Dennis Rollins

Born in 1964 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, Dennis Rollins took up the trombone after encouragement from his Jamaican-born parents and from his brother Winston Rollins, who played the instrument professionally. His first musical exposure came through funk, though jazz had become his focus by the early teens, when he began performing as well. The two genres gradually fused in his work, yielding a style marked by both excitement and an earthy directness. His chief trombone models in jazz were Fred Wesley and J.J. Johnson, yet he also absorbed the approaches of Robin Eubanks, Frank Rosolino, and Steve Turre, whose contrasting sounds and techniques helped foster his own distinctive voice. He studied within the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association college system, founded by John S.M. Ellis MBE, and appeared as soloist with the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra. He went on to play in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and in Courtney Pine’s Jazz Warriors. Steady demand followed, leading to engagements with funk-fusion ensembles such as Us3, Jamiroquai, and Brand New Heavies, the last of which took him on tour throughout the United States. In the mid-1990s he started his own jazz-funk group, Dee Roe, which remained active until 1997. In 2000 he assembled the six-piece BadBone And Co, began performing live with the band, and released his first album after issuing the EP Wild & Free earlier that year. In addition to trombone performance, Rollins has continued to develop his skills as composer and arranger. Beyond his work with Pine and Brand New Heavies, he has recorded with Cleveland Watkiss, Jazz Jamaica, Prince Buster, Eric Benet, and Beverley Knight. A vibrant player who commands the instrument fully, Rollins already ranks among the significant voices on the British jazz and funk scenes, while his American appearances have helped extend his audience beyond the United Kingdom.