Harp & Piano duo - August

15th August 2026 | 11:00am | Llandaff Parish Hall | Free

Ben Creighton Griffiths (harp) and Julian Martin (piano)

Combining the harp and piano, Ben and his former jazz tutor Julian will present a mixture of traditional jazz standards, modern jazz, Latin jazz, funk/blues, and original compositions by both musicians.

Ben Creighton Griffiths

Benjamin Creighton Griffiths is an Internationally touring jazz and classical harpist based in Wales. He made his International debut at the 2004 1er Concours International de Harpe in Nantes, France where, aged 7, he came second in the Under 18 division. In 2006 he won the Under 13 Division of the Wales International Harp Festival before going on to win the 2008 Junior Lily Laskine competition in Paris, winning a concert harp in the process.

Originally classically trained with Catrin Finch, Elinor Bennett, and Ann Griffiths, he now specialises in jazz both as a soloist and with his bands – the Transatlantic Hot Club and Chube. His career has taken him across the world including to America, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, China, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, India, Brazil, and across Europe and has seen him collaborate with excellent musicians in both the classical and jazz world including Dennis Rollins MBE (jazz trombone), Tatiana Eva-Marie (vocals), Adrien Chevalier (jazz violin), and Catrin Finch (harp).

As well as a performer he is a composer, most recently developing a concert schedule for his own Concerto for Jazz Harp & Symphony Orchestra. This has included performances with the The Chandos Symphony Orchestra (who commissioned the work), The Cardiff Philharmonic, Stratford on Avon Symphony Orchestra, Swindon Symphony Orchestra, and Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra. It received its first international performance in Tasmania with the Student Music Collective of Tasmania University.

Upcoming appearances at the time of writing include a Corsican tour with the Transatlantic Hot Club, Chube's North American debut in Toronto, a first visit to Poland for the Polish Harp Societies European Congress, and a return to Australia and East Asia.

Julian Martin

Julian Martin has been performing as a jazz pianist for longer than he cares to
mention, running ensembles, playing cocktail piano in hotels and supporting
many of the great canon of British jazz musicians including Guy Barker, Alan
Barnes, Peter King and Jim Mullen. He also worked for many years as MD for
the Radio Wales comedy show “The LL files”, and now spends his time writing
music for film and TV whilst still performing. He runs a regular workshop on
Monday nights, as well as a monthly jam session at Ardour Academy in
Roath. He also teaches Jazz and Blues on Cardiff University's adult education
programme.

Until recently he also played with the popular ska band, The Navarones, this
time on Trumpet.