John Seeley
Musician and Private Teacher
Biography
John Seeley started learning the clarinet at a young age, and while studying for his A levels decided to take a fifth in music with the help of music teacher Hannah Fry, and then pursued a career in music. He went on to study at the prestigious Dartington College of Arts, a leading contemporary arts college where he studied with musicologists Trevor Wiggins, Frank Denyer, and Bob Gilmore. While there he became more focused on jazz through his work with jazz pianist Lewis Riley and clarinettist Charlie Hearnshaw, whilst continuing his classical clarinet with Michael Langdon-Davis.
While studying for his degree he started teaching jazz workshops with a youth project called SaMS, and took up the tenor saxophone while performing with various university groups. During this period he undertook research projects of which one was spending six weeks in New Orleans, where he recorded regularly around the city, attended Xavier University with Michael White, and conducted interviews that concluded in a portfolio on the cultural and musical aesthetics of New Orleans.
After leaving university he studied with clarinettist Richie Howard, and then pursued an MA in music at Middlesex University where he studied with composer Francois Evans, and wrote projects on Postmodernism in Jazz, the Cultural Aesthetics of Free Jazz, The Devising of a Jazz Workshop, and the musical style of BBC rising-star tenor saxophonist Simon Spillett.
He then predominately studied with Simon, and had lessons with saxophonists Paul Dunmall, Karen Sharp, and Alan Barnes. He has also attended and documented workshops by some of the leading British jazz musicians including Bobby Wellins, Peter King, Nikki Iles, Dave O'Higgins, Art Themen, and Alan Skidmore to name a few.
He now teaches music theory and performance on the saxophone and clarinet privately. He conducts workshops with the Southend Jazz Co-op, and runs his own online Jazz and Saxophone workshop every Wednesday afternoon and an in person workshop every Thursday evening in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. These workshops produce two concerts a year to friends, family, and the general public in the Summer and at Christmas. John Seeley's Jazz and Saxophone Group have performed at the Southend Jazz Festival in 2022 and 2023, and on the bandstands at Castle Park, Colchester, Essex and Priory Park, Southend, Essex returning again in 2024.
He also teaches an in person Big Band workshop fortnightly on a Saturday afternoon, an online Big Band workshop every Sunday evening, specialised masterclasses and Beginners Jazz workshops. For more information please see the Diary page. John has also taught workshops in Colchester and Brentwood, Essex, at the Semer Jazz workshop in Ipswich, Suffolk, a Jazz workshop at the Maldon Festival, Essex and has taught a Jazz Ensemble Playing workshop at the Ipswich Jazz Festival, Suffolk. In 2020, John taught online workshops for the Essex Easter Jazz and The Jazz Centre UK and the Suffolk Jazz School. During the Covid-19 pandemic John continued with his private music lessons, started online Jazz and Big Band workshops, created over 60 Jazz educational videos, weekly Jazz tutorial sessions and taught an online Latin Jazz workshop for the Suffolk Jazz School.
He has written articles on aspects of jazz, and performs in a range of performances and recording projects with various groups and artists. This includes the professional jazz duo JazzDuo with guitarist David Warren, the quartet Interplay that performs Hard bop/Bebop jazz, and jazz duo Vieux Carré with guitarist Ben Fisher.
Past projects have included the quartet Chenenko with guitarist Alex Field, drummer Trevor Taylor and bassist Geof Harris, and the project Zephyr that recorded an album on the FMR jazz record label and is available to purchase on this website.
To contact please email info@johnseeleyjazz.co.uk
