Ben Castle

Ben was born in Buckinghamshire, UK. He is the youngest son of the UK television personality and musician, Roy Castle and his wife Fiona. A noteworthy clarinet and saxophone player from an early age, by 13, Ben had achieved distinction in his Grade 8 clarinet exam. Within two years, he had joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. At 17 he left school, and enrolled in the one-year Post-Graduate Jazz Course at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama the following year. "There was always music around the house," he recalls. "My dad was very much into the classic crooners and jazz trumpet players. My brother was into early Genesis, which got me into the rock side of things. Then I saw The Police on the telly, and Madness, and then I became completely obsessed with Deep Purple". A switch flicked on, when, at the age of 13, his dad took him to see drummer Buddy Rich at London's famous jazz venue, Ronnie Scott's. "The drumming was obviously amazing, but it was when I heard sax player