Karen Wray

Music has never been just something I do.
I love the challenge of making complex music feel effortless. Technique is only the starting point. Musicality is what people remember.

Music has shaped my life from an early age. I began with classical piano and cello, earning a music scholarship and success in several competitions before discovering the clarinet and, ultimately, the saxophone. By the age of twelve, I was leading my school saxophone quartet on soprano while performing professional-level big band repertoire on tenor saxophone at weekends.

Today, my musical life is wonderfully varied. Alongside SPLANKY, I perform with big bands, a contemporary jazz quintet and a traditional jazz band, moving between saxophone, piano and clarinet. I also regularly deputise with other ensembles, often at short notice. Some musicians dread opening a brand-new score five minutes before the downbeat. I rather enjoy it!

I still love learning. Since 2018, I’ve studied jazz harmony, improvisation and musicianship at Jazz School UK, regularly attending workshops led by some of the UK’s most respected jazz musicians, including Nikki Iles, Dave O’Higgins and Alan Barnes.