A music student at Sussex has realised his ultimate dream, playing alongside guitar legend Jeff Beck in a one off master class.
Luke Machin, 20, undertaking a BA (Hons) in Professional Musicianship at Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM), was one of a small group of students selected to perform with the music icon.
Beck, 65, is ranked 14th in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time’ and was inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ earlier this year. His career has spanned over four decades, during which time he has received four Grammy awards and earned international praise with The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group.
The iconic guitarist visited the music college to offer invaluable advice to eighty budding guitarists. He discussed some of his trademark techniques and shared some of his personal experiences before leading a jamming session with a select handful of students.
Guitarist Gary Moore, who has played with Thin Lizzy and BB King, also dropped into the class for a chat.
BIMM arranges master classes throughout the academic year with various experts from the music industry including artists and managers. Bruce Dickinson, the college director, was especially thrilled by the recent visit from one of his own idols. He said: ‘We are honoured to have had such an amazing artist spend time playing with our students.’
‘I am very pleased to say that Jeff was also impressed with the quality of our students and their performances. Jeff is unequalled in his technical ability and gave the kind of tutorial that many musicians can only dream of enjoying. As Eric Clapton famously said, “With Jeff, it’s all in his hands”.’
Luke and his BIMM colleagues were later invited to Beck’s Brighton gig, accompanying the likes of Led Zepplin’s Jimmy Page.
Luke, who recently won BIMM’s prestigious ‘Student of the Year’ award, said: ‘The whole experience was incredible. I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been to have played with such an amazing musician as Jeff.’
