I have been playing for 35 years, and teaching for about 15 years. The music I most often play for myself is jazz, and blues, with some rock. I tend to fuse elements of each of these into my playing, so my jazz playing is tinged with rock, and my blues is jazzy etc. My live playing has mostly been in local jazz groups, and has included some solo gigs for functions, weddings etc.

My first real education in music was in the church choir, when I was eight - I used to love all the harmonies, and I liked listening to the men sing the bass lines. However, I didn't know at the time how important that would be in training my ear to pick things up.

At school I played the violin, and later switched to trumpet. Then, one day, I was captivated by a TV programme about the great classical guitar player, Julian Bream. I knew then I had to play the guitar. A month later my sisters bought an LP by the folk singer Ralph McTell, and I started to learn to play his songs. I was an acoustic guitar purist, into Nick Drake, Roy Harper, Jethro Tull and Steeleye Span: I swore I would never get a plectrum - fingerpicking was all I needed. But after I started playing acoustic blues I got into Rory Gallagher and his electric stuff, and then all the artists I mention on another page on this site ('musical styles I teach').

Blues and rock are rich in feeling but I was at the time frustrated by their limitations in harmony and melody. When I heard jazz/rock fusion artists (John McLaughlin, Weather Report etc) I started on the long road of learning to play jazz. For a while I thought I could do it all self taught, but eventually I knew I needed help if I was going to become a professional musician, and after gaining Grade 8 in electric guitar playing I enrolled on the three year degree course in jazz and contemporary music at Leeds College of Music. I learned a lot there about harmony, composition, improvisation and musicianship. I had tuition with Adrian Ingram, which was the best thing that happened to me: it really helped improve my overall sound and ability to learn in the right way. I have also studied on courses with John Ethridge, Stuart McAllum, Mike Outram, John Parricelli and others.

Since music college I did some further study for a year in the Music School at Wakefield College, and gained the jazz Performance Diploma of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.