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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.