Ashley Bonfante has a highly individual sound as an improviser and composer. His work as a collaborator and band leader has led him to become an integral member of the thriving music scene in the UK and Europe.
Having lived and worked in Birmingham and Paris, Ashley now resides in his hometown, London. It is here that he is plying his trade in various projects around the city; working with The House and Garage Jazz Orchestra, and most recently John Daversa as lead alto in the Royal Academy Jazz Orchestra in the EFG London Jazz Festival. He also features as a guest artist on Swiss group Deb.’s album Balancing Act.
Ashley’s latest project “Mostly Ornette” explored the music of the great Ornette Coleman, with additional takes on compositions by the artists such as Charlier Parker, Booker Little, Eric Dolphy and debuted at Jazz in Kentish Town and the Vortex Jazz Club last year.
Last year, Ashley was selected as one of seven curators to participate the second iteration of the Whirlpool series at the Vortex Jazz Club. Chosen for their creative and imaginative approaches to music, the group collaborated to perform a concert at the Vortex once a month and also travelled to Austria to perform a series of gigs at the INNtöne Jazz Festival in Austria.
As an educator, Ashley has worked for the Hackney Music service since 2018 and also teaches at Saint John Bosco College in Battersea.