Brett Richardson was born in Leicester, England. Brett was schooled in the arcane art of bassoon playing from the age of 9. By the time he reached 18 he had achieved a Distinction in Grade 8 on the instrument, the highest possible mark at the highest Grade. During those 9 years he performed with orchestras and college bands across the UK and Europe. As part of the highly regarded LSSO, he played Cathedrals in Paris, a Stadium and live on Spanish national television as part of 'Expo '92'. He also worked with the British legend of Western Art music, Sir Michael Tippet.
On bassoon, he has performed with Evil Dick and the Banned Members (January 2005 to September 2005) and on ist's King Martha (also arranging Audrey Hepburn before joining the band full-time as bassoonist and guitarist in September 2005), Ideal Food for Love by Uncle Frank (Frank Benbini, drummer for Fun Lovin' Criminals) and Out of True by legendary band The Nightingales.
He is also a self-taught bassist and guitarist, playing with a variety of well-named bands over 17 years (and counting), including Virgin Durtbox, Acrypha, The Rolf Harris Turtle Unit and The Moth Lantern, plus DJ'ing as DJ Alienist. Brett recently returned to teaching bass and guitar. He has also undertaken to bring Rock Bassoon to the world, by the means of playing session work on the bassoon aimed especially at bringing new sounds to rock bands across the UK.
You can contact Brett at brett@istianity.co.uk, if you would like to do so.
As a full-time member of ist, he is responsible not only for co-writing and performing the songs on a wide variety of instruments, but also for knowing what Kenton means when he hums things.
Brett Richardson launched his own website in June 2008.
Visit www.brettmusic.co.uk for Brett's guitar lessons, bass lessons and session bassoon information.
Click here to view all the videos so far.