Episode 44: James Gardener

Episode 44: James Gardener Born in Southampton, James Gardener began his musical journey at seven on tenor horn before switching to trumpet at nine - following some very practical advice from his primary school teacher: “you’ll get more gigs on trumpet.” From community brass bands to the Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra, and through Grade 8 trumpet and piano studies, music quickly became the priority - A-Levels very much secondary. A 2021 graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Jazz course, James has performed alongside world-class musicians and at venues including the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the Southbank Centre. His career has also taken him to sea, performing on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth , and most recently completing a six-month cruise ship contract. Now based in Southampton, he works as a freelance trumpet player, performing with function and tribute bands (including Good Times), directing youth ensembles, teaching privately, and developing his own projects. In this episode, James arrives at the Pod Lodge fresh from life on board, bringing stories from the cruise circuit, sharing some of his own music, and taking on one of the show’s notoriously unhinged games. Expect insight, plenty of laughs, and a bit of chaos along the way. ⚠️ Note: This episode contains some Anglo-Saxon language - probably not one for the school commute. Find out more about James: Check out Karl’s band Davey Jones’ Locker:

You can listen to Episode 44: James Gardener online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 44: James Gardener is an episode from K&A Podcast by Aidan Hampson.

This episode is 01:48:28 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.

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