Oliver is a saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist based in Birmingham and the West Midlands. He is currently in his third year studying at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he studies with John O’Gallagher, Mike Williams and Andy Panayi.
Oliver currently holds the first tenor chair in the Birmingham Conservatoire Jazz Orchestra and also plays in other smaller ensembles lead by himself and others as well as singing in the Conservatoire Gospel Choir. Half way through his second year, he put together an 11 piece soul band called Soulship Enterprise which played a hugely successful first performance at Birmingham Town Hall to around 350 students.
During the first semester of his third year, he had the privilege of studying abroad in Esbjerg Denmark with New York Saxophonist, Marc Bernstein. During his time there, he got to experience playing a wide variety of music including free jazz, neo soul and some traditional Danish folk music. A highlight of this experience was when tenor saxophonist, Jerry Bergonzi came to do a masterclass followed by a gig that even in which he performed with a student ensemble.
Although Oliver is studying a degree in jazz, it is by no means the only genre he enjoys playing. He currently plays a lot of pop sax with Nottingham based wedding band, The Distractions, as well as going to lots of jazz, funk, pop and neo soul jams all over Birmingham, including, Selly Oak, Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter. Oliver’s aspirations include playing a variety of music in different settings such as, recording, performing, pit band work and touring.
