Multi Award Winning Female Saxophonist, Birmingham, UK, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae, Blues, Soul and Originals. 'Music for the soul'
Whether you play jazz, reggae, gospel, soul, or classical; whether you live in the UK or in another country, if you are a woman interested in realising your music dreams, Time For My Music might be what you’ve been looking for!
Once you acquire a solid foundation and experience with the core elements of technical quality, your next step as a musician is to colour that technical proficiency with expression. The one who helped me reach this goal was Mark Bunney, about whom I want to talk today.
Andy Hamilton (MBE) opened the door to the world of jazz for me. As one of the biggest names of the genre in Birmingham, if not the biggest, his residence was always brimming with it. He was a fantastic player and amazing teacher with whom I advanced leaps and bounds in terms of tone, chords and improvisation.
A teacher can make you or break you. I’m very glad I crossed paths with Jonathan Johnson, who only ever sought to lift me up and help me forward. If you’re facing some rejection at any step of your journey, learn from my experience with him. Find someone who believes in you—only one person is enough—and keep pushing. I promise that it’s worth it!
I want to start here a series to pay tribute to seven people whose influence helped shape the musician that I am today. Through their teachings and example, they allowed me to explore my ways of expression and hone my skills. Their support kept me on track despite the challenges and setbacks I found along the way, and really, every time I play, I celebrate them with my music.
The Active Well Being Society’s Black History Month event consisted in several virtual talks, and I had the opportunity to be in charge of one of them. I shared my journey with getting comfortable with success as a multi-award winning saxophonist and also mentioned ten things I have learnt about success. Listen to my talk on YouTube!
