About me

I’m a pianist and music educator, specialising in jazz, with over 15 years’ teaching experience. My journey began at 14 when a gig by Wynton Marsalis lit a spark that’s never gone out. From boogie-woogie in Wiltshire pubs to earning First Class Honours in Jazz & Popular Music at the University of Hull, I’ve followed every opportunity to play, learn, and teach.

Since 2013 I’ve been part of the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, where I’m now Programme Manager, working alongside inspiring mentors to help young musicians connect with jazz’s American roots and the blues at its heart. I also teach at the World Heart Beat Music Academy, co-founding the 51st State Big Band and leading jazz workshops for all ages and abilities.

In addition to my jazz education work, I teach piano 1:1 to students of all ages and levels, from complete beginners to professional gigging musicians. My approach is student-led, creative, and always focused on building confidence, connection, and a lifelong love of music. I’m also developing opportunities to run workshops and courses for schools, community groups, and home-educating families in the future.

When I’m not teaching or thinking about music, I’m cooking and laughing with my family, playing chess with my son, and drawing with my daughter.

At the late but impressionable age of 14 my father took me to see Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra swing through Ellington and Basie charts. That, and a handful of other inspiring gigs, gave me the jazz bug. I spent the next few years playing boogie-woogie and the blues in pubs up and down rural West Wiltshire.
I went on to study Jazz and Popular Music at the University of Hull, whose vibrant performance culture gave me the chance to lead small bands, big bands, and everything in between. I grabbed those opportunities and graduated in 2011 with First-Class Honours and the department’s Special Prize in Music.
Drawn to London to work in jazz education, I built experience across a range of roles and took a six-month internship with the innovative charity HMDT Music. In 2013 I joined the newly established Julian Joseph Jazz Academy (JJJA), initially leading fifteen minutes of singing each week – the beginning of a long apprenticeship with the brilliant educator and master musician Julian Joseph.
Alongside Julian and the founding faculty of JJJA (Byron Wallen, Tony Kofi, Trevor Watkis and James Joseph), I learned how to approach teaching jazz and how to play jazz piano authentically. Since then I’ve become Programme Manager, and every Saturday I help aspiring young musicians approach this music through its American roots, with the blues at its foundation.
In 2018 I began running intensive four-day JJJA Holiday Courses, from jazz-beginner weeks to advanced courses centred on Duke Ellington’s big-band repertoire. Each course brings younger and less experienced players together with more seasoned musicians who act as mentors. Participants have included students from JJJA, World Heart Beat Music Academy, and students of jazz at Trinity Laban and other conservatoires.
JJJA remains central to my week, and I’m also proud to be part of World Heart Beat Music Academy in south-west London since 2016. There I co-founded the 51st State Big Band in 2024 – a band dedicated to the orchestral heritage of jazz and modelled on the great Duke Ellington Orchestra. I also run the weekly Jazz Roots workshop and serve as Assistant MD for the 51st State Band, led by WHB’s inspirational founder, Sahana Gero.
The rest of my time is spent with my 1:1 students – from complete beginners to professional gigging musicians – and teaching in schools as a peripatetic piano tutor.
I became a father in 2018 and again in 2021. My marvellous children and incredible wife continue to inspire me and fill me with joy. When I’m not teaching or thinking about music, I’m cooking and laughing with my family, playing chess with my son, and drawing with my daughter.