Biography

Grahame Rhodes was born in the North of England where he studied piano and theory before joining the Armed Forces at the age of sixteen.

He attended Knellor Hall and Royal Trinity Colleges of Music in London, but spent most of his time at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club when it was still on Gerrard Street in Soho. He played in a traditional jazz group in Germany where he backed up such artists as Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. It was here that he met and was influenced by Albert Nicholas who had played with King Oliver and Louis Armstrong.

Although his main influence was bebop, he didn't really start to find his voice until after the Mingus concert 1964. It was after that he started practicing all the time, much to the annoyance of his various roommates. Over the last 40 years he has been taught by such people as Alan Raph, Tochico Akioshi, Buddy Baker, Shelly Denny, Dick Shearer, Rob McConnell, and Ian McDougall. He was influenced in his work ethic by his surrogate father Don Warner. He lives with his wonderful wife Miriam in Prince Edward island, Canada.