Guy Gardner - Piano / Keyboards As a boy Guy listened to a variety of different music which was always abundant in the house, including Ravel, Debussy Django Reinhardt and Errol Garner. He began studying guitar but switched to piano at age 12. On Graduation from Dartington College of Arts (where he received a degree in contemporary music and composition, and also studied piano with John Horler) he worked as a professional jazz musician learning his craft with a variety of groups along the South coast.
In 2003 he took the plunge and recorded his first album Emma’s Dream, a trio featuring the peerless rhythm section of Jeff Clyne on bass and Trevor Tomkins on drums. He is currently busy performing in his own trio as well as a quartet featuring amongst others Dave O’Higgins and Rusell van den Berg. Guy’s style and lightness of touch is reminiscent of Bill Evans, but he brings a feel to jazz and especially composition that is completely his own.
Gardner and Hawker first played together in 2005, when Guy stepped in at the last minute for one of Sue's regular accompanists. Since that challenging but rewarding evening, Guy and Sue have regularly performed together, and released their first collaboration Favourite Sin in May 2007.
Rob Koral - GuitarSue Hawker and Rob Koral met over three decades ago, hanging out at the Sunday lunchtime jazz gigs in Bournemouth hoping to get a 'sit-in'. Both had performed countless times with various bands, Sue already established on the local trad jazz scene and Rob playing electric guitar in rock bands. Not happy with 'the limitations of rock music', Rob hooked up with Sue and they began performing as a duo. "For my part in the duo format, I had to learn not to be afraid of the space - and in particular the silences in the music. We did literally learn our own way of interpreting the duo on the gig in front of an audience....the best way to learn."
Later they formed the band Sketch and appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test and BBC Jazz Club.
Rob Koral has emerged as one of the great UK jazz guitarists, with an elegant, sensitive style. He continues to perform regularly with Sue Hawker. Koral has also released two solo albums Sleeping With Angels (with a guest appearance from Hawker) and Any Other Time, while his most recent album Devil Or Dove features the vocal talent of Zoe Schwarz.
Leon Clayton - Double Bass Leon Clayton has been playing bass professionally for over twenty years, working mainly with British and American musicians such as Teddy Edwards, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Joe Temperly, Scott Hamilton, James Moody and Jake Hanna. "Working with Sue is quite different to playing with larger combinations. It's great fun, in a relaxing kind of way." Leon Clayton appears on the album The Word Is Out.
Mark Fletcher - Drums A former pupil of percussion guru Max Abrams, Mark worked in clubs, bars, theatres, sessions, cruises until the mid-eighties, when he became in-house drummer at Ronnie Scott's. Dizzie Gillespie, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Mark Murphy, Tim Garland, Flora Purim, Norma Winstone, Georgie Fame, James Moody, Cedar Walton and Teddy Edwards are just some of the other artists that this exciting drummer has worked with. Mark Fletcher appears on Sue Hawker's Cosmosis and Favourite Sin.
Nick Kacal - Double Bass After graduating from Salford University in 1990 with a degree in Electro-Acoustics, Nick Kacal worked as a free-lance double-bassist, playing with a large and eclectic assortment of artists. He has played with too many jazz musicians to list; his interest in other kinds of music has been assuaged by playing and recording with acts like Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Ado Matheson, Songdog, TD Lind, The Loose Cannons Morag McLaren and John Etheridge. He has played and toured in France, Germany, Cape Verde and all over the UK, including Ronnie Scott's in London and festivals such as Womad, Brecon Jazz and the Edinburgh Festival. His own trio can be infrequently seen playing various jazz venues around the UK. Currently he is working on a trio project with Dave Ohm and Grant Windsor. Nick Kacal frequently performs live with Sue Hawker, and features on the albums Tell Me and Favourite Sin.
