Pat Cleaver

Born in London (1989), his family soon moved to France where he spent his childhood. His musical education started at the early age of 6 with guitar lessons at a local music school. A few years later he picked up the trombone, which led him to move to the regional conservatory in pursuit of a more formal classical training. Aged 14 he first played the electric bass during a jam session at a jazz workshop, and immediately fell in love with the role of the instrument. He integrated saxophonist Sylvain Beuf's jazz department at the regional conservatory a year later to study double-bass. Whilst still in high school, Pat started participating in late night sessions and soon became a part of the burgundian jazz scene.

In 2007, he decided to move to Belgium and pursue his studies in jazz performance at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, eventually obtaining a Bachelors degree in 2010. His main teachers there were Jean-Louis Rassinfosse and Christophe Walemme. During this period he co-founded the piano trio Paradigm Junction (with Dorian Dumont and Jérôme Klein), and led a busy career as a sideman performing across the country.

Since september 2010, Pat has been living in the Netherlands, where he studied in the Masters program at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, under the tuition of Ernst Glerum and Frans van der Hoeven, graduating in 2012. In 2011 he co- founded the band Shuvali with Avishai Darash, Bobby Petrov and Yaniv Nachum. Their eponymous album features Pat's long form composition “Simulated Randomness”, a suite that explores the deterministic nature of creativity, in relation to the improvisor and composer's personal background. In early 2012, he began experimenting with the possibilities of spectral harmony and microtonality in improvised music, resulting in his four part suite “The Church Towers of Amsterdam” based on the sound of the city's four Carillons.

Pat has been awarded several prizes as a performer, most notably that of “Best Bassist” at the prestigious international Jazz Hoeilaart Competition in 2012, and the “Best Soloist” prize at the 2014 European Jazz Competition.

Pat has performed in clubs and festivals in the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Lebanon, Canada and Latvia.

He boasts an extensive discography amongst his most recent releases are "Counterlife" with the Felix Schlarmann Group, "Lucid Musings" with the Daan Herweg trio, “Abra” with the Toms Rudzinskis quartet (nominated for two Latvian Music Awards) and the triple Icelandic Music Awards winning "Meatball Evening" with K trio.

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