Cliff perfected his instrument in the Army whilst studying at the famous Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, Twickenham. This set him up in a career playing with some of the best bands in the country including Ronnie Aldrich, Cyril Stapleton and Johnny Dankworth. He then had a stint in Germany playing in the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra. In the recording studio Cliff has worked with artists as diverse as Kiri Te Kanawa, Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby.