Muvolution

I started playing jazz in school and in the Aberdeen Music Centre with a youth big band. When I was about 14 years old, my saxophone teacher invited me to sit in on his weekly quintet gigs, where I had some of my first experiences playing in a small band. From there I went on to play in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and later, Tommy Smith's Youth Jazz Orchestra. It was in these bands that I met many like-minded musicians of my own age and found my love for smaller ensemble playing and writing.

At 17, I moved to London to study jazz at the Royal Academy of Music and at the end of this first year won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Scottish Jazz Musician Award 2008. As part of the prize I was given a space in the Glasgow Jazz Festival 2009 where I performed a suite I’d written for an octet to feature acclaimed British saxophonist (and one of my favorite players), Julian Arguelles, and myself. In 2010 I began writing and rehearsing with renowned young London based drummer, James Maddren, for a new duo project. Since then we have been performing across the UK and around London. The Duo also won a Development award from the Musician’s Benevolent Funds, Peter Whittingham Competition.

More recently I’ve been working on music for my Octet, who have also been playing across clubs in London as well as developing responsive electronic pieces for my duo project.