Originally form Cornwall, Jim Hart began playing piano and drums aged four and soon extended this to include tuned and orchestral percussion. He started playing jazz and working on modern harmony aged ten.
In 1994 he went to Manchester to do his A levels at Chetham’s School of Music. Whilst here he was a percussion finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year and won the John Dankworth ‘Most Promising Musician’ award in the BBC Big Band of the Year competition.
He then moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he began to focus mainly on playing jazz, both on drums and piano. On leaving the Guildhall, Jim became the drummer for NYJO and stayed with them for three years. During this time Jim also developed as a vibraphone player and became in demand as a drummer and percussionist.
In 2002 Jim formed his own group Gemini with saxophonist Ivo Neame and began writing all the music for it. With this group he went on to be a founder member of London’s innovative LOOP Collective. Gemini’s first album ‘Emergence’ was received to critical acclaim and a successful UK tour followed. Jim used ‘Emergence’ to set up the collective’s label LOOP Records. Gemini's second album 'Narrada' is due for release this autumn. Jim also fronts a second group called the Jim Hart Quartet with Ivo on piano. The new album 'Words and Music' is out now on Woodville Records.
He is now the regular drummer for Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine and his other major projects at present include Neon, with Stan Sulzmann and Gwilym Simcock, The Liquorice Allsorts with Alan Barnes and Paul Clarvis, The Ivo Neame Quartet, The New Jazz Couriers, Tom Richards Jazz Orchestra and many more.
A winner of Brtish Jazz awards from 2006 to date, Jim also won the 2006 Worshipful Company of Musicians Jazz medal. He has worked with a host of international stars including Phil Woods, Joel Frahm, Richie Barshay, Franco Ambrosetti, Julien Arguelles Shaun Escoffery, The Herbaliser, The Heritage Orchestra and Airto Moreira.
