About
Good Evening arts with
Nubya Garcia,
Joe Armon-Jones
& Joe Downard
Biography
Olly Sarkar-Samuels Is creating a sound that blends Jazz fluidity with the crisp unshakable sound worlds of hip-hop, garage and broken beat whilst maintaining a spontaneous approach to groove and musical shape. Olly is a London based drummer, composer & educator who has a love for jazz, hip-hop and electronic music.
“Olly Sarkar-Samuels on drums is as good as you would hear on any iconic Jazz master’s Blue Note album from the 50s and 60s and more besides.” As said by Illicit Grooves.
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Olly Sarkar-Samuels is a London based drummer, composer & educator who has a love for jazz, hip-hop and electronic music. Sarkar performs regularly on the London music and European music scences.
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Recent highlights include European and International dates with Saxophonists Chelsea Carmichael, Nubya Garcia & pianist Tom Sochas, which have featured, New York Winter Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Roma Jazz Festival, Paris Jazz festival & Venues such as, Birdland Hamburg, Fasching Stockholm, Sold out Earth Theatre Hackney for the london jazz festival & Internationale Jazzwoche Burghausen. As well as tours in France, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Poland & Canada.
As a graduate Trinity trust scholar of TrinityLaban Conservatoire of music & dance, under the tutelage of Simon Purcell, Dave Wickens, Gene Calderazzo and Michael Janisch. Sarkar learnt the importance of the jazz tradition and also how to approach new music. He also was inspired to gain a deep understanding of practice-based learning and is currently in the process of publishing a book on this topic. Since graduating Sarkar has been studying drums and composition with Johnathan Blake. Blake has mentored and guided Sarkar in his development challenging him musically and conceptually.
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As a founding member of SumoChief alongside Joe Armon-Jones, Oscar Jerome and Jack Polley. Sumochief is a jazz influenced instrumental hip-hop outfit, taking inspiration from J Dilla, The Roots and the Robert Glasper Experiment. They have had 2 self-released albums, all of which Olly had a major part in the composition, recording & release process, SumoBeats (2015) & SumoTreats (2016). Sumochief are the most featured band at South London’s hallowed night Steez, which many view as the seed in which the current London jazz scene has stemmed from. Steez is responsible for establishing artists such as Poppy Ajudha, Nerija, Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd and Theon Cross all of which are Sarkar's contemporaries.
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Sarkar is creating a sound that blends Jazz fluidity with the crisp unshakable sound worlds of hip-hop, garage and broken beat whilst maintaining a spontaneous approach to groove and musical shape. Sarkar is a London based drummer, composer & educator who has a love for jazz, hip-hop and electronic music. Proudly endorsing Canopus drums, one of the world's most respected drum companies.
Sarkar has performed around the UK and Europe extensively and has recorded live radio sessions for BBC Radio 2 with Jamie Cullum, World music on BBC radio 3, BBC 6 music and pre-recorded sessions at Herts Jazz for BBC Jazz on 3. Sarkar has recorded live streams for Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and the British Music Embassy’s SXSW showcase, Jazz at Duketown, Peggy’s Skylight.
As a bandleader Sarkar Leads his own group on the London scene and released his first 2 EPs ‘Eyes Up’ in August 20’ and ‘Ears to the Underground’ in October 20’. He plans to record a full-length album in the coming months, following sold out shows at Pizza Express Jazz club Soho and presenting unheard material at popular jazz nights around London, notably Good Evening arts, The Jazz Sanctuary and Oliver's Jazz Bar among others.
Sarkar can be heard on recording with Daniel Casmir & Tess Hirst’s Jazz Re:Freshed release’s These Days(2019) & These Days in These Ways (2020), which features, Robert Mitchell, Tobie Carpenter& Binker Golding. 2022 releases include Flung out of Space by Jess Bullen and The Sorcerer by Franco-American Pianist Tom Sochas.
Sarkar has performed with some of the UK’s finest musicians; Cherise Adams-Burnett, Nubya Garcia, Nerija, Seed Ensemble, Reuben James, Chelsea Carmichael, Camilla George, Ruben Fox, Mark Kavuma, Jumoké Fashiola, Tom Barford, Billy Marrows and Alex Hitchcock.
Drum Tech Spech
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Canopus Neo Vintage 60-M1 drum set
18"x14"-Bass Drum with vintage mount mount for Rack Tom
Coated Drum Head on Front of the Drum, Clear Head on Back of the Drum
16"x16"-Floor Tom with legs -NOT MOUNTED ON CYMBAL STAND
14"x14"-Floor Tom with legs - NOT MOUNTED ON CYMBAL STAND
2"x8" Rack Tom - Mounted on Bass Drum
(2) 14"x6 1/2" Snare Drums
5 Cymbal Stands (3 Straight Stands + 2 Boom Stands)
1 Yamaha HI-Hat Stand
1 Spiral Drum Throne
2 Snare Drum Stands - Ball joint or 360 joint
1 Bass Drum Pedal - Belt drive or single chain drive
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Cymbals -
18" k dark crash
19" k dark crash
18" K cluster crash
Monitor
BC Gigster by Porter & Davis on a spiral drum base
Cymbals
Cymbals -
15" vintage Zildjian A Hi-Hats
15" Modern Zildjian K Light Hi-Hats*
19" k custom trash crash
19" Jesse Simpson custom
20" Zildjian Crash of Doom
21" Jesse Simpson Custom Nefertiti Cymbal
22" Zildjian K Constantinople Medium*
22" Zildjian K Constantinople Bounce Ride
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*re-worked by Jesse Simpson