Alex Hutton

Hutton is an established pianist on the London Jazz scene. Over the last 10 years he has worked with most of the leading figures, (Jim Mullen, Bobby Wellins, Art Themen, Pete King, Don Weller, Dave O Higgins, Dave Green. Pete Wareham.) […Hutton started playing piano at the early age of 5. A musical childhood of early concerts mainly on his second instrument, mandolin opened up a world of folk inspired melodies. Early adult years were spent honing his craft in the city of Sheffield, a strong musical hub of the north. This led to tours across USA and Canada with Atlantic recording artists ‘’Boy on a Dolphin’’ as well as stints with diverse music as Rock n Roll bands and Salsa groups…] After completing a BA Hons degree in American Studies (culminating in a semester in New York studying the sociology and development of Bebop), that Hutton decided to turn his focus fully to Jazz piano. A successful performance on a regional TV Jazz competition, won the appraisal of the late Ronnie Scott who described Hutton as a ‘great British talent and a wonderfully natural pianist’. Moving to London during the mid 90’s, Hutton won a full scholarship to the Guildhall school of music and drama for an intense year of Post grad jazz study. […After leaving the Guildhall, Hutton’s early piano trio included Scottish virtuoso drummer Stuart Ritchie. Touring with this lineup around Scotland the north of England, and Cypress, the trio at this stage focused more on contemporary hard swinging direction more associated with New York. After a brief stint playing keyboards with Ola Onabule’s soul group 2006, Hutton returned to the piano trio format…] Hutton’s first album of original compositions ‘Cross That Bridge’ (33jazz33) was released in 2006 (33 Records) and signaled a move away from conventional piano trio music . with a search for fresh approaches to the song form and an emphasis on capturing a broad spectrum of textures Hutton’s second album ‘Songs From The Seven Hills’ (33jazz177) released 2008, is an evocative powerful trio recording inspired by the landscape and people of Hutton’s native Sheffield. The ongoing theme of Hutton’s work is composition for piano trio. The third album “Legentis” (on F-IRE Label) is set for release in spring 2012. Since 2010 Hutton has co–presented and produced a weekly radio show on Hayes FM (91.8) focusing on the London jazz scene promoting new music as well as delving into England’s rich Jazz history. The Jazzshow with Alex Hutton and Kate Winter is recorded at Ealing Studios and broadcast on Hayes FM 91.8 (Sundays 20.00-21.00hrs) and Global City Radio (Mondays 19.00-20.00pm). www.thejazzshowonline.com

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