Born 1984 AD, David Lyttle is an Ireland-based performer, composer and musicologist working extensively in the jazz and folk idioms. His earliest musical experiences were as a child in 'The Lyttle Family', performing folk music on cello, uilleann pipes, bodhrán and lambeg drum. Self-taught on drum kit since the age of eight, Lyttle also received classical training on cello, but began to focus his efforts towards the drums at the age of eighteen when he began listening to jazz. At the age of nineteen, he received a scholarship to study at Skidmore Jazz Institute (New York), and at twenty attended the Banff Centre's International Workshop in Jazz (Canada), again on scholarship. Also during 2005, after completing his classical cello studies at the University of Ulster, he was awarded a Department of Education and Learning grant to study for a PhD in Musicology at the University of Ulster, graduating as a Doctor of Philosophy in 2009, and remaining part of the University of Ulster's performance and research faculty.

Like most of Ireland's major jazz musicians, David's first significant live experiences in the genre were with guitar icon Louis Stewart. He has gone on to perform professionally in the US, Canada, Britain and Europe with a wide variety of internationally-respected artists. These include Greg Osby, David Liebman, Soweto Kinch, Jason Rebello, Jean Toussaint, Tim Warfield, Tommy Smith, Matt Penman,  Jaleel Shaw, Dave Allen, Jamie Baum, Jonathan Kreisberg, Robert Mitchell, Jacqui Dankworth, Terell Stafford, Ronan Guilfoyle, Cleveland Watkiss and Michael Buckley, who features on 'True Story', Lyttle's acclaimed debut album on his 'Lyte Records' label. Strongly committed to serving jazz in Ireland, and to assisting its future performers, David regularly features the exceptionally talented thirteen-year-old guitarist Andreas Varady, a Hungarian gypsy who has lived on the island with his family since 2007, and also performs in the youngster's own group.

As a composer, Lyttle is also becoming increasingly known for his literary influences. 2008 saw the premiere of his interpretation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' and in 2009 he premiered his 'Dark Tales' suite, which draws inspiration from the macabre writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, featuring British piano virtuoso Robert Mitchell.

As a musician/actor or musicologist, David has appeared on BBC and RTE television, and in major films releases. In this world his credits include Danny Boyle, Richard Attenborough, Elliot Gould, Griff Rhys Jones and Northern Ireland's 'Hole In The Wall Gang'.

Lyttle continues to perform with 'The Lyttle Family', playing mostly double bass. This year will see the release of their much-awaited new album, which features some of David's folk-rooted compositions. 2010 will also see several releases by Lyttle as a leader, including 'Dark Tales' featuring pianist Robert Mitchell, his debut hip hop EP featuring rapper/saxophonist Soweto Kinch, and an album featuring guitarist Andreas Varady.

PRESS

"...notably assured technique, greased lightning reflexes and an unfailing sense of swing...a prolific composer too." - Jazzwise (UK)