JOE HILL

Joe first began playing piano aged 6, where he studied Classical grades. He then pursued an interest in Jazz, and so continued studying both Classical and Jazz until achieving his grade 8 with distinction by the time he was 15, before attending Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester.

 

    Here, he developed his piano playing, meeting lots of other like-minded musicians who he could interact with, studying with Les Chisnall, Steve Berry and Iain Dixon. During this time he gained valuable musical experience such as performing at Bridgewater Hall and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as many concerts at Chetham's. He also formed his own jazz quartet, who gigged at Wakefield Jazz Club, as well as playing with The Greater Manchester Big Band at Middleton Arena and Robin Park for Wigan Jazz Festival with names such as Richard Iles and Steve Waterman. He reached the semi-final of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition in 2014 and 2016, which took place in Cardiff in front of judges including Iain Ballamy. 

 

    In 2018, Joe graduated from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a First Class Honours Degree in Jazz Piano, where he studied with with Gareth Lockrane, Nikki Iles, Jim Hartand, and Gareth Williams. Since moving to London in 2014 he has played at prestigious international venues such as Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Barbican Concert Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall, The Milan Unicredit Pavilion and The Bimhaus in Amsterdam.

 

    He has also played at various U.K. jazz clubs with smaller bands, including The Spice Of Life, The 606 Club, Wakefield Jazz Club and The Vortex, notably with his own septet, North Ark. Joe writes and arranges all the music for this band, and in 2018 the band released their debut C.D.,before embarking on a U.K. Tour in 2018/19, playing in some of the best jazz clubs across the country. This tour culminated in an appearance at the U.K.’s biggest jazz festival, Love Supreme, in the summer of 2019, where they debuted some of Joe’s latest compositions.

   

    He has recently toured Germany and Holland with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, partnering with internationally recognised big bands Bujazzo and NJJO, as well as playing a tour of English venues with the same collaboration. Also with NYJO, Joe was a featured soloist in a performance with Fabrizio Bosso in Milan, as well as playing with Elliot Mason, Vincent Gardener, Marcus Printup, Sherman Irby, and other members of the Lincoln Centre Band at the Barbican Concert Hall.

 

    In 2018, Joe was a featured soloist for the BBC Proms at The Royal Albert Hall, playing Stan Kenton’s ‘West Side Story’ suite. Joe has also been featured on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Friday Night Is Music Night’, in a performance alongside the BBC singers. In 2019, Joe was a featured soloist on ‘Cuban Fire’, an album which won the New York Times’ Best Latin Jazz Album 2019 award.

 

    In 2020, Joe decided to start his own Patreon page -- an exclusive space dedicated to high quality jazz transcriptions, analyses and music discussion. There is consistently one transcription a month being uploaded onto this page, alongside various videos and articles breaking down and analysing these solos. This is a fantastic way to stay connected virtually, with various different tiers to sign up to, from General Support, all the way up to receiving private 1-to-1 lessons. You can find out more about this Patreon page here.