Joel is a performer/composer working with improvisation and cross-cultural collaboration. A Berklee-trained Jazz guitarist, Joel studied composition at Birmingham Conservatoire with father of fusion music, John Mayer, and a PhD with Peter Wiegold and Richard Barrett. Premieres have been in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, NYC, Europe and the UK by BCMG, Atlas Ensemble, Juliet Fraser and Tim Garland, he has performed with Lionel Loueke, Evan Parker, Oren Marshall, Tim Garland and members of Ensemble Moderne, Ellison Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, he is Club Inegales house guitarist and leads genre-defying Gokumi Ensemble, showcasing his unique slide-guitar technique.
In July 2021 Joel received one of Sound and Music’s COVID-19 Composer Awards:
“I am surprised and very grateful to be selected for this award. It’s wonderful to have support from Sound and Music and to know there are people working to keep the arts and artists’ practices alive. The COVID-19 pandemic has made me feel increasingly distanced from the heart of my work, spontaneous composition and reacting in the moment with other musicians. This award will allow me to find my way back, working with new and old creatives in my ensemble, Gokumi.”