Breathing the notes (in tempo)

Over the past 25 years Gerard Presencer has carved out a formidable reputation as one of the most respected trumpeters on the European scene. He exploded onto the international scene aged 18, when US3 asked him to play the solo part on Blue Note's Cantaloupe Island (re-imagined as Cantaloop Flip-Fantasia), which became one of the biggest selling jazz records of the 1990s. Since then he has performed with a who's who of international jazz artists, and continues to push himself and his instrument, moving outside his comfort zone in order to develop as a player and writer.

In other genres, Gerard has recorded as a session musician with artists such as Sting, Jamiroquai, Zero 7, James Brown, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell and Jonny Greenwood.

Gerard has also been an essential member of Charlie Watts' various jazz groups over the last 25 years, touring the world and releasing several albums with the jazz-loving Stone.

As an educator, Gerard was Head of Jazz Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1999 to 2010, and is currently Head of the Brass Department at the Jazz Institut in Berlin. In this course he shares his internal approach to playing the trumpet - the mental and physical habits behind a great sound - so you can develop tone, control and musicianship from the inside out.