Martin Kershaw

Having returned to Edinburgh in 1999 after two years as a scholarship student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Boston, U.S.A., Martin quickly re-established himself on the Scottish scene. As sideman, he has performed alongside all the top names in Scotland, including Brian Kellock, Mario Caribe, Tommy Smith, Colin Steele, Tom Bancroft, Graeme Stephen, Ryan Quigley, Nigel Clark, Carol Kidd, Paul Harrison, Chris Stout, Kevin McKenzie and Tom MacNiven. Since 2004, he has held the 1st Alto chair in the celebrated Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

As bandleader, Martin founded the soul-funk outfit Groovediggaz, drum n bass/hip-hop collective Green Juice and his own Quartet. In 2002 he was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Recording Development Grant, and produced his first album with the Martin Kershaw Quartet (Fruition, on the Caber Music label), which received strong reviews and extensive radio play. Late in 2003 he formed Trianglehead, an exciting new experimental collaboration with keyboard genius Paul Harrison and drums maestro Stuart Ritchie.

In 2005, with help from another Scottish Arts Council Recording Grant, Trianglehead released their debut recording, Maths, and then self-funded a follow-up recording, Exit Strategy, in 2007. Both albums received strong reviews and extensive radio play. Late in 2007, Martin became one of the first recipients of a Scottish Arts Council New Work Grant, to compose and perform a suite of original music inspired by the work of Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi. The project (entitled Hero As A Riddle), was a major popular and critical success, with enthusiastically-received performances in November 2008 in Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh. In early June 2009 Hero As A Riddle was recorded at Castlesound Studios, Pencaitland, thanks to a further SAC Grant. Later in the same month, Hero As A Riddle was named New Project of The Year in the Scottish Jazz Awards.