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Victoria Tilson
Bassist, composer, bandleader and educator.
About Me
Born in Wiltshire, this West Country lass swapped her idyllic
existence for the hustle of London, a degree in Film and after much
soul-searching, a double bass and place at the Guildhall on their
post-grad jazz course. Formerly a classically-trained pianist and
oboist, she rebelled against her music teachers and took up the bass
guitar and rock music in an attempt to do something more modern (there
was no jazz in her school). After various original bands, CDs, radio
airplay and the ubiquitous nonsense that comes with an unsigned band,
the calling of jazz became too much and she succumbed in August 2003
to a Michael Garrick Jazz Academy course. It changed her life. She
has subsequently performed with Tony Kofi, Henry Lowther, Quentin
Collins and at venues including The Vortex, Pizza Express Soho,
Charlie Wright's International, The Spice of Life, The Crypt and the
Manchester Jazz Festival.
My Jazz Story
I was first exposed to jazz at the age of 14, whilst studying
classical piano at school, but it wasn't until I was 28 that I had my
first proper go at playing jazz - as a bassist. After a Michael
Garrick summer school in August 2003 I was hooked. I bought a double
bass from his drummer and started having lessons, attending jam
sessions and organising my own woodshedding groups. By 2007 I had
progressed sufficiently to gain a place at the Guidhall School of
Music in London to study a Masters in jazz double bass.
Michael Garrick was a huge influence on me, as a teacher and as a
composer/pianist. I have now become a tutor on his jazz courses that
are now run by his son, Gabriel, following Michael's death in November
2011.
I grew up listening to my Dad's jazz records: Oscar Peterson and The
Modern Jazz Quartet, but the first jazz CDs I bought were CHANGES II
(Mingus), MILES SMILES (Miles Davis) and FREEFORM (Joe Harriott).
For me, music is my church and jazz is my religion. And the great
thing is, it doesn't cause wars.
