True Brass are a New Orleans Style Funky Brass Band comprising some of the finest brass and sax players in the South West, plus a superb drummer to really get the groove going.
They take some of the greatest soul, motown, funk and pop tunes of the last 50 years and transforming them into this amazing format unique to the South West.
Expect tracks from Chic, Sister Sledge, Beyonce, James Brown and Stevie Wonder to name a few.
This high energy band promises and exciting hour of superb quality music.
Get ready!
The Players:
Trumpet - Mike Brewer
Mike has played in many bands and performed in venues across the country
including The Vortex and Ronnie Scott's jazz clubs in London . Having
played at the London Jazz Festival with the Mike Westbrook Village Band
including a live Radio 3 broadcast, Mike was the original trumpet player
with Joey the Lips and other bands such as Alkasalsa, The Simmertones,
Shades of Miller Orchestra, Soul Station and various collaborations
with Lewis Riley.
As well as being in True Brass Mike is currently with Ellingtonia , the Mike Westbrook Big Band and the Dave Hankin Big Band
Trumpet - Callam Dowd
Callam is a freelance trumpet player working in a diverse range of
musical styles and ensembles throughout the South West. Specialising in
Big Band and Musical Theatre, Callam can be found performing lead
trumpet with bands such as The Dave Hankin Big Band and Micheal Campari
and the Solar System
Featuring at the Glastonbury Musical Festival 2013, 2014 and soloist
on BBC Songs of Praise, Callam also enjoys performing with with local
theatre companies not to mention brass groups, orchestras, brass bands
and wind bands.
Sax - Neil Maya
Neil, who also arranges for the band, has been involved with music all
his life, playing sax since age fifteen (having played the clarinet for a
number of years before that.) Having moved to Devon in 2001, Neil now
works in music full time gigging throughout the South West and beyond
with various bands including his own quartet.
Early musical highlights including playing at the Royal Albert Hall,
Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Edinburgh, festival, Prague,
Moscow, St Petersburg and Cyprus.
Sax - Jade Gall
Jade Alicia Gall is a freelance classical and jazz saxophonist, graduating in 2013 from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama as a
Master of Arts in Music Performance. In 2013 Jade was given the
fantastic opportunity to perform a solo concert as part of the Welsh
Proms at St. David's Hall on the Lefel 1 stage where she got to premier a
new work for Tenor Saxophone that she had commissioned.
In 2013 and
2014, she also performed alongside Devon based band 'Michael Campari and
the Solar System' at Glastonbury Festival. Jade has performed at
Calstock Arts both as a classical soloist and also with her jazz
quartet, which features a team of highly talented musicians consisting
of Neil Burns on guitar, Kevin Sanders on bass and Ric Byer on drums.
In
2014 she was lucky enough to be asked to perform a recital at St.
Saviours Church, Dartmouth as part of the Dartmouth Music Festival. From
the success of last year's concert she will be performing again at
Dartmouth Music Festival 2015 for a completely solo concert.
Although
she is primarily a classical and jazz saxophonist, you can regularly see
Jade playing Ska with ska band 'The Simmertones' who have recently had
many plays on Radio 2 with their latest single 'Perhaps' which features
Doris Day.
Trombone - Andy
Andy started playing trombone at the
age of nine and despite frequent requests hasn't stopped yet. In his
younger ska band days, he played support slots for 'The Selectors', 'Bad
Manners' and Prince Buster.
Andy is busy throughout the Southwest playing with both Mike Westbrook's
and Dave Hankin's big bands, numerous pit orchestras and a range of
function, Latin, swing and small ensembles.
Tuba - Ben King
Playing this beast of an instrument since the age of eight, Ben grew up
on a feast of ten-piece brass ensembles and brass quintets. Playing
Gabrielli in St. Mark's Basilica, Venice was a particular highlight of
his early musical career.
Since moving to Devon in the 1990s, Ben has played with various brass
bands and orchestras. He currently plays for Torbay Symphony
Orchestra.
Drums- Nick Carter
Nick has been a professional drummer for almost 20 years, during which
time he has played numerous shows in venues throughout the world with a
wide range of artists.
A graduate of Leeds College of Music, Nick's
impressive C.V. includes playing with artists including TM Stevens (who
has previously played with Miles Davis, James Brown, The Pretenders,
Tina Turner and Joe Cocker), Marco Mendoza (Black Star Riders, Thin
Lizzy, Whitesnake) Doug Wimbish (Living Colour), Derek Nash (Jools
Holland), Bruce Adams (UK jazz trumpeter), Alan Barnes (UK jazz
saxophonist) and most recently Jeff Berlin (bass guitar legend).
Thanks to his dedication and knowledge of all
things drum-related, Nick is also an experienced music journalist,
having previously held the title of editor of Drummer Magazine, where he
conducted interviews with the biggest names in drumming as well as
reviewed the freshest new gear available on the market and devised
features aimed squarely at inspiring and educating the next generation
of players.
Alongside
his playing career, Nick is also a keen educator, delivering lessons,
seminars and workshops in a host of schools, colleges and universities
as well as performing at various clinics and masterclasses throughout
the UK and Europe.
Don't miss True Brass at this year's Festival - full performance details in the DMF Programme on sale now. Here's the link:
15th, 16th & 17th May 2015
