About
Born in 1976 in Cheshire, Adam studied classical piano & trombone throughout his younger years whilst performing with various bands in the Greater Manchester area. In 1994 he was one of twelve composers selected nationwide by Steve Martland for a scholarship on his Strikeout Summer School, the resulting piece from which won Adam the regional Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Musician Award for Composition in 1995 and a workshop at the Royal Northern College of Music with Goff Richards.
Later that year Adam began studying at Leeds College of Music with pianist-educators Nikki Iles and Pete Churchill, performing in numerous jazz ensembles including a sextet under the direction of renowned drummer Tony Faulkner and working within a variety of settings from duo to gospel choirs and jazz orchestras. Following graduation with the BA Honours Degree in Jazz Studies, Adam continued his studies part time at Salford University with John Ellis & Robin Dewhurst on the Postgraduate Diploma in Performance in 1998-2000 whilst starting out in his career with a combination of gigs, studio work & teaching.
Over 20 years as a professional musician Adam has enjoyed festival performances including Buxton 4/4 Time, Newark Jazz Festival and Nantwich Jazz and Blues Festival; venues have including Ronnie Scott’s, The Cavern Club, Band On The Wall, Matt & Phred’s jazz club, Smollensky’s, London Palladium, Manchester Palace, Sheffield Lyceum & Lichfield Royal Theatres, Manchester United Football Club, the Bridgewater Hall & Chatsworth House . Adam also performed with his swing quartet “Quintessential” for the Duke of Westminster at the Eaton Hall Estate near Chester in December 2007.
Adam currently holds visiting piano tutor posts at Fallibroome & Tytherington Academies in Macclesfield, Hope Valley College in Derbyshire and Stockport School in Cheshire. Project work has included Stockport School’s big band “Stagesound” at the Royal Northern College of Music, Cheadle Hulme School’s jazz quintet at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and composition workshops at the Royal Schools for the Deaf, Cheadle. Adam also has the jazz band agency www.swingbands.co.uk and regularly supplies professional musicians to perform at prestigious venues.
Adam uses the Nord Stage piano, Hammond SKX Pro organ & Excelsior 320 piano-accordion on live gigs with amplification by Roland & Leslie plus microphones by Neumann & Shure. In the studio he has a Yamaha U3 upright, Schiedmayer baby grand & sample libraries from Spitfire Audio including the Hans Zimmer Steinway from Air Studios.
Current influences in no particular order: Georgie Fame, Jason Rebello, Jimmy Smith, Oscar Peterson, Steve Winwood, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Eva Cassidy, Claire Martin, David Newton, Ian Shaw, Bob Marley, Mose Allison, James Booker, Shirley Horn, John Cleary, Harry Connick Jnr…
Please feel free to get in touch with any new project enquiries whether live performance, recording or educationally based.