I started gigging in my teens and was fortunate enough to play with such jazz luminaries as Alan Barnes and Digby Fairweather at an impressionable age. I played in the pit band for musical theatre productions at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2012 and 2014, the former earning five stars from Broadway Baby.
While studying at the University of Manchester I was a member of both the rabble-rousing Manchester University Jazz Orchestra, which gigged frequently all over the North and included musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music, and the more academic Manchester University Big Band, which pushed the university’s best players with challenging repertoire.
Inspired by an organ performance at the Royal Northern College of Music, in 2016 I led a five-piece group in performing a live improvised noise-rock soundtrack to the classic silent horror Nosferatu.
As the bassist of the psychedelic blues-rock band Old House Playground I toured the UK, Spain, France and Greece and performed on the soundtrack of the documentary The Road to Sparta, which won several awards and was nominated for a Best Music award.
In 2023 I joined Hadda Be as their lead guitarist and we played shows in France, Germany, the UK and the USA before knuckling down to work on our next album, due for UK and US release in 2026. I can be found playing around London with my jazz trio and have also recently worked with Sansha.
JAGO FURNAS 