Paul Westwood


Paul Westwood is an English Bass player, composer, educator and author.
He studied guitar from the age of ten but switched to bass guitar when he was thirteen.
At this point, his main influences were bassists Jack Bruce, James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey and Ray Brown. Later influences included Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius.

Musical Education

In the 1970s, Westwood trained with The National Youth Jazz Orchestra, The Guildhall School of Music, and The Royal Academy of Music. He then spent five years touring in over twenty-five countries with Sir John Dankworth, Dame Cleo Laine, Lulu and Charles Aznavour.

Career

At the age of 24, Westwood returned to England to fulfil his ambition of becoming a session musician in London’s recording studios.
Albums
As a session musician, Westwood worked with such artists as: Guy Barker, Lucio Battisti, Warren Bernhardt, Stephen Bishop, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Jose Carreras, Louis Clark, Larry Coryell, Matthew Fisher, Steve Gadd, Larry Gatlin, Steve Gray, Peter Green, Justin Hayward, Nick Heywood, Hot Chocolate, Neil Innes, Chas Jankel, Elton John, Salena Jones, Nik Kershaw, Leiber & Stoller, Andrew Lloyd Webber, London Symphony Orchestra, Madonna, George Martin, Juan Martin, George Michael, John Miles, National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Sally Oldfield, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Alan Parker, Phil Ramone, Tim Rice, Cliff Richard, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennifer Rush, The Shadows, Wayne Shorter, Chris Spedding, Barbara Thompson, Vangelis, Andy Williams, John Williams, Pip Williams.
Movies
Westwood played on many movie and film soundtracks for composers such as: John Altman, John Barry, John Cameron, Carl Davis, Trevor Jones, Ron Goodwin, Richard Harvey, Peter Knight, Michel Legrand, Henry Mancini, Paul McCartney, Mike Moran, Jim Parker, The Sex Pistols, Debbie Wiseman, Mark Wilkinson, and Hans Zimmer. In 2018, Westwood was also bass guitar coach to actor Joseph Mazzello, who played the part of Queen’s rock bassist John Deacon in the 20th Century Fox Academy Award winning production of Bohemian Rhapsody.
TV shows
Artists that Westwood worked with on TV shows include: Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra, George Benson, Chuck Berry, Glen Campbell, Joe Cocker, John Coleman Orchestra, Randy Crawford, Gloria Estefan, James Galway, Janet Jackson, Al Jarreau, Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Luciano Pavarotti, The Pointer Sisters, LeAnn Rimes, Neil Sedaka, The Stylistics, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick, Barry White, Tammy Wynette.
International tours and stage shows
He has performed on numerous stages internationally for artists such as: Charles Aznavour, Sarah Brightman, Elkie Brooks, Billy Connolly, Michael Crawford, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Lulu, Cliff Richard, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia. Westwood also worked in many West End stage productions, including: Cats, Chess, Les Miserables, West Side Story, Whistle Down the Wind.
Commercial composition work
While working with commercial media companies, Westwood composed music for various groups and orchestras. He also produced 16 albums that were used by BBC, ITV, Sky, De Wolfe and KPM Music for signature tunes, incidental music, and advertising jingles.
Community concerts
From 2008 until 2017, Westwood was the musical director for Jazz In The Community, which developed into a series of annual charity concerts performed for children with special needs, primary school children, and the elderly in care homes

Lecturing and teaching

Since the 1990s, Westwood has been teaching electric bass, music composition and group workshops in various colleges, including the London College of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Morley College, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Awards
Westwood was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2006.
Research projects
His passion for researching different aspects of world music has proved to be a powerful tool for teaching and compositional purposes. Research projects include:
In March 2019, his band, Paul Westwood's Jazz FX, released their first album entitled The Earth Born and began a series of promotional concerts.

Discography

Publications

BOOKS
BASS BIBLE
Published by AMA Verlag, Germany.
Bass guitar tuition book: a world history of contemporary bass lines, 285 pages.
1st edition,
revised 2nd edition
revised 3rd edition
• English,
• French,
• German,
• Italian,
• Japanese,
• Chinese, ISRC CN-Q06-04-0031-0/A.G4
BASS BIBLE 2
Due for publication in 2019 by AMA Verlag, this tuition book contains further examples of western bass guitar styles, plus bass lines from Turkey, the Middle East, and the Far East. Also featured are examples of 16th century English Renaissance music used in the plays of William Shakespeare. 3 audio CDs are to be included.
VIDEOS and DVDs
• The Complete Bass Guitar Player, Music Sales Ltd, tuition video, Omnibus OV10267
• A-Z of Bass Guitar, Music Sales Ltd, tuition DVD, DV11495,