TAMAR OSBORN
Collocutor’s composer and driving force Tamar graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2000.
A strong classical background complemented by jazz studies has enabled her to perform in many genres and many different contexts as a saxophonist and multi-wind player. These include touring with dancer/choreographer Akram Khan’s ‘Xenos’, the acclaimed production of Fela! at the National Theatre & Sadler’s Wells, Kelis UK & Europe tour (2014), Taal Tantra with tabla maestro Tanmoy Bose in India, and Africa Express (an on-going series of collaborative concerts between African and western musicians including artists such as Baaba Maal, Rokia Traore, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Bassekou Kouyate, Fatoumata Diawara, Damon Albarn and Tony Allen among many others).
Aside from Collocutor, she currently performs and records most regularly with the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, Sarathy Korwar, Emanative, Jessica Lauren, The Fontanelles, and the Hackney Colliery Band.
MIKE LESIRGE
Mike graduated with a Masters in Music Performance from the Guildhall School of Music, where he performed with Hermeto Pascoal, Django Bates, and Billy Cobham.
As well as performing and recording with his own quintet, he has since toured the world as musical director, arranger and musician for Bonobo and Top-10 artist Andreya Triana; performed with Erykah Badu, Jamie Cullum, Vanessa-Mae, Kim Wilde and Tim Minchin; recorded on singles by Cee Lo, Sam Smith, Roni Size and Craig David; performed to tens of millions of viewers at the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony (with Madness and One Direction); supported Beyonce and Rihanna on tour; arranged for and conducted the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles; and appeared on-stage in London’s West End theatres.
JOSEPHINE DAVIES
Tenor saxophonist Josephine Davies studied at the Guildhall School of Music with Stan Sulzman and Martin Hathaway, whilst there winning the 1999 Perrier Young Jazz Ensemble Award.
She has since performed in many venues across the UK and Europe with Artists such as Jamie Cullum, the BBC Band, Sax Appeal and the Ronnie Scott’s Vanguard Band. She runs her own quintet and is a member of the London Jazz Orchestra for whom she is also resident composer.
More recently, Josephine has expanded her skills to include performance coaching and now offers workshops to groups of musicians to enhance their musical abilities.
SUMAN JOSHI
Suman Joshi has been a musician since the age of 11 when he began studying the classical guitar. In later years he transferred his attention to the bass guitar and double bass (via the electric guitar and afrocuban percussion), since when he’s been a regular in a host of bands and ensembles. These include such varied acts as the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, the 15-piece folk/klezmer/jazz/punk band The Destroyers, gypsy jazz outfit Trio Manouche and Reggae/Ska veterans Maroon Town.
He is owned by a cat called Ming Van Poucke.
MARCO PICCIONI
Marco Piccioni is a Blues Rock & Jazz guitarist based in London, UK.
He has worked as a side man and a leader since 2003, starting his career in New York, where he moved to after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
Born in 1976 in Turin, he spent his teens studying at the ‘Liceo Classico’ and at the same time being a professional sports-man in slalom canoeing. After the graduation in 1995 he decided to explore music more deeply starting to play guitar.
He first studied with the Italian guitarist Franco ‘Slep’ Sciancalepore, then in 1999 he moved to America, to attend the Berklee College Of Music where he graduated in 2002. In that period he was fortunate enough to study with master guitarists and composers Julien Kasper, Jon Damian and Michael Williams.
In 2003 he moved from Boston to New York where he performed with many different artists. That same year he decided to move back to Italy where he established his own Quartet. In 2006 he moved to London, UK. Since then he has collaborated with London based artists including the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, singer-songwriter Julia Biel and Jazz singer Cleveland Watkiss.
He’s currently also leading his own Trio with Chris Nickolls on drums and Blendi Dhami on double bass, a project that blends the warm sound of the Delta Blues and the Blues Rock from the 60’s with the Contemporary European Jazz flavors. Original tracks drift through fast swing ostinatos, free improvisations, psychedelic shuffles and lazy, melancholic and funky 12bar cycles.
MAURIZIO RAVALICO
Throughout a career spanning over 25 years, Maurizio Ravalico has maintained lively and inter-breeding interests in musical expressions as diverse as funk, rock, 20th century composition, Hispanic-American and Brazilian music, free-form improvisation, contemporary jazz and the so-called “experimental music” of post-war and beyond.
He studied Afrocuban percussion in La Havana, where he built his solid foundations as a conga player, and during the last ten years, following extensive experiences in improvisation, he has developed a very personal vocabulary in both his conga playing and in the original percussion set-up which is at the core of his contribution to Collocutor’s music.
Maurizio has been based in London since 1991, and has worked, among others, with Jamiroquai, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Jesus Alemani, Snowboy, Alex Wilson, Dennis Rollins, Greg Osby, Kaidi Tatham, Dego McFarland, Finn Peters, Dele Sosimi, John Edwards, Steve Beresford, Oren Marshall, Shabaka Huchkins, Andrea Parkins, and the choreographers Lea Anderson, Bill T. Jones, Maja Garcìa and Jane Turner.
SIMON FINCH
Simon is one of London’s most in-demand and versatile trumpeters.
A graduate of both Leeds College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Simon’s 20 years of experience have seen him perform with a broad range of UK and international artists across many genres. These artists include Joe Lovano, Abdullah Ibrahim, The BBC Big Band, Jamie Cullum, Joe Bataan, Jungle Fire, Kelis, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, James Taylor Quartet, The Brand New Heavies, Liam Gallagher (Beady Eye), and Blur. He also was a part of Africa Express 2013 (Marseille), during which he collaborated with Tony Allen, Cheick Tidiane Seck, and Fatoumata Diawara.
Simon also composes and produces under the moniker ‘Shwaa’, with his debut release imminent.
MAGNUS MEHTA
Magnus Mehta is a multi instrumentalist known primarily for his work as a percussionist.
Via extended musical filed trips to Cuba, Morrocco, Turkey and India, Magnus has built up an extensive knowledge of many different musical cultures and percussion traditions.
Magnus has recorded for oscar winning composers Stephen Warbeck, Gabriel Yared, and Howard Shore, and has worked for many UK theatre companies including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the RSC, Matthew Bournes “New Adventures”, Ballet Rambert, and many West End productions including the Lion King.
Regular bands include Belinda Sykes and Joglaresa, Melt Yourself Down, the hKippers, and a duo with Guitarist Dario Rossetti Bonell.
Magnus also plays Guitar in his band Penya who are currently producing their debut album.
AFLA SACKEY
Ghanaian-born percussionist, vocalist and composer started his creative life as a dancer with the Bukom Ensemble of Ghana, known for their infectious folk-driven rhythms. Sackey’s elders soon recognised the musical potential of this youth and encouraged him with careful guidance and training. This provided the foundations upon which Sackey has developed his career in music and dance.
Afla was brought to London by the promoter of the Kakatsitsi Master Drummers of Ghana and has since thoroughly involved himself in the UK music scene. He graduated from the Guildhall Leadership Masters degree programme in 2012 and with his wealth of music and dance experience, Afla is an inspiring educator, providing workshops and training to a diverse range of students including primary school children, the disabled and the elderly, both in the UK and abroad. Afla was Afrobeat teacher at the Royal Academy of Music, and continues as guest lecturer and workshop facilitator in universities as far flung as Japan, Singapore and Argentina.
COLLOCUTOR 