I am a Jazz Musician, Composer & Music Producer. Music and my amazing soul-mate, Dollie are the centre of my life. Luckily Dollie is afflicted with the same creative obsession as me, so we work, play and party all things creative! The trip about MySpace is that, you have to write about yourself, a somewhat freakish journey! So here it goes!!!!
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Certainly all that I do is all that I am! I don’t separate my creative self from my personal self, otherwise that would lead to schizophrenia, something I am assured is best avoided!
Music has been the driving force behind my personal journey and the one constant in my life, until I met Dollie! (I'm Still Loved Up after 8 years!) I have always been interested in how we, the human race, can shape our own lives and how most of the time we are in a state of constant improvisation!
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It began for me in Brixton were I was raised and made the young and insane decision to take up the Trumpet never realising that it takes years to master the bloody thing! Despite being taught all things classical, I somehow managed to get hooked on jazz and spent the next ten years trying to become the best jazz musician I could be, which lead to an obsession that even today takes my breath away! I think it’s the freedom of the jazz artist that inspired me, the ability to make this great music immediately, learning and accepting.....how who you are, is what you play!
I started my compositional and creative journey by forming a jazz quartet with the most origin title of the PAUL JENKINS QUARTET, composing, recording and performing over a number of years at renowned London venues: Ronnie Scotts, The Jazz Cafe, The Vortex, The Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican Centre. This also included tours throughout the UK and Europe. I have fond memories!On the World Music Scene I held a very active role as a horn section leader with bands that include: Abana, Zouk International and Alfia. This led to the formation of my next band JEMWA [Mango Records], The band, a collective of multi-national instrumentalists and composers, successfully fused Western Contemporary with African Style Music. I continued to collaborate with musician Farnoosh Behzad, developing an approach that fused Jazz with Iranian Folk music, culminating in major performances at The Royal Festival Hall and other prestigious music venues throughout the UK. As a session musician I worked worked with many artists including: Mike McEvoy [Curiosity Killed the Cat], Chris Ballin [Soul to Soul], J Kay [Sony Records], Diana Fulmore [Capital Records], Island Records, BBC Radio 3 & 4, Jazz FM and the rest!
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Throughout the 1990’s I expanded my musical experience to the commercial side of the music industry and founded my own Production Company Third Eye Music Productions Ltd in business partnership with STEPPING STONE STUDIOS, in North London. As the director and producer, with my team, I achieved a wide and varied portfolio, which has included: Dance Music Productions, Commercial POP Productions, Musical Theatre Productions and Film & Dance collaborations and worked with a great variety of commercial recording artists including: Natalie Imbruglio,, The Honeyz, Future Sound of London, Jonaye (2003 Mobo Best Newcomer) and Jazz Artistes: Jason Rebello, Joy Rose, Claire Martin, Juliet Roberts, Julie Dexter, Jo Caleb, Gareth Williams et al! What it did give me was a joy of working with younger artists in the commercial music industry, which was coupled with the young jazz musicians I was schooling through jazz workshops. So I suppose I never lost my connection to jazz.
At that time I had another flip around when actor and singer Paul J Medford asked me to compose and re-arrange the score for the musical theatre project ‘INNER CITY JAM’ that in hindsight changed my world, as this is where I met Dollie, (she was the choreographer/director). It introduced me to the musical theatre world and the crazy people who work in it! But gave me a chance to write and compose for theatre and bring a complete new style to it. That led to another musical theatre collaboration with Dollie and writer/actor Ray Shell on the original RnB Musical ‘WHITE FOLKS’ (you can buy the cast album at ‘Dress Circle Theatre Shop in Covent Garden). Were now onto our next musical theatre project ‘THE NECKLACE' based on Shakespeares 'Othello' and his relationship with Desdimona.
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Over the last 8 years the most consistent creative journey for me has been with Dollie and our Music, Dance & Theatre Company BOP PRODUCTIONS LTD, that continues to grow and diversify the older it gets. To check out more visit our BOP Website: www.bop.org.uk
Dollie has amazing ideas for jazz theatre and using jazz compositions for making jazz theatre productions. So over the last 8 years we have produced theatrical jazz shows that use the works of artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis thru to Duke Ellington & Dizzy Gillespie and now my compositions can be added to the list. I have also moved back into commercial music production when Sue-Else (formally of Mis-Teeq!) asked me to co-write an album with her, so we have half in the bag and looking forward to completing that one! Also I’m about to hook up with a cool young Aussie singer/songwriter dude David Denis who certainly writes and performs some funky tunes! SO WATCH THIS SPACE!….In my creative madness I embarked on writing and producing a new jazz album – working title: “In the Spirit of Jazz†(check out 2 of the tracks above) thinking that it would take a few months and have now been consumed with it for the last 9 months, albeit interspersed with other musical projects! So baring an earthquake or a call from Quincy Jones, that should be set for release via the BOP website by the end of the year. FINALLY, I am writing an original contemporary jazz score for a new DVD program that Dollie is writing and producing on Jazz Dance Exercise….Certainly an interesting compositional journey writing for jazz exercise! Today I manage some how to combine all these things and loving it. BUT…that’s what its all about…making things happen, SO HERE’S TO IT!
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