John Kelly

GUITAR

John Kelly is a London based jazz guitarist, working across various styles from early jazz & ragtime to Hot Club style swing to contemporary jazz. Coming from a musical family, he started musical life as a multi-instrumentalist, being educated as a brass player (trombone, euphonium) and self-taught on the guitar and drums. He served in the National Youth Brass Band, and spent much of his youth juggling musical activities of this type with a self-directed exploration which led to jazz. Upon leaving school he had performed as a soloist in many of the UK’s prominent concert halls, such as The Royal Festival Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Liverpool Phil among others and started professional engagements at the age of 13.
Since graduating from Leeds Conservatoire in 2005 as a jazz guitarist, he has performed regularly across Europe (and further afield) as both a sideman and soloist, featuring with European artists such as Tcha Limberger, as well as a long list of familiar UK musicians. His work has taken him from concerts and club gigs – appearing regularly at notable London venues Ronnie Scott’s, The Jazz Cafe, 606 and others – to major festivals (EFG London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Festival etc.) to sessions and TV soundtracks. John is also the resident guitarist/banjoist with Ewan Bleach’s Fleeting Paradise Orchestra.
African and Latin-American music have been a major influence and after studying and working with Congolese musicians, John co-founded the Anglo-Congolese group Kongo Dia Ntotila in 2010, with whom he has recorded three albums, and whose music has been played from BBC radio shows to bars, radio and even bus stations across Africa.