Biography of Jon Opstad

Jon Opstad was born in Bristol in 1983 to a musical family. His first introduction to jazz was at the age of seven on hearing Miles Davis’s ‘Kind of Blue’ and John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’. Studying first clarinet, piano and saxophone, Jon took up the drums at age 11. Starting composing in his teens, he was a finalist in the 2002 BBC Young Composer of the Year competition. Jon began studying music at Cambridge University in 2002 and recorded his debut album ‘Still Picture’ the following year with some of the finest student jazz musicians from Cambridge as well as younger brother James on fretless bass. In 2005 Jon produced and played drums on the album "A Thought" by South African jazz pianist Nishlyn Ramanna, featuring Stan Sulzmann, and since graduating from Cambridge later that year he has been based in London. Jon's main musical influences are Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Wheeler and many artists from the Norwegian scene and ECM label.