Ralph Salmins

Ralph Salmins (born June 4, 1964 in Farnborough , Kent ) is a British classical and jazz musician who plays drums .

Live and act

Salmins comes from a musical family; he began playing the violin at the age of five, only to take piano lessons at the age of seven. At the age of twelve he switched to percussion . From the age of 14 he played in various orchestras. At the age of 16 Ken Mackintosh brought him into his big band; in the same period of life he played in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra . Between 1982 and 1986 he studied classical percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . He was a member of John Etheridge's quartet and worked on behalf of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . He has worked for Tim Whitehead , Loose Tubes , Jim Mullen , Annie Whitehead , Pete Saberton , Salena Jones and Bertice Reading . He played with his own trio at the Bass Clef Club for 18 months . In the 1990s he played with Duncan Lamont , Bobby Wellins , Iain Ballamy , Ian Carr , Martin Taylor , Brian Lemon and accompanied Bob Wilber , Annie Ross , Herb Ellis , James Moody , Warren Vaché and Oliver Jones . He was also active as a studio musician and has appeared on recordings by, among others, Paul McCartney , George Martin , Elton John , Madonna , Elvis Costello , Jeff Beck , Alice Cooper , Michel Legrand , Michael Bublé , Björk ( It's Oh So Quiet ) and Robbie Williams ( Swing When You're Winning ). He later worked in the bands of Guy Barker , Stan Tracey , Gerard Presencer , Kenny Baker , Georgie Fame , Van Morrison and most recently with The Waterboys .

In 2012, Salmins worked as a consultant to coordinate the thousand percussionists who accompanied Evelyn Glennie during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. He is Professor of Timpani and Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music .

Salmins graduated as the winner of the Philip Jones Percussion Prize . As the best drummer, he won the British Jazz Awards in 2006 and 2007 .

John Chilton : Who's Who of British Jazz . Continuum, London 2004, ISBN 0-8264-7234-6

personal data
SURNAME	Salmins, Ralph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	classical and jazz musician (drums)
DATE OF BIRTH	4th June 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH	Farnborough , Kent