rsued it as a career. Sam started playing piano when he was seven. His teacher was jazz pianist Robin Joiner, so one influence was there from an early age.There appears to be an increasing number of talented young musicians choosing the jazz path. Why is that? One such saxophonist is eighteen year old Sam Rapley. Sam was born in Stockport in 1991. Although his mother played the violin and his father the saxophone when they were younger, neither was very serious about it or pursued it as a career. Sam started playing piano when he was seven. His teacher was jazz pianist Robin Joiner, so one influence was there from an early age.
‘I loved playing jazz piano,’ says Sam, ‘but when I was really young I also used to listen to Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music’s Let’s Stick Together on one of my dad’s albums and I loved the saxophone on that, so instinctively wanted to play the saxophone. I thought the opportunity would come when I started at Manchester Grammar School, but my fingers were too small, so I started on clarinet instead and got into classical music that way. As much as I loved playing classical clarinet, I always preferred jazz, so I would do my classical practice, then relax by playing jazz.’
By the time Sam was fourteen, he wanted to join the school jazz band, but he could only play piano and clarinet. There was already a pianist in the band and they weren’t looking for a clarinet player. By now, his fingers could handle a saxophone, so he turned to the tenor sax, picking it up quite quickly and soon preferring it to his other instruments.
‘I really started to love jazz.’ Sam recalls. ‘When I heard One Note Samba by Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz , I instantly fell in love with the sound of Stan Getz’s saxophone and to this day, he has been one of my biggest musical influences. There have, of course been others, Benny Golson, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Cannonball Adderley, Ron Carter, Dexter Gordon, Clifford Brown, Mike Walker, Andy Schofield and Les Chisnall, to name but a few. But it was hearing that Stan Getz record that encouraged me to start improvising and taking lessons with Iain Dixon, who I have learned so much from.’
Sam did a lot of playing in school, in the Jazz Band, with a jazz quartet on sax, and in the Orchestra, Concert Band, etc. on clarinet. He passed his Grade 8 exams with distinction in both clarinet and piano, ‘although I never wanted to do classical grades on the sax …’, and he has now added the flute to his instrument repertoire.
We wondered how difficult it is for a young musician to pursue an interest in jazz when perhaps most of their peer group is listening to the current vogue of popular music?
‘Pursuing an interest in jazz at a young age can be very difficult at times,’ says Sam, ‘as it simply isn’t as popular with young people as it was in the past. However, for me, living in a big city, there are actually plenty of opportunities to see concerts and pick up my own gigs. You can always find some other young people who love jazz as much as you do, although often they may be few and far between. You tend to find yourself either having to travel to other big cities to play, or you end up playing with older musicians a lot of the time, which itself can be a great experience. You tend to make a lot of your closest friends through having a common interest in music - not always just jazz.’
Equally, like many jazz musicians over the years, Sam brings other musical genres into his experience. ‘I think it’s really important to listen to, and play, all sorts of music, not just jazz, as they all compliment each other, and a good knowledge of one style of music can help tremendously with other styles. For example, I also play classical music, I play in a Dub/Reggae band, I do some pop gigs, I play funk and Latin music with my band, as well as playing along to a lot of records of varying styles.’
During his final year at Manchester Grammar, Sam started playing outside of school as well. ‘Since then,’ he says, ‘I have played with lots of great musici
ans around Manchester, in many varying bands. I am a member of WYJO (Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra) run by Ian Darrington. That’s given me great performance opportunities and has enabled me to play with Mark Nightingale, and in the summer, I will get to play with Bobby Shew. I have recently joined another Big Band, the Andy Schofield/Jo McCallum Big Band, which is full of incredible musicians, including Andy and Jo, but also Mike Walker, Les Chisnall, Stuart McCallum and Pete Turner.’
Sam with Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra
Asking Sam whether he would recommend young musicians to join a Youth Jazz Orchestra, he replies, ‘I would definitely encourage all young players to join a YJO. For me there have only been positives – such as getting to meet other young musicians, getting used to playing in a Big Band setting (a necessary skill in the profession, I’ve been told), getting used to playing as a Section and getting to play with guest soloists. Of course, it does involve a commitment, usually a weekly rehearsal plus gigs, but actually all the gigs and rehearsals help a lot in terms of learning to be professional and to turn up on time (without the consequences of getting sacked if you turn up late for one rehearsal)’
Sam now has his own quintet, which he runs with trumpet player and good friend, Adam Chatterton. ‘It is made up of other young musicians like us,’ continues Sam. ‘We have played around Manchester at a lot of great venues like The Cinna
mon Club and Sandbar, but more recently we supported the Gwilym Simcock Trio with Gerard Presencer at Band on the Wall, which was an unbelievable experience.’
Sam Rapleywith the Jamie Safiruddin Quartet at the Cinnamon Club
Sam is currently taking a gap year, working as a music technician at a school and practicing and gigging as much as possible. He recently auditioned for music colleges and was successful at all of the colleges he applied to: ‘So I have decided to take a place at the Royal Academy of Music, where I’ll start in September 2010, with Stan Sulzmann as a tutor. From now until September, I plan to keep playing as much as possible and start getting ready to move down to London.’
As for the future – ‘I think it’s probably too early to say,’ Sam thinks. ‘I just know that I want to keep on playing and enjoying music. Hopefully I will keep a Quintet going with Adam as he is starting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in September, so we will both be in London and he is an amazing player.’
We predict that you will be hearing a lot more about the talented Mr Rapley, so make a note of his name. In the meanwhile click here to listen to Sam on his MySpace site where you will also find details of forthcoming gigs.
All photographs courtesy of Sam Rapley. Cinnemon Club photos © William-Ellis
© Sam Rapley and Ian Maund 2010-2012