About Me

Welcome to my Mike Kemp Music website. Time flies, here we are in mid March 2023 already. Last year relentless Geoff Tooley on double bass, Swiss watch precise Les Cirkel at the drums and I recorded a new two minute promo video for the Mike Kemp Trio. Watch it by clicking this picture:

Happily, in addition to the trio, I also have gigs with Geoff Tooley, as a duo, Pat Reyford, Richard Exall and the Sticky Wicket Big Swing Band. The first day of 2023 saw me dipping for a poorly Martin Litton with Harlem the great 1930s style Duke Ellington band resurrected by trombonist Bob Hunt. There is a picture of the band on that gig on my Pictures Archive page.

Please take a look at my Tube Channel. Go to YouTube and search for Mike Kemp’s Garage Jazz.

It presents me playing straight ahead piano jazz featuring music from the swing era, jazz standards, stage & screen musicals, bossa novas, the occasional original, The Great American Song Book Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Loesser & Lowe, Harold Arlen, Rodgers & Hammerstein… the list goes on and on.

The Channel is called Garage Jazz because these videos show me playing electric piano along with double bass and drum tracks I’ve made myself using the GarageBand App. Some weeks feature guest instrumentalists or vocalists, other weeks videos from live gigs. Please take a look at it and, while you are checking it out, please subscribe, like and leave comment. Here’s a link:

You can book me to play on your gig so phone for a chat: 07966527803

I’m a straight-ahead jazz pianist, and have played at Festivals and clubs over Europe, Morocco, Scandinavia and the USA.

My repertoire is mostly drawn from what has become known as The Great American Songbook, ie Cole Porter, Harry Warren, George Gershwin etc.

I’m also a composer and arranger with albums to my credit. Although I work comfortably in settings from solo to big band I’m probably best known these days for leading my classic New York trio line-up of piano, double bass and drums.

I started learning my craft in home town Coventry jazz clubs and dance bands before travelling around France, Germany, Spain and Morocco to play for the American military firstly with The Doug Richford Quartet.

My first broadcast took place on BBC radio in May1967 with the Trevor Jones Jazzmen, a recording of that broadcast resides in the British Library Sound Archives.
Other bands I’ve played with include The Terry Lightfoot Jazzband, The Pasadena Roof Orchestra, The Sticky Wicket Big Swing Band, The MillionAirs Big Band, Bob Kerr’s Whoopee Band, The Pete Allen Jazz Band, The Benny Green Quartet, The Alan Elsdon Jazz Band, Steve Lane‘s Red Hot Peppers, and The Chez Chesterman Band.

My trio played to great acclaim at the Culture Centre in Chicago.

Oscar Peterson was a fan remarking, “Mike has a beautiful way with ballads”.