Rich Perks

As a both a guitarist and composer Rich exhibits a keen interest in anything unusual, progressive and innovative. As well as being an active gigging musician, he is currently studying for his PhD at Brunel University where he specialises in constructing compositional methodologies for improvising musicians.

Rich started playing guitar at the age of twelve and after being in several rock covers bands at school and college, performing in a variety of clubs and pubs up and down the country, Rich moved to Southampton to study Mathematics. During this time he held the guitarist chair in the Southampton University Jazz Orchestra (SUJO) for three years, playing venues all over the UK as well as at the North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), plus several dates at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland). In his final year in SUJO, Rich was elected as band President and composed and arranged several pieces for their repertoire. Throughout this period Rich studied privately with Dave Marchant.

After graduating from Southampton in the summer of 2003, Rich moved back to London and joined the 'power-funk' outfit Monsterhorns as well as several function bands, with which he performed many gigs around London. In the autumn of that year Rich enrolled at the Guitar Institute, on the degree programme, to study his instrument further under Shaun Baxter (The Shaun Baxter Band/ Carl Palmer band) and Iain Scott (Frank Gambale/ Afterburner), where he graduated in June 2006. It was through studying an array of improvising styles, as well as composition, that Rich developed his interest in the amalgamation of different idioms and methodologies within abstract contemporary musical contexts. At this time, Rich was performing as a guitarist with several bands and played at many venues around London including Bush Hall and the Shepards Bush Empire.

After graduating from the Guitar Institute, Rich was offered the teaching position of Head of Guitar at the International Centre for Music in Qatar (Middle East) which he accepted and held for a year. Over this time he performed intensely with Doha Jazz (a jazz quartet in Qatar), playing over 120 gigs in nine months.

In the summer of 2007, Rich returned to London to pursue his Masters Degree in Contemporary Music at Brunel University, where he specialised in improvisation and composition. Here he studied under Richard Barrett and Christopher Fox, whilst receiving private instrumental tuition from Mike Outram. At this time he retained several residencies in London bars and clubs and worked on various projects as a session musician, performing around the UK and Europe.

Following his MMus graduation in the summer of 2009, Rich's debut album Imposition - a culmination of the compositional ideas explored at Brunel - was released independently and is available from this site.

Rich has recently accepted an unconditional offer for a place on a PhD course from Brunel University, conducting research under supervisors Peter Wiegold and Colin Riley. He is currently performing as a guitarist with several ensembles around London and has recently started his own improvisation based ensemble, Noise Collective.

Rich has performed live with:

Matti Caspi (London Metropole - 2005)

Ed Jones ('Incognito' - Turner Sims- Southampton - 2002)

Dick Heckstall-Smith ('Incognito/ DHS group' - Southampton University Jazz Club - 2002)

Rich has performed live at workshops/ Masterclasses with:

Hamish Stewart ('Average White Band'- Guitar Institute - Masterclass)

Billy Cobham ('Herbie Hancock et al'- Guildhall School of Music and Drama- Jazz Workshop) Show less