HATFIELD and the HEALTH
rejoicing in Canterbury music
MUSICIANS
Simon Thorpe
bass & vocals
Simon lives in London and regularly plays on the UK music scene, having been nominated twice for a British Jazz Award. He studied bass with Jeff Clyne at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has since played with many well-known UK musicians including Jimmy Hastings, Bobby Wellins, John Etheridge, Trevor Tomkins, Jim Mullen and Phil Lee. He also writes songs and music for a number of his own projects, including the Canterbury-influenced Fuzz Kitchen.
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Eric Baumgartner
keyboards
Eric studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, where Nick was also a student, and where they found they shared a love for Canterbury music. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia where he is active as a musical jack-of-all-trades. He regularly works with a variety of pop and jazz groups, vocal ensembles and theatres. Eric is also a composer, arranger and clinician for The Hal Leonard Corporation, having published dozens of piano works and methods.
Nick Allum
drums
Returning to England from the US in the early 1980s, Nick was heavily involved in community jazz education, working with John Stevens, Courtney Pine and others. Having performed in the London scene for several years, he began to tour and record with indie rock bands The Apartments and The Fatima Mansions. Juggling a parallel career as a sociology don, he continued through the noughties to play live and record with Irish singer-songwriter Cathal Coughlan, as well as take part in contemporary classical projects with cellist Audrey Riley. Nick also recorded ‘Song of Co-Aklan’ – one of Uncut magazine’s albums of the year 2021.
Karen Sharp
sax / clarinet
Karen is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, well-known on the UK music scene. She leads her own quartet which celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2025, and recorded a trio album with bassist Simon Thorpe and guitarist Colin Oxley, with a further quartet recording due for release in early 2026 . Aside from her own projects Karen is very excited to be part of the Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestra.
Mark Ridout
guitar
Mark is a superb guitarist having performed in many of the UK’s major jazz venues and festivals with such names as Jimmy Smith, Babara Dennerlein, Tony Martin, Natalie Cole, Jane Monheit and Eddie Parker. He has appeared on albums for various jazz artists including Jacqui Hicks, Andrea Vicari, Stuart Curtis, Simon Thorpe’s Improphonics and many pop and rock albums. As a session guitarist Mark’s playing is featured on many wii game soundtracks. Mark toured the US with Jazz funk band ‘Down to the Bone’, and has performed on BBC TV 's "Strictly" and with Alison Moyet and the BBC Big Band.
Gabriel Keen
keyboards
Gabriel studied classical piano at Dartington College of Arts and London College of Music, and was a prizewinner at the 5th British Contemporary Piano Competition. He has recorded works by contemporary composers Enid Luff, Julia Usher and Brian Inglis.
He has worked with many jazz, soul and pop artists and bands, notable among them Jon Owen, The Tiger Lillies, Michele Drees Jazz Tap Project, Errol Kennedy's Imagination, Grace Kennedy, and Maiuko Quarteto.
He is a member of free improvisation group A Bigger Mouth.