Sam Gardner
Composer, producer and drummer. London-based. Three lives in one kit.
Sam Gardner is a freelance composer, producer and drummer based in London. He graduated from Leeds College of Music with a first-class honours degree in Jazz in 2011 and has been working professionally across the UK and Europe ever since.
As a leader, Sam fronts Samadhi Quintet, whose debut album The Dance of Venus was released on the F-IRE Label in 2015. London Jazz News described it as "accomplished and richly inventive." The Quintet draws on jazz, hip-hop, Indian classical rhythm and Latin to build a sound of its own.
Under the alias Septabeat he produces and performs drum & bass — The Sundance EP (2020) and "You Fill Me" (with Syren Rivers) drew praise across the scene, including from Tony Coleman of Hospital Records.
As a drummer for hire, Sam has performed and recorded with Gentleman's Dub Club, Submotion Orchestra, the Outlook Orchestra, Devils of Moko and Ashley Henry, with stages including Somerset House and Lovebox.
Sam is also an educator — currently a jazz drums lecturer at Leeds University and having led workshops and residencies with schools and charities across the country.