Luke Bainbridge

Luke is an award-winning drummer/composer currently studying a Master of Arts in Jazz Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music, under the tutelage of Martin France, Ian Thomas, Jeff Williams, Jim Hart and James Maddren. Relatively new to the London jazz scene, his drumming has reached venues and events such as The Jazz Café, Sofar Sounds and the Hoxton Underbelly. With upcoming parade gigs as a member of renowned samba band Rhythms of the City (London Marathon, Glasgow, Greenpeace), and work with the Seven Steps Big Band (Pizza Express - Dean Street, Tandem Festival, Oxford), Luke is set to reach new audiences across the country this summer. As a composer, Luke has garnered public acclaim in both jazz and contemporary classical spheres, having won the 2018 Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition and the 2017 Compass Composition Prize in association with BCMG, leading to a new commission for the 2018 CrossCurrents Music Festival. Early signs of a portfolio music career can be seen in Luke's broader fields of work as a freelance editor for Faber Music and Schott and private instrumental tutor. Most recently, Luke has formed an exciting new quintet project, for which he is drummer and composer. Currently recording their debut album, the band is set to make an impression within the UK music scene.
In 2017, Luke graduated from the University of Birmingham with a First in Music, having also spent a year abroad at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. Over the course of his degree, Luke specialised in jazz drumming and contemporary composition, and received the Barber Undergraduate Prize for high academic attainment in 2015. Heavily involved in jazz performance in Birmingham and Saskatoon, Luke held the drum chair for both university big bands and became a busy temporary member of Saskatoon's professional jazz scene. Highlights of his final year included gigs featuring Stan Sulzmann and Bobby Shew, as well as managing and arranging for his own piano trio and the 2017 University of Birmingham Summer Festival Big Band.
Luke's recent performance opportunities at the Royal Academy of Music include ensemble projects with Chris Montague, Tim Garland, Tom Herbert, Ronan Guilfoyle and Oren Marshall. He is currently developing his compositional concept with supervision from jazz educators, Barak Schmool, Pete Churchill and Nikki Iles, and contemporary classical composer Ruth Byrchmore. His time at the Royal Academy of Music is with the aspiration to establish a performance career as a drummer/composer in the London jazz scene.