Monthly Archives: March 2015

Double LUME week: Last Summer’s Tealights, Penelope Dreaming, Zonica and Aye-Aye…

It’s double LUME week once again, and we have an array of interesting projects for your ears…

2nd April @ Long White Cloud: Last Summer’s Tealights & Penelope Dreaming

This week another exciting double bill with Last Summer’s Tealights – playing compositions inspired by an eclectic mix of musical genres – and Penelope Dreaming, the latest project by improvising vibraphonist Martin Pyne.

Last Summer’s Tealights

Strong melodies, jazz harmonies and a potent sense of nostalgia are some of the words associated with the music of Last Summer’s Tealights. Part classical, part folk, part pop, part hymnal, the music is a peculiar hotchpotch of shared influences.The idea for LST was conceived through a series of saxophone/marimba duets emerging during a winter spent in Scotland, which were eventually expanded under more southern skies. LST brings together experienced players from a diverse range of musical backgrounds, including jazz, classical, flamenco and middle-eastern.

Joe Browne sax
Hal Hutchison marimba and Piano
Shirley Smart cello
Demi Garcia Sabat percussion

Last Summer's Tealights

Penelope Dreaming
This trio revolves around the rich textures, grooves and soundscapes conjured up by Martin Pyne’s largely electronic percussion set up,which he has used on two solo albums. These provide fertile musical soil for the improvised explorations of Tony Woods and Nette Robinson.

Tony Woods saxophones / flutes
Nette Robinson vocals
Martin Pyne percussion / electronics

Tony Woods is a leading figure in West London’s Way Out West collective. He leads his own quintet – Tony Woods Project, and collaborates regularly with musicians such as Tim Whitehead, Pete Churchill and Mike Outram. He’s also very good at sailing.

Nette Robinson had an acclaimed collaboration with the late Mike Garrick – their album “Remembered Time” garnered rave reviews, and penetrated beyond the jazz ghetto to the pages of Mojo. She’s also very good at chess.

Martin Pyne plays vibraphone, drums, and percussion, and also makes extensive use of electronics in his work. He has worked across the range of contemporary music, but his primary focus has been on improvised music, and especially on collaborations with dancers. His trio Busnoys released their third album last year, and he recently established a duo with fellow vibes player Corey Mwamba. He’s also very good at going to the cinema.

Penelope Dreaming

5th April @ ‘LUME Presents…’, Vortex Jazz Club: Zonica & Aye-Aye

Electronic explorations and vibrant new composition tonight at ‘LUME Presents…’

Zonica

Zonica is an experimental improvising ensemble using a mixture of acoustic instruments and electronics. The group creates a spontaneous narrative of soundscapes, riffs and themes taking the listener on a cosmic, sonic adventure. With a heavy-weight line up from the UK jazz/creative scene, prepare yourself for a spontaneous electro-acoustic cocktail of epic proportions!

Dee Byrne alto saxophone/effects
Ed Riches guitar/effects
Elliot Galvin keyboard/effects
Tom McCredie bass/effects
Pat Davey drums

Aye-Aye

An intriguing new trio of harp, saxophone and bass, playing music written by all three members. The group explores angular grooves and captivating improvisations, creating a unique texture with their unusual and refreshing instrumentation. With all three members well-known on the jazz/improvised music scene and further afield, this is an exciting collaboration not to be missed.

Julie Kjaer alto saxophone, flute
Tori Handsley harp
Ruth Goller bass

April - Zonica

26th March: Andreae/Knight/Ward & Pete Ibbetson/Rory Simmons

An evening of improvised music featuring musicians from London, Manchester and Macclesfield!

Andreae/Knight/Ward

A brand-new trio project for 2015, featuring a unique instrumentation that provides a fascinating palette of sounds for improvisation. Two saxophones are joined by no-input mixer…the first appearance of this instrument at LUME so far!

No-input mixer involves wiring the outputs of a standard mixing desk into the inputs to create feedback loops that act as signal generators. This can then be manipulated using the mixing desk’s various functions, producing a wide variety of electronic sounds and textures when in skilled hands. Combined with the extended saxophone techniques of Andreae and Ward, the trio creates a unique aesthetic that explores the outer limits of improvisation and noise music.

Sam Andreae tenor saxophone
Richard Knight no-input mixer
Tom Ward alto saxophone

AKW-promo-photo

Pete Ibbetson/Rory Simmons

Debut performance of this duo, made up of two musicians often seen in other contexts on the creative music scene. Rory Simmons’ bands Fringe Magnetic, Monocled Man and Eyes Of A Blue Dog have all released critically acclaimed albums, while Ibbetson has appeared on BBC Radio 3’s ‘Jazz on 3’ with his own band The Twelveheads.

In addition to drums and trumpet, an emphasis on electronic soundscapes will be prevalent through the use of analogue synths and sound processing. The duo take inspiration from free jazz, improv, rock, electro-acoustic music and electronica, citing bands such as Chicago Underground, Science Friction and Bloodcount as big influences.

Rory Simmons trumpet / electronics / synths
Peter Ibbetson drums / synth / electronics

Join us at Long White Cloud for a foray into improv with electronics….

19th March: Huw V Williams Meets A Quartet

We’ve got a treat in store for you this week, with talented Welsh double bassist Huw V Williams playing two sets of improvised music with his quartet – featuring some heavyweight names on the UK scene.

Winner of the 2012 Yamaha Jazz Scholars Prize from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Huw draws on a rich combination of his Welsh roots, his training in Jazz and the contemporary creative music scenes in London, Brooklyn and Manhattan. With a fast growing CV lit up by the names of some of his heroes including Jim Black, Michael Blake, Jason Rebello, Neil Yates and long time mentor Huw Warren, Huw V Williams is building a beautiful bass filled world of free music and primal creativity.

Huw V Williams double bass
Alec Harper tenor saxophone
Dave Schulman clarinet
Simon Roth drums

Huw_V_Williams

See you there! 8.30pm £5 entry…

12th March: Alex Bonney Quartet

This week we welcome back Alex Bonney to LUME, with his excellent quartet. The group plays Alex’s original compositions, influenced by 60s and 70s American and European free jazz and 20th century classical composition, with lots of space for melodic and textural improvisation and interaction. Featuring an exciting lineup of in-demand London and New York based musicians.

Alex Bonney – cornet, trumpet

James Allsopp – bass clarinet, clarinet

Olie Brice – double bass

Jeff Williams – drums

Alex Bonney - press

5th March: Backyard Chassis & Seth Bennett/Cath Roberts

This week’s gig is a meeting of improvising musicians from all around the UK. A new trio armed with a sonic kaleidoscope of unconventional instruments gets its second outing, and a duo plays for the first time, focussing on the lower end of the pitch spectrum…

Backyard Chassis

Backyard Chassis is a new trio comprising three extremely high calibre UK improvisers: Corey Mwamba, Johnny Hunter and Adam Fairhall. Their music ranges from busy energetic ‘blowing’ to delicate textures that recall non-Western musics.

Timbre and texture are very important to the trio. The keyboards used are mechanical instruments, with the Pianet being prepared using springs, clips and chains to produce a range of percussive sonorities. The toy piano, too, is prepared, using magnets and felt. Corey may bring anything to the gig, from a zither to a wooden flute, and use them all in a wonderfully creative way. The unusual instrumental sonorities provide a rich palette for improvising, and the instruments are really played; there’s no relying on timbre for timbre’s sake! Add to this mix Johnny’s lightning-quick reflexes, sensitivity and propulsive sound, and the result is highly distinctive music, not to be missed.

Corey Mwamba – vibraphone and miscellaneous instruments

Johnny Hunter – drums

Adam Fairhall – prepared Hohner Pianet T, prepared toy piano and Dulcitone.

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Seth Bennett and Cath Roberts

A new collaboration, with double bass and baritone saxophone. Seth Bennett is a prolific bassist, leading his own trio Nut Club (who you may have heard at LUME last year) as well as playing in Martin Archer’s large ensemble Engine Room Favourites, Laura Cole’s Metamorphic, and the Grew Quartet among many others. Cath Roberts leads ‘dino-jazz, paleo-groove’ septet Quadraceratops and is half of Ripsaw Catfish with Anton Hunter, as well as being your LUME co-host. Seth and Cath first played together in Anton Hunter’s Manchester Jazz Festival commission ‘Article XI’ last year, where they were often found playing basslines together (although Seth was actually playing trombone on that gig). It seemed like a good idea to do a duo, so they are.

Seth Bennett – double bass

Cath Roberts – baritone saxophone

sethcath

Join us at Long White Cloud: doors 8pm, music at 8.30/8.45pm as usual.