Craig Milverton

Craig Charles Milverton (born August 20, 1967 in Bexley (Kent) ) is a British jazz pianist (and occasionally also a singer).

Live and act

Milverton grew up in a musical family; the father and the brothers are pianists. He received classical piano lessons from the age of seven. He became interested in jazz through his father's record collection . He was already playing in public when he was ten. He then worked in a music store and initially performed internationally with R&B bands such as the Junkyard Angels , including as a companion to Junior Wells and Buddy Guy . In 1989 he was part of trombonist Roger Mark's band, then Pete Allen's group, before accompanying Terry Lightfoot for three years .

Since 1997 he has been a member of Digby Fairweathers Half Dozen , with whom he has appeared repeatedly on Pizza on the Park (CD 12 Feet off the Ground , 2005 and 2006 winner of the British Jazz Award ). With the Kings of Jazz he played on cruises on the Oriana in 1998 and 1999 ; he also belonged to the Pizza Express International Band , which gave concerts in Istanbul. In 2000 and 2001 he was a member of First Class Sounds (CD making tracks ). In the following years he also led his own groups, mostly in trio or quartet format , with which he presented several albums such as ZZ Bop or Organsolar . Between 2002 and 2007 he accompanied George Melly , with whom he recorded three albums, then the singer Louise Parker.

Milverton has been invited to international festivals in many countries in Europe and in North America. He has also performed with musicians such as Greg Abate , Kenny Ball , Acker Bilk , Jamie Cullum , Jacqui Dankworth , John Etheridge , Peanuts Hucko , Stacey Kent , Tina May , George Masso , Van Morrison , Ken Peplowski , Carol Sudhalter , Jean Toussaint , Anita Wardell , and Don Weller .

Between 2003 and 2007 he organized the Hayne Barton Jazz Festival .

Prizes and awards

In 2003 his album It's a Jazz Life was named “CD of the month” by The Observer . In 2010 he was honored with a British Jazz Award for best pianist.

Lexical entries

• John Chilton : Who's Who of British Jazz Continuum, London 2004; ISBN 0-8264-7234-6 (2nd edition)

Web links

• Web presence
• Craig Milverton at Allmusic (English)