Biography

Daisy spent the first 14 years of her life training to be a dancer before a passion for the saxophone led to a career in music instead!

Although she was dancing from the age of two, she didn't begin to learn the flute until she was eight, later picking up the saxophone aged eleven after hearing a classmate play 'Misty'. She had her first taste of fame at 14, accompanying hundreds of her peers on piano as they sang a song she had written for the inaugural Borough of Camden Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall. Jazz appeared to be in her blood - her grandfather was in the original Squadronaires, the UK's finest big band - and she spent the next seven years playing flute and saxophone with various school and borough orchestras, touring Belgium, Germany, Italy and Lithuania (Vilnius Jazz Festival). A further highlight was performing in the foyer of the United Nations in New York.

She later studied with ex-'Jazz Messengers' Jean Toussaint, Tony Woods and American tenorist Frank Griffith, graduating from university with a 1st class BA Hons in music and both department prizes for performance and composition. During university she also joined the acclaimed jazz workshop at Weekend Arts College (former students include Courtney Pine, Julian Joseph, the Mondesir brothers and Nikki Yeoh) and studied jazz and arranging with British sax legend Tim Whitehead.

Since graduating, Daisy has worked with Hot Orange Big Band, Sound of 17 (Ealing Jazz Festival), Frank Griffith Big Band, Pete Cater, Don Wright's Supersax and the London Jazz Collective. She appeared at top jazz venues with Cai Marle-Garcia's the Mr. Ears Project, including the Vortex and the Isle of Wight International Jazz Festival. Daisy is currently touring Europe with the fabulous EBONY BONES!. She also appeared as a special guest playing live on Shaun Keaveny's BBC 6 Music show.

Daisy now leads a funky saxophone quartet, QuartaSax with NYJO saxophonist Rob Sell, as well as playing at corporate events, such as the NCH Awards Ceremony at BAFTA, a Summer Jazz Party hosted by Kenneth Clarke, a Celebration of Motorsport with Ross Brawn and a fabulous champagne reception at the Design Museum ... and she still takes ballet lessons!

Saxophones/flutes