Velvet Entertainment

With a rich repertoire, including original material and jazz classics, these highly polished, classically trained musicians enjoy nothing better than delighting their audience. The sweet tunes and toe tapping grooves are brought to you by Bruno’s masterful piano tinkering, Tony’s gloriously funky double bass, and Ami setting the tempo on drums. Heather casts her shimmering light on the ensemble with her exuberant sax tooting and folky vocals. Together they weave a rich tapestry of styles, mixing up jazz, dance and Latin flavours.

Heather was first bitten by the performance buzz at the Globe Theatre, which compelled her to study music at Trinity College. Her musical prowess, effervescent personality, and charismatic presence has made her a sought after artist. She’s played with many big hitters on the jazz circuit including Roy Ayres, Marcus Printup, Michael Franti and Nenah Cherry. Heather Hoyle and the Knowledge is the result of her desire to celebrate jazz’s prolific influence, combined with her own original material.

The band’s credentials speak for themselves. As the drummer for 1 Giant Leap, Ami performed with Robbie Williams, Maxi Jazz, Baba Ma’al, Neneh Cherry, Michael Franti, Faithless and Eddie Reader amongst others. He’s recorded with the likes of Daniel Bedingfield and Gabrielle.

Bruno d’Ambra studied piano and composition at The Naples Conservatory before moving to London in 2000. An established performer on London’s thriving jazz scene, Bruno also works as a producer, arranger and session keyboardist on non-jazz projects ranging from electronics to soul, reggae, rock and world-music.

Tony Thomas’ dedication playing and teaching has led him to play with artists across the spectrum. Having trained at Berkely College of Music in the USA, he wanted to pass on his passion, a commitment which resulted in the Tabernacle, a community project in West London. Securing both funding and equipment for the centre, Tony has since run accredited courses through Kensington and Chelsea College for many years.

Whilst inspiring budding musicians, Tony also ran a big band boasting the cream of the British jazz scene with players such as Winston Rollins, (Jamiroquai), Jason Yard, Tony Kofi, (Jazz Jamaica), and Brian Edwards.

Heather Hoyle and the Knowledge love to take centre stage, rousing the crowd and getting people on their feet. But they’re happy to take it down for a background mood in a social setting. Their wealth of experience and versatility make them an ideal choice for high profile events when image and quality are crucial.

Next: Cy Winstanley