Sam has been playing jazz since the age of 10. In the beginning it was all about the clarinet and listening to Louis Armstrong, Sydney Bechet, and Jimmy Noone. Over the next few years he switched to saxophone and began listening to John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter and realised he was hooked!

Since completing a degree in Jazz from the Royal Academy of Music he’s played in venues all over the UK including Ronnie Scott's, The Albert Hall, the Jazz Cafe, and the Sage Centre and appeared six times at the Paradise Jazz Festival in Cyprus, performed at the Brecon Jazz Festival with Pete King and Julian Arguelles, and taught on the Global Music Foundation Summer School in Tuscany alongside US piano great Edward Simon.

His main band is the Sam Crockatt Quartet where he plays regularly with some amazing musicians: Kit Downes (piano), Oli Hayhurst (bass) and Ben Reynolds or James Maddren (drums). Their first album Howeird won album of the year in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2009. Sam also a member of London based Loop Collective.

Sam brings an energy and immediacy to his playing; in peppy live performance, he illuminates and elaborates his own original compositions. Sam has collaborated with many of today’s increasingly successful contemporary jazz and improvisational artists. Sam’s robust and characterful tenor voice – stems from an appreciation of the sound worlds of (amongst others) Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and Lee Konitz – it’s authoritative yet synergetic, his writing frequently inviting the freedom for musical diversions to flourish, as in this trio format.

On the title track of the latest album Mells Bells you can get a glimpse into the saxophonist’s creative process. The initially cacophonic and then swirling beauty of church bell peals, witnessed from a vantage point above his Somerset home village of Frome, provided the inspiration for an outing which highlights his ensemble’s creative vibrancy and free spirit; clanging and chiming with both celebratory and audacious ebullience, it loudly proclaims the heartiness of the current British jazz scene and the wealth of musicians around

Bassist Riaan Vosloo was known as one of the best younger generation players in London in his early playing days, but he has become recognised as a highly creative band leader and composer, nationwide. He came to live in Bristol for a while before moving to Oxford but Bristol has now drawn him back to live in our city once again. As well as occupying the Bass chair in the Nostalgia 77 Octet, Riaan Vosloo has worked with among others Keith Tippett, Matthew Bourne, Art Theman, Andy Shepherd, Spring Heel Jack, Liam Noble, Pee Wee Ellis and Iain Ballamy. Riaan was a founder member of The Electric Dr M (with Matthew Bourne) and plays in the Gary Boyle quartet with Mercury nominee Zoe Rahman.

Dave Smith is one of the most in-demand drummers on the British alternative /improv music scene. He currently holds the drum chair in Robert Plant's (Led Zeppelin lead singer’s) solo project, as well as the Cloudmakers Trio. Drawing on a wide range of influences, from West African percussion to jazz drumming, his explosive style and musical sensitivity give him the versatility to play in many musical environments. By the time he was sixteen Dave had performed at the Royal Albert Hall and had won a full scholarship to become a specialist musician at Wells Cathedral School. He then went on to study Jazz Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he graduated with a BMus in 2003.

Dave is also known for his work in co-leading Outhouse, a Loop Collective group that formed in 2005. Since releasing their debut record on the Babel label, Outhouse have toured the UK and performed in Canada, Germany, France and West Africa. Dave travelled to The Gambia to study Sabar drumming through ECCO (Education through Communication and Culture Organisation). Learning the complex rhythms of West Africa inspired Dave to lead a project in The Gambia with Outhouse and five Sabar percussionists, forming the new group Outhouse Ruhabi. They showcased their new music in May 2008 at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, recorded for BBC Radio 3 and recorded an album that was launched in October 2009 with a 15-date UK tour. Dave also performs and recorded with award winning world music outfit Juju (Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara) Berber/Parisian singer Iness Mezel, Loose Tubes' Mark Lockheart Quintet, Donny McCaslin (USA) Eddie Henderson (USA) and Ingrid Jenson (USA) amongst others.

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