Award-winning drummer Stephen Asamoah-Duah is a 14 year old drummer from

Edmonton in North London. Stephen began playing the drums at the age of two.

Stephen’s drumming talent was discovered when he began hitting on his mother’s

pots and pans and the furniture in the house. When Stephen reached the age of 3 he

was given a drum kit for Christmas. Within two to three weeks the drum kit was torn.

Like any other 3 year old would do, Stephen asked for another drum kit. This time his

father bought him a junior 5-piece kit which lasted much longer. As Stephen began to

grow a bit more, musicians in his local church began to see his talent for playing the

drums. They wanted to nurture him into playing drums in the correct way which will

open doors and make ways for him in the future. When Stephen was 7 years old, that

is when he decided drums is what he wanted to do in the future. He was called by his

father to play at church for a service in the evening because the drummer can not

make it. Nobody knew that Stephen had such a talent bundled inside him. Since then,

Stephen had more opportunities to play the drums. When he reached the age of 11, he

had the chance to play at the Westminster Central Hall. He played with his church

band in front of about 2,000 people. The following year Stephen went on to join

St.Ignatius College. The music department of the school instantly caught on to

Stephen’s talent. The head of the Jazz Band (Nicholas Bottini) took a deep interest in

Stephen and wanted to put him at the best of his game. Stephen joined the Jazz band

which led him to play in places such as Westminster Cathedral and The Cheltenham

Jazz Festival. The school competed in the ‘Yamaha Jazz Experience’ competition and

Stephen’s school reached the final which led them to play at the Cheltenham Jazz

Festival. Sadly Stephen’s school did not win this competition, but Stephen was

pointed as one of the most talented musicians who were playing. What Stephen did

not know was that after the festival, two of the judges who were there (Julian Joseph

and Lianne Carroll) had nominated Stephen for the ‘Pat Crumley Award.’ This award

was for young jazz musicians who people felt that they had a future in having a big

musical career in years to come. This award led Stephen to win £1,000 and also to

play at the 606 Jazz Club in Chelsea with Lianne Carroll, Julian Joseph, Steve Pearce,

and Steve Rubie. Local newspapers have contacted Stephen’s school and Stephen’s

promotional team to get a hold of him to write a story. In 2010 Stephen entered the

UK Young Drummer Of The Year competition, which saw a huge number of

drummers from across UK and Ireland. Stephen was lucky enough to reach the top 40

but sadly did not make it to the top 10. In 2011 Stephen decided to enter the

competition again. He reached the top 40 and also reached the top 10. Stephen then

went on to win this competition. Stephen says “Winning this competition has started

me off in the correct way. Drums is what I want to do and nothing else.” There is no

doubt that we will be hearing from Stephen in the near future. His influences include:

Teddy Campbell, Aaron Spears, Calvin Rodgers, Benny Greb, Jonathan Ginger

Hamilton, Paco Sery, Dave Weckl and many more. Stephen is playing drums for: One

Sound, Ruff Elements Jazz Band, JoJo C, LUCIE and also doing a lot of session work

here and there..