Buster Birch

Buster Birch has an honours degree in music from the University of London and a post-graduate diploma in jazz performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has performed at virtually every major concert hall and jazz club in London, international festivals, toured in over 30 countries and recorded on more than 30 CDs. He has worked with many of the UK's finest jazz musicians as well as The Royal Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and deputised on West End shows. He is the drummer for ARQ (Alison Rayner Quintet), winners of the Parliamentary Award for "Best UK Jazz Ensemble 2018". He is director of The Original UK Jazz Summer School (winner of the Parliamentary Award for Jazz Education) and The Online UK Jazz School. He is co-founder and leader of the award-winning BYMT Jazz School for children and a project artist for La Folia, a music charity that brings together professional musicians, actors, dancers and writers to create new music and performances with vulnerable members of society. Since 2018 he has published 24 books worldwide on jazz improvisation and musicianship skills for all instruments. He has his own critically acclaimed show "Buster plays Buster" featuring his jazz quartet playing live to screenings of classic Buster Keaton movies for which he has arranged and scored all of the music.