The trumpeter who heard “the horn sing”: An interview with Olivia Cuttill

Olivia Cuttill is an award-winning trumpet player, lyricist, and composer, dubbed “one of the best new trumpeters to emerge on the British jazz scene over the past decade” by Jazzwise. I was lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with her, ahead of her latest set at Love Supreme Jazz Festival on Sunday 5 June 2026, alongside her incredible quartet. 

Asking Cuttill what fans can expect from her at the festival, she expressed, “lots of stories, lots of storytelling … I love speaking to the audience and telling them the background of the stories”.  With her influences coming from “musicians like Randy Newman, Nina Simone, and Louis Armstrong”, attendees can expect “a lot of swinging stuff”, as well as “freedom for improvisation”. 

Cuttill’s albums include The Whole Damn Plan and … And Writing And Singing And Tunes to be Swingin’, with Cuttill and her quarter currently working on their “third album, which we’re actually recording next month”. She enclosed that her set will include “a lot of [this] brand-new material as well”. 

It was just like a click of a finger, that in an instant everything changed and I realised what the trumpet can do

Olivia Cuttill

Having been nominated for the 2025 Jazz Newcomer of the Year at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, after completing her studies at Leeds Conservatoire in 2023, I was keen to find out more about what inspired her love for music: “It was that track”, Cuttill explained, “the Ella Fitzgerald version of ‘Summertime’. It was just like a click of a finger, that in an instant everything changed and I realised what the trumpet can do”.  

That being said, her decision to pursue a career in music was far from easy and she had to admit to her musician father that she too wished to pursue a musical career. She illustrated, “I don’t know if you want this life because, as much as he loves it, there’s always been money struggles in our family, but that’s the risk we’re willing to take because we love music”. However, despite her father’s warnings and Cuttill’s own admission that “there’s a good chance I’m just going to be kind of just making it by for the rest of my life,” she stated, “that’s a risk I’m willing to take because of how much I love it”.  

Cuttill’s exceptional passion and drive for music can also be seen in her work as a composer, with Cuttill exclaiming, “I love the freedom that I have of writing!” She began composing in sixth form and views the act of songwriting as something “just for me … I just love writing stories because it’s such a great way to connect with people”. Her style and focus have shifted over the years, with her composing now focusing less on “instrumental music and more [on] vocal-led music”. This shift, she believes, has been the “biggest change” within her musical career, “going from just focusing on instrumental music and having a trumpet be the forefront, to now [having] the story [be] the forefront and that usually means the vocalist”.  

Music is always there for you, and I am so grateful to have this companion forever in my life

Olivia Cuttill

This new focus on composing with a vocalist in mind has led to many people approaching Cuttill, believing she is the vocalist behind her latest album … And Writing And Singing And Tunes to be Swingin’. “It is so strange. It happens constantly. Even people who listen to my album say I didn’t know you were a singer”. Cuttill believes this misconception stems from much of her latest music centring around the vocalist, rather than instrumentals. Describing the typical audience of her music, she explained: “I wouldn’t say trumpet players are the main audience for my music, it’s really for everyone”. Expanding on thus, Cuttill shared, “Sometimes, really, you wouldn’t even know I was a trumpet player … there have been tracks with no trumpet. Sometimes you don’t need a trumpet on a song, sometimes it just doesn’t fit, and that’s fine”.  

Despite the challenging aspects that come along with the career of a musician, Olivia “just couldn’t recommend it enough”. She went on to gush, “I love this life so much. I love music and I’m so passionate about it. And it’s just, you know, the greatest thing … it feels like the greatest thing I could ever do is make music”. Hearing Cuttill speak about music, it wasn’t hard to understand why she has been so successful at a young age. This deep-rooted passion, which has existed for her since childhood, was best summarised when Cuttill said, eyes sparkling, “Being a musician might not always be reliable. Music is reliable. Music is always there for you, and I am so grateful to have this companion forever in my life.”

Olivia Cuttill will be performing live, alongside her quartet, at Love Supreme Jazz Festival on Sunday 5 July 2026 at 3pm.