Oli Hayhurst has been one of the busiest bass players on the London jazz scene since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2000. He is involved in a wide range of music playing with stars of jazz, classical and world musics. He has been featured on over 60 albums and toured extensively.

 

Growing up in Cambridge playing clarinet, then guitar and bass guitar on the local music scene. After a failed attempt at a Physics degree he took up double bass and moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst still a student under the late Jeff Clyne he was touring with Gilad Atzmon and playing with Irish folk singer Cara Dillon. He was a founder member of  Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble, playing on their first two albums. In 2004 with singer-songwriter Polly Paulusma he toured Europe opening for Bob Dylan. In 2006 he was featured on Zoe Rahman’s Mercury nominated album, ‘Melting Pot’ which also won the Best Album award in the 2006 parliamentary jazz awards. He continued to play with Zoe Rahman until 2011 playing at festivals throughout Europe and recording a further three albums. This was the first of frequent pairings with Gene Calderazzo which have been continued in the bands of Julian Siegel and Pharoah Sanders. He rekindled some folk associations in 2006-7 playing in Parallelogram with Lau and Brian Finnegan. He has held long associations with Tenor saxophonists Tim Whitehead and Sam Crockatt playing in both their groups since the early 2000s. As a member of Ray Gelato’s Giants from 2008-15 he toured all over Europe, north Africa and Brazil and held annual residencies at Ronnie Scott’s in London and the Blue Note Milan. He has been a regular in Pharoah Sanders’ quartet for European dates since 2012 playing with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dan Tepfer, Joe Farnsworth, Gene Calderazzo and William Henderson.

 

Latest projects include working with Jacqui Dankworth and Charlie Wood, Georgia Mancio’s songbook with the great pianist Alan Broadbent, Kate William’s string quartet meets piano trio project 4 plus 3 and Hannes Riepler’s quartet featuring Chris Cheek.

 

He has also worked with artists as diverse as Melanie C, Vanessa Mae, Bill McHenry, Tom Rainey, Alison Balsom, Kirk Lightsey, Maria Ewing, Bobby Wellins, Koby Israelite, Reem Kelani, Collabro, Thomas Lang, Il Divo, Kit Downes, John Law, Bob Monkhouse, Ian Shaw and both Michael Rosens, the poet and the saxophonist.