PLAYER PROFILES

Click on player's name to select profile. More details can be found on the player's website - see item 2 on Menu.

Ian_King John_Walker Nicholas_Martin Ian_Griffin

We start with someone who has published profiles of many other players in a magazine he once produced. We now think it is about time we knew more about a man that works from his home studio.

IAN KING. It wasn't until we launched this website that we became aware that Ian Jeffrey King has a website of his own. Apparently his middle name is used to distinguish himself from two other musicians with the same name on iTunes.

It was when he was ten years old that his parents bought him his first electronic organ - a Baldwin Howard Skyline 244, presumably named after Howard Beaumont who was the demonstrator for Baldwin organs in those days.

After leaving school in 1984 (you can work out his age from that date!) he worked for a while at Eddie Moors Music at Boscombe, Dorset. He later joined his father, Gerry, in the music engraving business (MSS Studios) and produced music books for many players and brand names.

Together with his father he started a music and CD mail order business in 1996 for organ-keyboard enthusiasts and they now have thousands of customers all over the world. After producing the Organ1st magazine for several years, it was changed in 2007 to a mail order catalogue to focus more on the CDs and DVDs held in stock.

Ian's home studio is in the pretty town of Dolgellau, North Wales, where is now lives. It was from here that he spent much time photographing specular views of Snowdonia to accompany his own compositions on a photo-music DVD, which is still available from www.dolgellau.com.

After spending much time on the slide show that accompanies his Internet radio programme presented by Alan Ashton, Ian says he is now getting back into recording in his home studio where he writes easy-listening instrumental keyboard music using a Korg M3, a Yamaha Motif XS and various other keyboards and modules, recording his material using Logic Pro for Mac. In fact his new 5 track EP, entitled "The Lone Tree" is now exclusively available as a download from iTunes - just follow the link from www.ijking.com.

You can read more about Ian on the website he constructed himself on his Apple-Mac computer on which he compiles his mail order catalogue.

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JOHN WALKER - another keyboard player who composes music, it's not on iTunes yet - but there is at least one of his compositions on YOUTUBE.

John started playing the piano at the age of twelve and whilst a chorister in his hometown of Winslow, became fascinated with the church organ and was soon playing for services. He was also in demand as accompanist for local amateur dramatic and music societies and at the age of seventeen, John played for various functions and shows on the Compton Theatre Organ at Aylesbury Civic Centre. For the next three years he was keyboard player with a local cabaret group.

In 1980 he joined Chappell Of Bond Street in Central Milton Keynes as manager of their organ department. After three years in retail he left to become a professional musician. This event coincided with the opening of Turners Musical Merry Go Round, a huge entertainment complex in Northampton, where he became resident keyboard player on the Electronic Organ. During this time, he was busy composing, producing recordings and establishing his reputation as a concert organist, playing for over 250 organ societies both here in the UK and abroad.

John's contract with a recording company resulted in his albums being distributed throughout the UK and abroad as John Walker And The Digital Orchestra. He gives more details about his Digital Orchestra on his website where you can hear him play music from some of his albums, which are now offered at factory prices in a sales clearance.

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Nicholas Martin's musical career started when he first studied the piano at nine years of age. He began to take a keen interest in the organ shortly afterwards.

During a family visit to Blackpool, in 1969 (at the age of five), he overheard the Wurlitzer organ being played in the famous Tower Ballroom by none other than "Mr Blackpool" - Reginald Dixon. Upon hearing the sound of this unique organ, Nick was totally smitten - in fact, he never quite got over it! Subsequently, after he started learning to play the organ, at age eleven, it became his driving ambition to perform at this famous venue.

Profile by courtesy of Organ1st

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Ian Griffin is Britain's Award Winning Keyboard Player. He plays keyboards in an organ configuration, including bass pedals - the only thing missing is the wooden cabinet around them.

Born in South Wales in 1965, Ian became a professional player as soon as he left school. It was while he was at school that a teacher discovered he had the gift of perfect pitch, which he now finds invaluable when he plays for singers as a solo accompanist - or with his cabaret show band: 'Casual Affair' .

Apart from appearing on BBC1-TV 'Young Entertainers'

at the age of twelve playing a Hammond organ, one of Ian's biggest achievements was being musical director and playing keyboards with his band in an ITV-Wales series called 'Friday Night Live'.

Ian got together with Richard Bower in the mid 1980's and they soon became Europe's most popular keyboard duo as KEYKLIX. Their standing ovations at all their concerts and major organ-keyboard festivals is proof of their ability to blend together like no other duo.

As a solo artiste, Ian is proud to have been voted 'Organist of the Year' at several organ societies and to be nominated as one of Britain's top ten players at the British Keyboard Player Awards hosted by Hollybush Hotels.

Ian's solo CD albums are slowly becoming collectors items because he does not produce them all that often - but when he does they are really worth listening to.

Profile by courtesy of Organ1st

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