Born in Bellshill in 1978, Paul Towndrow acquired his first saxophone at the age of 11, and made such good progress over the following decade that he won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. It certainly paid off, because in 2002 he won the prestigious Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, and in 2003 the audience prize at the World Saxophone Competition in Montreux. For the past six years he has been leading his own quartet and sextet, and is also a member of Brass Jaw and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.