Jasmine

My name is Jasmine Whalley and I am the band-leader and saxophonist in ‘Jasmine’, an original music project influenced by Jazz and Electronic music. I have been playing saxophone since I was twelve years old (I am now 24), and began writing music in 2017.I am passionate about writing music that has a unique and current sound.

I studied Jazz Performance at Leeds Conservatoire from 2015-2018, which is where I met my band. ‘Jasmine’ is a saxophone-led quintet featuring guitar, piano, bass and drums; I regularly play with the same line-up but view myself as a solo-artist when performing with this project. Since starting this project I have performed at some of Leeds’ most popular venues such as Belgrave Music Hall (supporting Nubya Garcia), The Brudenell Social Club, The Wardrobe and The Hyde Park Book Club. Prior to the pandemic, I also curated weekly Jazz events at The Hyde Park Book Club. I have been heavily involved with the Leeds music scene for a number of years and as a result of this I have gained a loyal fanbase locally.

In July 2018, I was selected to take part in the ‘Jazz North Introduces’ scheme, which supports emerging artists in the north of England. This was a huge achievement for me and allowed me to gain a lot of valuable experience as an artist. Jazz North gave me the opportunity to perform at some of the UK’s most renowned Jazz Festivals, such as Marsden Jazz, Durham Jazz, Scarborough Jazz and Manchester Jazz. They also arranged for myself and the band to have a mentoring session with Soweto Kinch, who at the time was a huge influence for me. Both of these opportunities allowed me to gain a lot of confidence as a performer and a composer.