Biography

Alongside a glittering session career (David Byrne, Ray Davies, Morcheeba), piano player and songwriter Dom Pipkin has been described by Blues in Britain as “one of the world’s greatest exponents of New Orleans piano”.   He first discovered the New Orleans style in the early 90s, and has gone on to become a regular visitor and performer in that city, with appearances that include the highly acclaimed “Piano Night” and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival.  He is a regular fixture on the European blues and boogie-woogie festival circuit having played 1000’s of club and theatre, radio and TV dates in a career spanning nearly three decades. 

Pipkin developed a particular specialisation for the unique flavours of maverick New Orleans piano star James Booker (1939 - 1983) capturing the player’s trademark combination of driving blues married with rhapsodic classical influences.  He was invited to play at the world premiere of the documentary “Bayou Maharajah” at SXSW in 2014, and at multiple subsequent screenings of the film.  

Pipkin regularly performs and records in New Orleans, and has shared stages with legends such as Allen Toussaint , Dr John and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.  Grammy award winner Jon Cleary invites him to jam whenever he’s in town.  In live shows Pipkin mixes his own compelling songwriting with blues and Big Easy classics that "..cooks up a steaming musical stew that has the crowd dancing and clapping for more"  Classic Rock Blues Magazine.  

Pipkin's band the Ikos, takes these New Orleans influences and fleshes them out with drums, harmonies and wailing sax and has been resident at Ronnie Scott's London and around the RnB club scene where its reputation as a top level live act is second to none. Pipkin delivers the most authentic and compelling take on this highly infectious and life affirming blend of blues, gospel, street and jazz that is uniquely New Orleans, with a stellar list of international festivals and radio and TV appearances and fans ranging from Jonathan Ross, Hugh Laurie, David Arnold, and Jamie Cullum.

During the Covid lockdown he performed more than 120 broadcast shows from his home and completed his solo album “C’mon Sunshine” - an all-original collection of songs on the subject of hope, jammed full of spicy New Orleans and blues piano styles.   The album “Live At The Temple” followed in 2023 - a spontaneous mix of two live sets at London’s Temple Of Art And Music.  

On screen, Pipkin stars in the new Netflix thriller, Black Doves (5 Dec 2024), and A Thousand Blows by the creators of Peaky Blinders (released Feb 21 2025), and can be seen jamming boogie-woogie with king of Kpop, Jay Chou, in the latest Rimowa commercial.

Alongside his own career, Pipkin has travelled the world with the band Morcheeba (with whom he has been associated since the bands inception in 1996).  He is also active as an educator, running a highly popular New Orleans jam session in London, and writes articles based around keyboards for Blues Matters magazine.