Celebrity food critic Jay Rayner stuns jazz students at Leeds Conservatoire as he joins them for performance
An award-winning TV personality and musician stunned jazz students in Leeds as he joined them for a performance in front of a packed audience.
Celebrity broadcaster Jay Rayner is best known as one of the country’s top food critics and for his work on popular programmes including the BBC’s MasterChef.
But in a first for the Sounds of Leeds Conservatoire series, the journalist - who has performed as a jazz pianist for years - took to the stage with talented young performers from the city.
“The students at Leeds Conservatoire clearly know their stuff,” he said. “They’re very skilled but they’re also very open to take direction, and they’re also very understanding of some old bloke who’s really a writer who also plays and they’re willing to come to my level and I really appreciate that.”
The seasoned speaker kicked off the evening’s proceedings in 350-seat auditorium The Venue with an entertaining talk followed by a question and answer session. Then, on the concert grand piano, he joined the students for stunning performances of some jazz classics.
The students who took part included Matthew Rowell on bass, Kurtis Scotland on tenor sax, and drummer Jacob Preater, who are all studying on the Conservatoire’s jazz course. Classical pianist Ellis Arey, who featured on Channel 4’s The Piano, as well as country outfit The Wranglers, completed the evening’s line-up.
Jay added: “We worked our way through arrangements that I know very well because I tend to gig them with my own sextet, and it’s a very special part of my life. It’s a side hustle that got wildly out of control and the fact that I’m able to do this today is a source of joy.”