Kelvin Bullen

Guitar and bass player, mostly working with Italian fusion artists. A black Italian (family from Tinidad & Tobago) and brother of Hugh Bullen. Bio: On emigrating from Trinidad and Tobago in the late 50's to England, Kelvin and his brother, Hugh, soon took on the passion for music as young boys in Reading, Berkshire. The weekly saturday morning sessions at home and local youth club with the young Mike Oldfield soon created a growing reputation. His band while still at school in the 60's, the Soul Trinity band played on the Riki Tik circus, playing supporting acts to Cream (2) at Newbury Corn Exchange, Jimi Hendrix at Chelmsford Corn Exchange and Youth Clubs in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm. In the late 60s, he and his brother, Hugh, was asked to join a new band, Joe E. Young & The Toniks, they moved to London and recorded his first album "Soul Buster" on Toast (3) label, touring England and playing supporting acts to Aretha Franklin at the Hammersmith Odeon. After the band splitted, Kelvin landed to Italy, there, stayed and worked and toured as a session musician with the likes of Wess Johnson, Rocky Roberts, Napoli Centrale, Loredana Bertè, Mario Lavezzi and Romina Power. In the mid 70's, Kelvin joined a London based project named Fari with singer Jenny Jackson (2), signed up with Island Records and went to Nigeria to record their songs in Ginger Baker's recording studio in Lagos. These recordings were never released but tracks from his personal archive can be heard. In the early 80's, together with Italian and American musicians, the album "Cast" was recorded in New York with colabration with Average White Band members. This album was a showcase for Kelvin's talent as a composer, singer, arranger and musician. In 1982, he toured with Pino Daniele and recorded in Stone Castle Studios, the album "Common Ground" with Richie Havens co-writing the song "Stand Up". Around that time, Kelvin moved to Switzerland and released his first single, IBM Skankin / Crooks Celebration Ball on a small indie label named KNSE International. The 90's found Kelvin teaching, working and recording in Switzerland. Personal project and band Exchange, Monroe, Bettina Schelker, Vic Vergeat "The Bank". In the 2000's, recording and touring with Doug Duffey, gospels with Connie Harvey and Queen Yahna, KCB Band "Summer Soul", Manu Hartmann "Funky Juice", Earl Greys Crunch featuring singer Liliane Michel, Adesuwa Obaseki (with Hugh Bullen as composer, producer, arranger) Rolf Schweizer "Seven Shades". Currently lives in Basel, Switzerland.