About

After doing a music degree in Norwich, Kay started musical life in London with Maroon Town (ska/rap) in the mid 80’s. Since then she has played with various groups including a 5-year stint with London Salsa band Salsa y Ache.

Kay works as a trumpet and music tutor in Greenwich and is Music Manager for a local Primary school. She is also a workshop leader and composer for Trinity College London’s Music Tracks.

As Project Manager for the Bollywood Brass Band, she has arranged and directed Bollywood tunes for various ensembles — school bands, wind bands, brass bands and for a performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra at the London Mela, 2012.
In 2012 Kay composed brass tutor books ‘Bollywood Blast‘ for a schools project; in 2013 the books were extended to woodwind; the series is published by Spartan Press.

Other publications include music for Trinity College London’s Music Tracks 

‘Easy Living’, selected for Trinity’s 2015 Piano syllabus.

‘How to Play the Dhol’ consultant / contributing editor with Jas Daffu,

‘Tubalosity’ (selected to be premiered by Kenyon Wilson at Indiana University, USA in 2014 as part of the Fifteen Minutes of Fame series).

Kay has conducted these performances in particular:

• The opening concert for WOMAD 2011 after working with pupils from Malmesbury School
• A youth dhol and brass band ensemble at the Music for Youth Schools Prom at The Royal Albert Hall, London
• Brass Fusion – youth brass bands at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  Marching bands in Lille, France for Lille 3000
• Fodens Richardson Brass Band, Lichfield Festival
• Romsås Janitsjar wind band Oslo, Norway

She also helps to manage the BBB, and presents the band when performing on stage.

Jas started learning to play the dhol in the mid 90’s, after he had seen the impressive Johnny Kalsi pounding out dhol beats on stage with the legendary Bhangra Band, Alaap.

Within a month of starting to learn the dhol, Jas played his first gig, alongside his Ustaad (teacher) Johnny and other members of The Dhol Foundation. Within a year, he was teaching the Slough-based Dhol Foundation class while Johnny was touring. Three years later, Jas joined the Bollywood Brass Band and has been a permanent member ever since.; Jas still plays regularly with The Dhol Foundation.

Jas’s memorable performances with the Bollywood Brass Band include The Millennium Dome on New Year’s Eve 1999, Bob Geldof’s 50th Birthday and the Ignite Festival at Sydney Olympic Stadium.

Jas’s recordings include: ‘OVO – The Millennium Show’, ‘Up!’ and ‘Long Walk Home’ with Peter Gabriel, the soundtrack of the movie, The Incredible Hulk, Big Drum Small World’ by The Dhol Foundation, By Public Demand by B21 and Rahmania and Movie Masala with The Bollywood Brass Band.

Sarha started musical life at age 9, acting the Pied Piper with her recorder, graduating to the oboe, and finally to the saxophone. She still likes nothing better than to wander the streets leading people around playing music, and specialises in performing with street bands.

Sarha’s memorable performances have included playing tenor sax in the York Street Band busking around Europe: for Astrid Proll and Prince Charles (not at the same time!) and for contortionists and dancing Hell’s Angels; and the All Weather band playing daily in all weathers at The Dome in Greenwich.

Sarha also played for five years with Ghanaian Highlife band Orchestre Jazira, and was baritone sax player in socialist big band The Happy End

She is currently also playing tenor sax in Yiddish music hall group Katsha’nes, the York Street Band, baritone sax in Charlie Mingus jazz cover band Hog Callin’, as well as street bands The Valentinos and Crocodile Style.

In her spare time Sarha runs classes at the City Lit in London, and after completing an MA in World Music Studies, she has now been awarded a PhD for her studies on The Flattened Supertonic.

I grew up in Belgium where I used to play rock and jazz on electric double bass. I am one of the founder members of the Bollywood Brass Band although I was visiting India at the time of the very first gig.

I started playing in London in the socialist big band called The Happy End playing Baritone & Soprano Sax with Pan Pipes and Arabic Bagpipes. I was also playing with the London School of Samba in the early days. We then created Crocodile Style a world music street band with Emergency Exit Arts where I also worked as an Art & Music workshop leader. It was through Emergency Exit Arts that The Bollywood Brass Band was created.

I have travelled to India many times and was best man at my chosen brothers wedding there, where I took my bagpipes to bring him, the groom into the brides’ village. I take photos when I travel there and have had exhibitions here in London.

I build bespoke tuned percussion, Marimbas and Harps, as well as other musical creations; I also teach children and adults how to do this too. I like to collect musical instruments as I travel around the world on tour one of my favourites is the Swedish Nyckelharpa.

A memorable moment with the Bollywoods; while parading in front of the groom at a wedding, being tapped on the shoulder by a trumpet player, on looking round the groom and horse charged through the band out of control. It then took off in the wrong direction at the t-junction; the groom deserved a medal that day for staying on.

Having done a 5 year apprenticeship as a Bolly Dep, Tom is now proud to be a fully-fledged member.

Tom studied Music at City University in London where he focused on ethnomusicology and composition.

He has since worked with a number of bands, most notably his own band Pest with whom he is band leader, composer and trombonist. They have released two albums on Ninjatune and have toured Europe extensively, sharing billing with the likes of Nitin Sawhney, Soweto Kinch and the Youngblood Brass Band and most recently enjoying a 5 date tour of Japan.
He also plays with avant groovers Snorkel who are label mates and collaborators with the excellent tuba virtuoso, Oren Marshall.

Tom’s highlights with the Bollywood Brass Band over the years include playing in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, on top of the mountains of Calabria, for Manish Arora’s circus themed fashion show in Delhi – and eating rice pudding while on parade in Slough.

Dave has played with a wide range of jazz outfits, from trad jazz all the way through to “squeaky door” free improv. In addition, he has played with a variety of rock (new wave, ska, soul) and world music bands.

Highlights of his career include playing with Brass’n’guitar pop band Helen and the Horns; gigs and recordings with Billy Jenkins and the Voice of God Collective and a stint in the socialist big band The Happy End.

Dave currently also plays with The Rawhides, a ten-piece R’n’B and soul function band.

Mark was instrumental in forming the Bollywood Brass Band in 1992 and has managed the band ever since. These days, as well as playing baritone sax, he operates video and mixes sound for their live gigs.

Mark started off playing tenor sax with the Fallout Marching Band in the 80’s, playing on peace and anti-nuclear demos and harassing Ronald Reagan around Europe. The band got some money to buy a baritone sax, and that was the beginning of Mark’s love affair with low grunty noises. Together with Will and Nick of the Bollywood Brass Band he formed Emergency Exit Arts’ other professional street bandCrocodile Style in the late 80’s, and also spent 10 years playing with and administrating the unfeasibly large left wing big band The Happy End, sharing the baritone section with Sarha Moore, now soprano sax player with the Bollywood Brass Band.

Mark has taught courses in the Music Business at Kingston University, and writes reviews for Songlines magazine.

Phillippe is of French and Salvadorian descent, hailing from Majorca and Barcelona where he grew up. Phillippe is a founding  member of The Bollywood Brass Band, but since coming to London in 1990, has been involved in many different bands and projects, from World music (African/Latin/Indian), to Fusion, Funk, Jazz, Reggae, Soul, Groove, Beats.

Phillippe’s recording experience includes: three albums for the Bollywood Brass Band; Fourth World / Music With No Name Vol.2 – LK Productions (Electric M.E.L.T.); Leroy Quintyn (Gee-St); EmperorÕs New Clothes / Wisdom And Lies (Acid Jazz); Bassistry / Bassistry (Okapi), Balagan Theatre Co. (Music Now). Phillippe also remixes: ‘Chura Liya’ (PhD Remix). on the bandÕs album Move Masala is by him.

Phillippe has also performed with: Natacha Atlas, Doreen Thobekile, Laika, EmperorÕs New Clothes, Leroy Quintyn, Bassistry, Imagination, Ike Leo, Abdelkader Saadoun.

One memorable gig was participating in a jam with Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Jools Holland and Bob Geldof after Bob’s 50th birthday party, at which the Bollywood Brass Band performed.

Rav started playing Tabla at the age of 6, after his grandparents returned from a trip to India with his first Tabla set, which he still plays. Learning at his local Gurdwara (temple), it became clear Rav had talent and he soon overshot the older students in the class. He continued to learn over the next 4 years, at the same time playing other percussion instruments including the drum kit, which he was able to play without any speacialist tuition. For his 11th birthday, Rav received his first Dhol and at that point he knew music was to be his chosen career. Using the knowledge gained through his Tabla tuition, Rav played the Dhol as if he had been playing for years, stepping on stage for the first time soon after.

A short time later Rav saw the Dhol Foundation perform at his school and signed up for classes straight away. Over the next 6 years, he built his knowledge and performance skills with the Dhol Foundation, playing all over the UK and the world. It was here he first performed with bands such as Fun Da Mental, Transglobal Underground and of course the Bollywood Brass Band. With these bands, Rav was able to play at festivals such as Glastonbury and Womad, and venues including Queen Elizabeth Hall and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, as well as appearing with the Dhol Foundation and Transglobal Underground supporting Robert Plant and Jimmy Paige on the Paige & Plant Tour.

Along with performance, Rav became interested in the recording side of music and enrolled on a music technology course, eventually graduating from university with an Honours Degree in music technology.

Currently working on his own music projects, Rav can be seen performing regularly with Transglobal Underground and the Bollywood Brass Band.