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Will Minting

Following in the footsteps of his Grandfather, big band leader Billy Minting (Sax, Clarinet), and rock'n'roll father Mike Minting (guitar), Will Minting (keyboards, guitar, vocals) studied piano from age 6, before becoming a Cathedral Chorister under the direction of Stephen Darlington, at St Albans in 1978. It became clear from early jamming sessions with his brother, Stuart Minting (Bass) that Will's musical ambitions were heavily influenced by the virtuosity of his Los Angeles session musician heroes.

Having recorded vocals on 5 albums and, on several occasions in the late 1970's and early 1980's performing live on BBC radio, Will Minting also notably performed at international Festivals, at Notre Dame in Paris, at St Paul's Cathedral, and featured in an ITV documentary. Will's formative years culminated in his appointment as Head Chorister, during which time he featured in a Royal performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Around this time, Will also performed percussion in a musical production at St Albans City Hall, and in a season of "Joseph & his technicolour dreamcoat" at Malrborough Road.

Will quit St Albans Cathedral to become keyboard player in "Midnight Sun", which later re-branded as "Thick Lippy". During a charitable 12 hour "12 bar blues" marathon, a grand piano lid slammed shut, severing a nerve in a finger on Will's left hand.

Whilst learning electric guitar at age 13, Will played piano with Mike Hudis's swing band, apparently adding a "Mahavishnu" dimension to trad compositions. After two years of fusing big band favourites with his hard rock influences, Will experimented with his first Roland synthesier, recording early Van Halen & Alan Parsons Project covers by bouncing tape-to-tape tracks. On the strength of these tapes, Will was invited to joined Charlie Murray's gothic-orientated "The Answer" in 1985. Early tapes from the Welywn Sessions revealed Will's talent for soloing over progressive sequences. Performing at The Pioneer and St Albans City Hall, Will's nod to early-classical influences received rapturous acclaim, with his dramatic use of J.S.Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor.

From 1987, Will recorded and performed Bon Jovi, Pink Floyd & Toto covers with Stewart Crawley (Guitar) but these band line ups rarely seemed to last for more than 2 or 3 sessions. In 1989, Will went to Swansea University wielding an Ibanez guitar and powerful stereo EFX system, where he joined Shotgun Wedding as lead guitarist. Very shortly after, the band became "Will Minting's Shotgun Wedding". Performing in local venues and theatres, including Taliesin and Hendrefoilan, Will revisited his classical roots and took piano lessons (Rachmaninov) from Dr Morris. In 1990, Will was appointed Musical Director of Swansea university Drama Society, where he wrote, conducted and arranged scores for seasons of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" and "Fuente Ovejuna." During University holidays, Will demonstrated keyboards for Yamaha, Roland, Technics and Hammond, at international music fairs.

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Piramuz Carol Concert in Pluckley, Kent on Sunday December 16th

Piramuz Carol Concert in Pluckley, Kent on Sunday December 16th

Source: All About Jazz

PIRAMUZ will be serving large portions of festive cheer at The Dering Arms, Pluckley, Kent, this Sunday 16 December 2007. Always searching for that elusive fourth chord, the buzz surrounding Piramuz is not merely the noise emanating from guitarist's Alex Schatunowski's amplification. With a substantial appreciation from the local farms, queues are expected in the other bar for the fine ales on offer at The Dering Arms. Piramuz drummer John Roberts said “I love carols. But I wouldn't say no ...

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