“PHELPS HAS BEEN COMPARED TO AMERICAN TRUMPET STARS SUCH AS WYNTON MARSALIS AND TERENCE BLANCHARD FOR HIS VIRTUOSITY AND SENSE OF THE JAZZ TRADITION. HE WAS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE PRIZEWINNING BRITISH POST-BOP GROUP EMPIRICAL, AND HAS MORE RECENTLY BEEN AN ENABLR AS WELL AS A PLAYER ON LONDON’S BURGEONING AND YOUTHFUL LATE-NIGHT JAMMING SCENE.” – John Fordham, The Guardian
JAY PHELPS BIOGRAPHY
Jay Phelps originally from Vancouver, Canada, is an extremely busy trumpeter on the London jazz scene as an enabler as much as a player and bandleader. Jay was a founding member of the prizewinning British post-bop group, Empirical. Two solo albums feature among many other group recordings. Jay has shared stages with global Jazz names such as Courtney Pine, Andrew Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Brown, John Hendricks, Nasheet Waits, George Benson, Jamie Cullum, Sir John Dankworth, Jean Toussaint, Dennis Rollins, Guy Barker, Amy Winehouse, Charlotte Church, Hugh Masakela, Jazz Jamaica, Soweto Kinch, Skatroniks, Ska Cubano, Chineke Orchestra.
In 2012, Jay guested with Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra for Marsalis’ epic, ‘Congo Square’, taking the chair of the master himself as he conducted the band. Later that summer he proceeded to have two sell out nights featuring the Jay Phelps Big Band at the world renowned Ronnie Scott’s jazz venue in London.
Jay recently performed with May Inoue & Friends alongside May Inoue, Jason Rebello, Davide Mantovani and Kaz Rodriguez for Yokohama Calling.
Jay Phelps albums:
Jay Walkin (2010)
Free As The Birds (2018)
