Tommy Andrews
‘Upon trying the Silverstein ligature, I immediately felt a new freedom in my playing. My sound opened up, I had access to a greater tonal palette and I found greater joy in my instruments! The adjustability is such a bonus when dealing with differing genres and reed variability. A fantastic product!’
Tommy Andrews is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator. Graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a First Class degree in Jazz saxophone, he is now sculpting a varied and busy career.
Still in his twenties, Tommy’s musical life is beginning to flourish in many areas of the music business. As a bandleader and composer, his first major mark on the U.K. contemporary jazz scene came about with his ‘smart, sophisticated’ (John Fordham, The Guardian) ‘mature’ (All About Jazz) ‘cinematic’ (AP Reviews) and ‘cool and collected’ (Ivan Hewitt, The Telegraph) album release ‘The Crux’ (2014, Jellymould Jazz). This debut release gained glowing press in the U.K. and U.S. along with national radio play, notably on Julian Joseph’s ‘Jazz Line Up’ for BBC Radio 3. The quintet promoted the release with two successful U.K. tours during 2014 culminating in the quintet’s debut London Jazz Festival performance.
Tommy has also performed as a sideman with many of the U.K.’s finest groups and eminent musicians. To date, he has worked with The BBC Big Band, The London Jazz Orchestra, The London City Big Band, Sir John Dankworth, Cleo Laine DBE, John Barrowman MBE, Howard Goodall CBE, Sheridan Smith, Jacob Collier, Steve Sidwell, Colin Metters, Julian Joseph, Mike Batt, Stan Sulzmann, Evelyn Glennie DBE, Derek Watkins, John Rutter CBE, Mark Lockheart, Ivo Neame, the Tom Green Septet and Claire Martin.
Tommy also thrives on commercial and popular music ventures. To date, he has performed with McFly, toured with John Barrowman, performed live for various artists on BBC2, ITV (GMTV and Text Santa) and Channel 4 (Dragon’s Den), twice appeared live on The X Factor Big Band Night plus arranging horn charts and performing with Ghostpoet.
Session and film work includes Izzy Bizu (Sony), The X Factor (Steve Sidwell), Britian’s Got Talent (Matthew Brind). Petite Meller (Island), Khaki Films (‘Brighter Business’ won the EVCOM screen awards Bronze award for Best Music), the musical film ‘Dreaming of Peggy Lee’, De Wolfe.
Theatre credits include over 30 productions both in the West End and across the U.K. These include ‘Guys and Dolls’ (West End), ‘Elf: The Musical’ (West End), ‘Sinatra: A Man and his Music’ (West End), ‘Funny Girl’ (UK Tour), ‘Big: The Musical’ (UK/Ireland Tour), ‘Five Guys Named Moe’ (West End), ‘The Last Tango’ (UK Tour) and ‘The Thing About Men’ (London – King’s Head Theatre.)
Tommy has performed at some of the U.K.’s most prestigious venues, including Ronnie Scott’s, Buckingham Palace, the Purcell Room, the London Palladium, the Royal Festival Hall, the Vortex, the Cadogan Hall, the 606, Pizza Express Dean Street, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. John Smith’s Square, the Wigmore Hall, the Roundhouse, the SSE Hydro Arena, LSO St. Luke’s, and Symphony Hall
You can find Tommy’s Album ‘The Crux’ at http://www.jellymouldjazz.net/releases/tommy-andrews-the-crux/
