I play tenor and alto
sax and compose, arrange, record and produce my own stuff. I have a leaning towards
fusion music with a bit of bite (i.e. a groove!) and like to mix harder dance,
latin house, funk, rock and African/Arabic beats with jazzier harmonies and
melodic lines (actually anything I happen to be into at the time!). Currently I'm focusing on my new fusion band project Baby Lion which aims to mix the cerebral with the sensual! I also
regularly session for other artists as a sax soloist and horn arranger and have
played with a few well-known artists in the past.
I took up sax aged 15 after dabbling with the recorder (doesn't every kid play
the recorder at some point?!), violin, flute and piano. I thought it was a
pretty glamorous instrument to play but then started learning Sonny Rollins and
Stan Getz solos from records and realised there was a lot more to it that
standing around on stage looking cool! After playing in various small jazz
combos, big bands and "alternative" goth/punk bands at school (!), I joined a
band made up of some great local players who turned me onto Weather Report,
Herbie Hancock and jazz fusion in general. I also discovered Steely Dan and was really into that crossover style.
These days I'm into
anything that moves me and is GOOD! Fusion, jazz, funk, latin, old skool soul, blues, Beethoven,
whatever! Current flavour of the month
musically though has got to be Arthur Verocai (wonderful Brazilian fusion
artist) - now that really IS my thang - strings, horns, groove, rich harmony....aaaahh!
Music isn't the be-all and end-all (although it's partly what gets me out of bed
in the morning!). I also love all things natural and healthy (like growing my
own veg, haha!) and believe you get back what you give in this life....so
RESPECT!