Gareth's Biography

Gareth Lockrane started playing piano and flute at the age of 10 and after raiding his dad's record collection discovered jazz at 14. Early influences included Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Stan Getz -on flute, the initial main inspirations were saxophone "doublers" like Frank Wess, James Clay, Roland Kirk, Bobby Jaspar and James Moody. In 1994 he enrolled on the jazz course at the Royal Academy of Music in London where teachers included Stan Sulzmann, Hugh Fraser and Eddie Parker and where he struck up musical relationships with fellow students the Fishwick brothers, Osian Roberts, Orlando le Fleming and many others. In 1997, his band "The Jazz System" formed with Osian Roberts was a finalist in the Vienna Jazz Festival Grande Concours de Jazz. In 1998, he studied on the Lake Placid Jazz Course in New York with Joe Lovano, Dick Oatts and Jim McNeely and in 2000 was a finalist in the Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition.

In 2002, he formed the band Grooveyard with saxophonist Alex Garnett which released a critically acclaimed CD "Put The Cat Out" which went on to win the Best European Jazz Group award in the 2003 Granada Jazz Festival. Grooveyard completed a successful Jazz Services tour of the UK in 2005.

Gareth has also performed and recorded with The James Taylor Quartet, Hans Koller New Memories Big Band (with Evan Parker) , chart-topping Brazilian jazz-funk group Sirius B, Anita Wardell, Natalie Williams, David Migden, Paul Booth, Phil Donkin Qt (with Julian Siegel), The Urban Jazz Quintet (with Peter King), Gwilym Simcock Nonet / BigBand, Tom Richards Jazz Orchestra, David Beebee's Gaya and The National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

In addition to this, he has recently recorded an album with his new band, a septet also featuring some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK - Robbie Robson, Steve Kaldestad, Trevor Mires, Robin Aspland, Matt Miles and Matt Home.He also leads a 4 flutes&rhythm band entitled FLUTE TROOP (audio clips to be added at a later date)and has co-run the popular weekly jazz&pool nights in Clerkenwell, London since 2002. Visit www.jazzandpool.co.uk for more info.

He has appeared as a soloist on,amongst others, the TV soundtracks for Baby Father(Rob Lane) and The Debt (Martin Phipps). He is also currently studying on the film composition MA course at the National Film&Television School.

Check out the sounds page for selected track excerpts and solos.