Brass and Wind

Saxophonist Jamie O’Donnell has been working as a performer and educator since attending the Guildhall School of music and Drama in 1992. He took lessons with with Jean Toussaint, Bob Martin and Rick Margitza. For the last 20 years he has traveled to New York and Rome as a student of Jazz pianist Barry Harris, delving deeply into the music of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

Known as a player firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, Jamie has performed with many fine musicians including Gareth Lockrane, Gwilym Simcock, Matt Fishwick, Bob Martin, Anita Wardell, Robert Anchipolovsky and many others. Most recently, Jamie was performing at Ronnie Scotts alongside fellow alto players Greg Abate (US) and Alan Barnes in a tribute to the late, great saxophonist (and Jamie’s hero) Phil Woods. He is a founder member of the Paradise Festival in Cyprus and his own quartet play regularly at festivals around Europe.

As an educator, Jamie currently teaches jazz at the Hall School in Hampstead. As part of the Association of Music in International schools. he led student combos in Kuala Lumpur, Rome, The Hague and other cities around the world . In 2008, Jamie received a commission fo compose a piece for an International Honor Jazz Band at the International School of Luxembourg.

Jamie has a huge passion for playing and for teaching and he is proud to count a number of professionals amongst his past students.

Joel Knee is a highly versatile trombonist, educator, and producer. Renowned for his expertise in both jazz and Latin music, Joel has established himself as a leading figure in the music scene through his extensive performance and teaching career. Born in and raised in Petersfield, Hampshire, Joel is now based in London having graduated from Royal Academy of Music with first class honours. He lived for one year in Miami FL, where he studied Jazz and Cuban Music at the prestigious Frost School of Music.

Joel has collaborated with a variety of acclaimed artists and ensembles. Performance highlights include playing with Hermeto Pascoal at the Barbican, the Manchester Camerata at Printworks London, Sam Palladio and Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) at the Hammersmith Apollo and the James Taylor Quartet at Alexandra Palace. He has also performed at prestigious festivals and venues such as Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Fair, Ronnie Scott's, and the EFG London Jazz Festival.

Currently, Joel is a trombone soloist for the acclaimed album recording and tour with Sam Eastmond and John Zorn's Bagatelles Vol. 16, and plays for London’s “Cuban Sinatra” Beny Luis. This year, he looks forward to touring with new latin supergroup Timba Britanica, Cut Capers, Alma Twist, and the Hackney Colliery Band. Joel also performs regularly with the Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra, and Suedejazz Collective.

Joel’s work in music education includes leading workshops with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and teaching regularly for the National Youth Jazz Collective. Beyond performance and education, he is a skilled arranger and recording/mix engineer.

Reuben Fowler is a 27 year old jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and teacher based in London. He is currently the trumpet player for Paloma Faith and Culture Club, and has also performed with an array of artists including Noel Gallagher and Texas. As a result he has performed at some of the most coveted venues and festivals worldwide including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles), the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Glastonbury and the North Sea Jazz Festival. Reuben has also worked extensively as a session musician and his performing credits include the BBC Big Band. Worldwide, he has played on broadcasts including: Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, The Jonathan Ross Show, Alan Carr Chatty Man, Taratata, and Live at the Palladium.

Reuben Fowler graduated in 2012 from the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Kenny Wheeler Award for composition and performance and the Musicians Benevolent Peter Whittingham Award. He also won the John Baker Memorial Award for brass.

Following the online success of the Facebook page Trumpet Tuesday; which is co- managed by Reuben alongside two other Royal Academy of Music alumni, he was asked to lead a group masterclass for the jazz and classical brass students at his alma- mater in 2016. Prior to this, he had also taught the Jazz Ensemble at the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. 

In 2013 Reuben Fowler wrote and arranged, rehearsed and recorded his own big band as part of a trans-atlantic recording project called Between Shadows, featuring jazz legends Tom Harrell, Stan Sulzmann and Jim Hart. The project later resulted in Fowler being cited: "...maybe the most exciting and accomplished trumpeter to emerge on the British Jazz scene.."

Martina is a versatile flute player and enthusiastic teacher from the Czech Republic. She trained in Classical Flute and Jazz Flute Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has freelanced with orchestras, touring the UK with Czech National Symphony Orchestra, or Scandinavia with City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and playing flute and piccolo in theatre pits in ballet and opera productions. Exploring her interest in groove and improvising, she is currently specialising in Brazilian music, performing with Rhythms of the City samba band as a percussionist and with Offbeat Collective as a flautist.

She has taught students of different levels and ages, helping them achieve their musical goals and discover their creative potential. She has lead creative music workshops for The Music FunDation in Prague and taught a seminar on Creativity in Music at the Teplice Conservatoire.

Sara Minelli ‘clearly a formidable exponent of the contemporary flute repertoire’ (Music Web International) and ‘avirtuoso player with real mastery of avant- garde technique’ (British Music Society), is a flautist and a flute teacher.

Her albums New Resonances and Where Song Was Born were released with critical acclaim appearing in the Flute Journal, Guardian, British Flute Society, British Music Society magazines.

Sara has played extensively as a soloist in the UK and abroad, including at London Contemporary Music Festival, Fairfield Halls, Kings Place, the National Gallery, Vox Feminae (Israel), Klangspuren (Austria), Les Moments Musicaux de la Touraine (France), Pontino Festival (Italy)

She has collaborated with the Composition Faculty at Royal College of Music (London) and is a member of GAMO Ensemble for Contemporary Music (Florence)

Sara’ s recognition as a soloist includes the International Valentino Bucchi Prize. She was selected to perform in the Klangspuren International Ensemble Modern Academy and received the Artists International Development Fund Award from Arts Council of England.

Sara is the dedicatee of many works for flute by important composers. She has given workshops at Royal College of Music (London), Conservatoire “G. Verdi” (Milan), Tel Aviv University.

http://www.saraminelliflute.co...