Alex Merritt

With a personal approach to teaching that focuses on the development of each student’s general musicianship skills as well as instrumental technique; Alex’s lessons often also integrate different approaches to ear training, work with transcriptions, piano skills and creative metronome practice and rhythm skills. Alex also teaches transcription and ear training skills more broadly, to all of the 2nd year jazz and postgraduate students, leading to him working regularly with a range of students on other instruments also.

A distinctive approach as an improviser and composer; Alex has released 2 albums for the prestigious, Barcelona-based, Fresh Sound New Talent label. Most recently, an anniversary record for the label, ‘Common Threads: A Celebration of 30 Years of FSNT’ which Alex was commissioned to compose for and produce, was released in 2022. The record also featured label friend and RWCMD colleague, guitarist Tom Ollendorff.

Alex’s debut album ‘Anatta’, featuring legendary American drummer Jeff Williams, received critical acclaim as a “promising debut, of striking quality” from the Guardian’s John Fordham and was praised as “one of the best UK jazz recordings I’ve heard this year” by Marlbank’s Stephen Graham on its release.

Expertise

At home in a variety of musical situations, Alex often finds himself in straight ahead modern jazz contexts as well as improvised music and more third-stream environments that blend jazz with contemporary classical music. Exciting recent collaborations include tours with leading international musicians such as US guitarist John Stowell in 2022, Arts Council England funded tours featuring German pianist Pablo Held, Percy Pursglove and Oli Hayhurst and RWCMD colleague Joshua Blackmore in 2019 and ACE funded Alex Merritt/ Steve Fishwick Quintet UK tour in 2022 featuring Steve Fishwick and John Turville etc.