The Dean Street Project

Esta Rae - Vocals /Percussion Jazz singer/ Songwriter/Lyricist / Radio Presenter/Equity member

The Jazz singer/songwriter and radio presenter started their musical career as a classical trained mezzo soprano, Esta soon found her passion was for jazz. At the beginning of her life on stage, she worked as an impressionist on the popular comedy television show 'Who Do You Do?' for Central Television, also working as a voice over artist, for Music To Pictures, for various animation projects. Her extensive singing career includes working with a host of jazz legends, including The Colin Purbrook Trio, Brian Lemon Trio, Lol Coxhill, Alec Dankworth, Bill Le Sage and supporting Benny Waters. She received much acclaim for her warm vocals and the energy she brought to her performances, at “Pizza On The Park,” “Pizza Express Dean Street,” “The Soho Jazz Festival,” and various private functions and other London Jazz venues over many years.

The Esta Rae duo formed in the Summer of 2016 through a mutual friend, who described their first recording as "smashing". The CD is available on ITunes and Spotify and has been played on the Jazz radio station “Jazz Bites.”

Since then; the duo have performed extensively giving concerts alongside some of the jazz world's leading figures, including Grammy nominee Howard Alden (Sweet And Lowdown) and 'Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets' writer and performer, Tim Robinson. Fisher & Rae Esta Rae is now co-writing songs with the amazing keyboard player and session musician Sarah Fisher. Together they are writing a new catalogue of songs, their first co-write has just recently had its first radio play. The Dean Street Project is her latest jazz trio venture with Matt Devereaux on piano and vocals, Paul Kissaun on bass and vocals and me on percussion and vocals.

Matt Devereaux Vocals /Piano

Matt Devereaux was born in London, son of the stage and screen actor Ed Devereaux and the composer Rene Champion. Whilst still at school he sang and performed in several productions at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. After leaving school he studied fine art at Chelsea and Central Schools of Art. On leaving full-time education he worked as a jazz musician, swapping between saxophone, piano and vocals. He performed regularly at l'escargot, Kettners & Gerry's club in Soho, plus the annual Soho jazz festival as well as other venues in France, Germany and Spain. He also devised and performed a show combining jazz and comedy ,which played for many successful seasons at the Kings Head Theatre, Islington. Its performance at the Hackney Empire won first place at the Hackney Empire talent quest . He has worked extensively as a musical director, composer and performer in theatre shows both in the west end and throughout England. Shows include THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, LENNY (dir. Sir Peter Hall) and the award winning comedy, ADOLF HITLER MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL Recently he composed the score for Metta theatre's acclaimed opera THE LITTLE MERMAID to rave reviews. "A fabulously lush romantic score serves the lyrics beautifully." (Libby Purves; The Times) "Devereaux has created a sumptuous score combining the orchestral sweep of Hollywood films with soaring vocal melodies."(The York Press) His piano style is informed not only by his love of jazz from the past but also by European classical music.

Paul Kissaun - Vocals /Double Bass

All round nut job Paul Kissaun hails from Malta but has spent his time in England working variously in live music, theatre and TV. He joined acapella chart toppers, The Flying Pickets in 1989 temporarily pulling him away from a life of greasepaint and half hour calls and continued with the band arranging and recording until he left In 2000. During that time he appeared alongside Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and loads of other famous people. After all that he wrote kidz TV music including the theme for CITV's Jim Jam and Sunny and songs for: The Hive, Florries Dragons, and Wibbly Pig and others. He has sung with jazz chanteuse Joanna Eden at least twice  - once at The Albert Hall (Lyndhurst Rooms), played the part of french MC Aristide Bruant in Secret Cinema’s Moulin Rouge and is the voice of the Whatiffer in the BBC’s maths show, Numberblocks. Nowadays he does musical things in TV adverts including Mr.Kipling and enjoys being silly with music as a singing piano man in his home town of Ealing.