Gary Crosby Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British jazz double bassist, music arranger, educator and Executive Artistic Director of.
Education
Crosby started out playing trumpet but in his teens studied with noted bassist Peter Indiana, going on to become a founding member in 1986 of the Jazz Warriors — a group that showcased such talented young Black musicians as Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, Cleveland Watkiss, Phillip Bent, and Orphy Robinson.
Career
He leads Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop, Gary Crosby Trio, Guava, and All Stars – and has worked with many top international artists. In 1991, Crosby established Tomorrow’s Warriors, providing a platform for talented young musicians who wished to pursue a career in jazz. Over the following 13 years, the Tomorrow’s Warriors Jazz Café Jam Session became an institution and developed four generations of Warriors, including Denys Baptiste, J-Life and Soweto Kinch.
In 2004, the Tomorrow’s Warriors Jam Session moved to The Spice Of Life in Soho, where it remained active until Summer 2010.
Tomorrow’s Warriors continues to develop the careers of young musicians and is now commencing the development of its sixth generation of Warriors with core programs and workshops at Southbank Centre, London. In the early 1990s, Crosby set up, a group of Jamaican jazz musicians, in which young musicians played alongside such seasoned talent as ska trombonist Rico Rodriquez and trumpeter Eddie Thornton.
Artists associated with include All Stars, Soweto Kinch, Denys Baptiste, Abram Wilson, Andrew McCormack, Empirical and J-Life.