London Jazz Award nominee Neil Yates: 'Three trumpeters, in no particular order, form my early jazz influences. Freddie Hubbard, for his energy, phrasing and feel, Chet Baker for his sensitivity and fluffy sound, and Miles Davis for his unswerving sense of the mysterious.'

You've travelled far and wide to capture the essence of celtic music, what prompted your trip?

I recorded an album with Gary Crosby's Nu-Troop called Migrations. On this album the band members all contributed tunes that in some way reflected their cultural backgrounds, Jamaica, St Lucia, Ghana etc. I realised I didn't feel my music was connected to my own cultural heritage, even though I was very fond of the traditional music of these islands, and so I set out to gain a deeper understanding of those traditions through immersion in the folk scene. I took up the low whistles, bodhran and six-hole flute and went to as many festivals and sessions as I could blag into.

You also moved to North Wales in order to compose, what does the area mean to you and your creative process?

The North Wales coast is a mixture of the beautiful and the bleak. In summer it's a happy, vibrant holiday destination with inspiring mountain walks, wide open spaces, stunning views and incredible sunsets. In winter it can be an uncompromising environment, but nonetheless inspiring, with black, fearful waves and ocean spray, high winds and violent storms. When composing it helps to get perspective. As part of my creative process I always take a walk or a drive, comparing the musical sounds in my head to the sights and sounds I'm experiencing around me. If the two don't fit together perfectly, I go back to the drawing board.

Who were your favourite early Jazz influences?

Three trumpeters, in no particular order, form my early jazz influences. Freddie Hubbard, for his energy, phrasing and feel, Chet Baker for his sensitivity and fluffy sound, and Miles Davis for his unswerving sense of the mysterious.

When are you at your happiest as a musician?

I'm happiest when I feel a creative energy flowing through me. I don't know where it comes from, certainly it feels external to my everyday being. It can happen while writing or performing, or sometimes when just walking or playing with my two year old daughter, Farai - a sense that something else is in the driving seat for a while. I love to sit back and let it flow, and just try to keep Neil Yates and all his thoughts and brain-chatter out of the way for a while.