Prior to focussing on classical piano at his local music academy, Rupert Cox (piano) studied both the piano and the violin from the age of 6. His first exposure to improvised music and jazz came seven years later, when he began playing in his school’s big band, run by Paul Lacey.

Aged 16, Rupert was awarded a place on the Royal Academy of Music’s junior jazz course, where he studied with pianist Simon Colam and flautist/composer Gareth Lockrane. During his two years of study there, he fell deeply in love with the broad idiom of jazz, and decided that would be his career choice. The following year, he was awarded a scholarship to Trinity Laban Conservatoire to study jazz, where he studied with Simon Purcell and participated in masterclasses with musicians including Patrick Cornelius and Tina May. After a year, he decided to pursue his musical studies elsewhere and was accepted onto the prestigious Jazz Course at the Royal Academy of Music, where he currently is studying with Tom Cawley and Nikki Iles.

Rupert was the previous piano chair of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and now plays in bands led by saxophonist Tom Barford, drummer Dave De Rose as well as young up-and-coming guitarist Billy Marrows. Rupert also sings and plays keyboard with singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Quinn Oulton in his band, Quinn's Cars. 

Will Sach (bass) grew up in New York City playing jazz and folk music. In high school, he attended the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College program, where he studied with Linda Oh. Will is currently in his second year at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studies with Tom Herbert, Jeremy Brown, Jasper Høiby, Michael Janisch, and Dave Holland. In 2015, Will was National YoungArts Foundation Merit winner for Jazz Bass. Will has performed at Ronnie Scott's, The Vortex, The 606 Club, Kansas Smitty's, and various other venues in London and New York. He currently holds the world record for playing the highest altitude bass line at 40,000ft!

Percussionist and composer Ben Brown (drums) recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music. A highly versatile player, Ben’s expertise focuses primarily on Jazz, Afro Cuban, Brazilian, and pop music styles, as he looks to build on his profile nationally and internationally. He has had the opportunity to play with many of London’s finest musicians, including Jason Rebello, Rebecca Ferguson, Jean Toussaint, Zhenya Strigalev, and Femi Temowo in numerous prestigious venues and festivals such as Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, The Barbican, Beituddine Art Festival in Beirut and London Jazz Festival. Ben’s playing experiences have ranged from Samba Baterias, Salsa Orchestras and Afrobeat ensembles to jazz trios, big bands and playing with chart-topping pop singers.

As a composer, his primary creative outlet is through his band Waaju, which combines contemporary jazz with Malian music, and will be releasing its debut record later this year with Olindo Records.

A big thank you to Claire and Michael for use of their beautiful garden.