Ayodeji Ijishakin aka Deji aka XVNGO is the last musician part of #jazznewbloodALIVE2021 line-up to be featured in our interview series. Get to know him a little better. Deji, tell a bit more about your path with music. Are you part of a musical family? My parents themselves are quite musician people, but they never pursued it professionally. We would often sing as a family, and my Mother has actually released a few of her own songs. The musicality really has been expressed

Meet Morgan Wallace in our #jazznewbloodALIVE2021 interview series. Tell us a bit more about your background growing up in Devon. How is the jazz scene there? Growing up in Devon was lovely. I really value time outside, especially as a way to clear my head, and after moving to London I realised how much of the landscape I took for granted. I played in my school jazz band and the Devon youth Jazz orchestra, but most musical experiences I had in Devon were playing with friends

Next, pianist Scottie Thompson on our interview series. Scottie please tell us about growing up in Portsmouth. How did you start playing the piano? I started playing piano when I was about eleven and learnt by ear, working out the chords to my favourite songs. I eventually started classical lessons, which were an essential part of my development of technique and the fundamentals of the piano. I didn’t discover jazz properly until I was in sixth form. Was there a moment or a m

Today in our interview series we introduce composer and guitarist, Miles Mindlin. Your father is also a musician. Did he influence your choice of instrument? My dad began teaching me guitar when I was around 6 years old after I literally begged him to! Then around the age of 9 I asked him 'how do you play Jazz' and that was it really. He took me to sit in on a gig with Jim Mullen when I was 10 which was an incredibly inspiring early experience, we played Autumn leaves togethe