Tim Richards

Tim’s first encounter with a piano was at the age of 8 in a dentist’s waiting room, after which he took classical piano lesson. From the age of 14 he began to teach himself jazz and blues, inspired by Thelonious Monk, Otis Spann and Dudley Moore. Other influences include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Kelly, Hampton Hawes, Horace Silver, Ray Charles and Dr John. In 1979 Tim formed the modern jazz quartet SPIRIT LEVEL, performing at jazz clubs and festivals across Europe, broadcasting on BBC RADIO 1, 2, 3 and 4, RADIO FRANCE, WDR Köln, and recording several acclaimed albums on vinyl and CD, including ‘Killer Bunnies’ - a quintet with US trumpeter Jack Walrath (ex-Mingus). During their 20-year life the band featured in double bills opposite many famous names, including Horace Silver, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinul and others. In 1999 Tim expanded the band to a nine-piece, renamed it GREAT SPIRIT and recorded the CD ‘Suite For The Shed’ with an all-star line-up including Denys Baptist, Gilad Atzmon, Tony Kofi and Dick Pearce (ex-Ronnie Scott). After receiving a PRS Foundation Award for New Music the band toured the UK several times with some of Britain's top jazz musicians such as Pete King, Ed Jones, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford, Roger Beaujolais and many others. Their latest CD ‘Epistrophy’ received rave reviews, eg: "Jazz supergroup whose passion proves inspirational... not a dull moment from beginning to end" (The Observer Music Monthly). Tim has released over a dozen albums under his own name, including two with Austrian saxman Sigi Finkel and three TRIO albums, two of which are listed in the Japanese publication ‘Jazz Piano Trio Meiban 500’ (The 500 Best Jazz Piano Trio Albums). His playing has been described as “luminously funky… laced with the blues” (The Rough Guide to Jazz) and "A highly distinctive solo voice, blues and gospel tinged, but with a percussive drive betraying his roots in hard bop” (The Independent). Tim has also toured and recorded with many well-known blues artists including the award-winning Brits Otis Grand, Dana Gillespie and Earl Green, US guitarists Joe Louis Walker and Larry Garner, US vocalists Dietra Farr and Kym Mazelle, and Muddy Waters’ last harp player Mojo Buford. In addition to performing, Tim is one of Britain's best-known jazz educators, an ABRSM jazz examiner and contributor to the ABRSM jazz piano syllabus. As well as teaching jazz piano privately and in adult education for over 30 years, he frequently gives workshops for music teachers in this country and abroad, and has taught Jazz Piano, Harmony & Arranging at the University of Surrey, Leeds College of Music, Goldsmiths College and Morley College. He was also a member of the judging panel for the Nottingham International jazz Piano Competition since its inception in 2008. His latest project is the HEXTET, a six-piece band that played two sold-out concerts at London’s Kings Place in 2012 and 2014, toured the UK and released the highly acclaimed ‘Telegraph Hill’ CD in 2016.