influenced by James Taylor and Stevie Wonder, and also features Jools Jackson on harmonica, best known for his performances on the award winning Full Monty sound track.
#4 – Room For Two
This is a piece I composed recently which also comes in song form for Pack Of Six (come and see us live to hear it!) Again it is a (very!) rough mix, read through live and recorded in the Guildhall Studios as part of a demo for the Yazz Ahmed Quintet (see below). The tune is inspired by Kenny Wheeler and Jamiroquai, and the song itself is about hitting the road with the love of my life.
THE PROJECTS-------------------------
Pack Of Six
Run by my clone, Mr Spank Bulbison, Pack of Six is my main outlet for song writing and comes with a fruity bouquet of souly folky funk. Within its short lifetime I have been lucky enough to work with jubbly singers such as Natalie Williams and Victoria Newton, and a whole host of other types across the London jazz and session scenes.
Clicky here now:
www.myspace.com/packofsix
www.packofsix.com
Yazz Ahmed Quintet
Yazz is one of London’s most exciting new talents on the trumpet and flugel horn. Her writing style comes out as quirky, earthy cool bop, and the group consists of fellow friends from the Guildhall School.
Myspace: www.myspace.com/yazzahmed
City Jazz
This is the company I founded to get jazz gigs at office parties, weddings, birthdays, circumcisions and so forth. We mainly go out as duos, trios and quartets featuring saxophone and a choice of guitar or piano. Check out how it all works, and listen to jazz samples here:
www.cityjazz.co.uk
Big Bands
This was the route I first entered into the jazz world, and have been playing sax in jazz orchestras since the age of 12. Specialising in lead alto and soprano, I’ve toured all over Europe, played at many of London’s top venues (Royal Albert Hall, South Bank, Buckingham Palace) and made appearances and television and radio. I am a keen writer and arranger, and am an experienced leader and conductor within this area too.
Education
Teaching is a very important part of what I do, and I’ve been lucky enough to have some great teachers over the years including: Russell Van Den Berg, Tim Garland, Jean Toussaint, Mark Lockheart, Julian Siegel, Colin Cowles, Peter Ripper, Don Wright, Pete Churchill, Scott Stroman, amongst may others from days at the Guildhall and on summer schools. I focus on structured approaches to sax technique, improvisation, composition and harmony. I also have a tried and tested formula for song writing that can reduce faffing and noodling around when trying to produce quality tracks to a deadline.
