George has been playing and performing piano
since the age of 8, playing alongside many accredited jazz and
funk musicians. Besides the Pete Allen Jazz Band, he is in 7
other groups playing a wide variety of styles including be-bop,
mainstream, alternative, funk, rock, pop, latin, gospel and
blues. He has recorded several albums with various groups and
has also toured England and Germany with other bands.
George's first learned instrument is actually drums, starting
lessons at
aged 6 and performing in every school band, production and small
groups until he left secondary school in 2004. He left school
with an A* in Music (taken two years early), an A in Drama, and
B's and C's in the things that mattered like English, Maths and
Science! George then went on to Exeter College to study a BTEC
National Diploma in Music Practice and an A Level in Music
Technology, achieving distinction grades in both.
Through College and immediately afterwards, George has had a
very strong interest in incidental and theme music for film, an
area of the music industry that he is hoping to enter in the
future. He has already written pieces for two short films
including a Phoenix Media Bursary film, 'Perfect Match' (Best
Script - Bursary Screening Awards 2003), a promotional video for
Exeter College shown to secondary school students, and he has
performed on the soundtrack to 'The Nightless Night of Jerri
Hart' - another Phoenix
Bursary - winning 'Best Film' in 2003. He is currently writing
nine music cues for another short bursary film, 'Revenge of the
Jazz Hoodie', and is also Assistant Director and Sound Designer
for the film.
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George's main attributes have included
playing with such luminaries as the London Community Gospel
Choir, Dennis Rollins, Winston Rollins, Alan Barnes, Don Weller,
Mark Nightingale, Frank Brooker, Enrico Tomasso, Zoltan Sagi,
and Julian Marc Stringle.
George's main influences are Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson,
Chic Corea, Miles Davis, Dennis Rollins, Joshua Redman, Esbjorn
Svensson Trio, Larry Graham, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Dave
Brubeck and Laura Wright.
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