Author Archives: cath

2nd July: Noel Taylor/Lawrence Casserley/Guillaume Viltard & Daniel Thompson

Our July gigs open with this double bill of improvised music: a fantastic trio put together by Noel Taylor, and a solo set from Daniel Thompson. As usual it’s doors at 8pm, with the music starting around 8.30pm. Entry is one Bank of England note of your choice.

Noel Taylor/Lawrence Casserley/Guillaume Viltard

Noel Taylor sent us this scene-setting paragraph on the trio…

“Electronics wizard Lawrence Casserley is something of a phantom, a ghost musician, a mute who can only speak through the voices of others. He has no sound of his own, but, like a parasite feeding on its host, uses the analogue input from the clarinet of Noel Taylor and the contrabass of Guillaume Viltard to function as triggers for his electronic re-shaping. Their sounds become bounced back to them mangled, distorted, re-imagined: producing weirdly spectral reflections of their playing. It is a musical circuit diagram, a feedback loop of potentially infinite regression. It presents to them conflicting impulses, in which the immediate past struggles with the immediacy of the present. The process creates a music of shifting hierarchies in which puppet and puppet master constantly swap places, but which can nevertheless discover a formal and crystalline coherence. ”

Noel Taylor clarinets

Lawrence Casserley electronics

Guillaume Viltard bass

Daniel Thompson

Daniel is a prolific improviser, extremely active on the London free scene, and organises the monthly Foley Street improvised music concert series at the King and Queen pub in the West End. Originally from Norfolk and largely self-taught on the guitar, Daniel moved to London in 2006 and studied with the guitarist and Mopomoso co-founder John Russell. He has performed/collaborated with numerous improvisers including Neil Metcalfe, Adam Bohman, Terry Day, Simon Rose, Ricardo Tejero, Steve Noble, Alex Ward, Phil Durrant, Kay Grant, Benedict Taylor, Roland Ramanan, Mark Sanders, Anton Mobin, Tom Jackson, Javier Carmona and Julie Kjaer amongst many others. We’re very much looking forward to hearing him play a solo guitar set for us this week.

This promises to be a fantastic evening: see you at Long White Cloud!

25th June: Kordik Lucas & Dee Byrne/Ed Riches

A double bill of improvised music at Long White Cloud this week, exploring the interaction between acoustic instruments and electronics/synths. Doors 8pm, music starting 8.30pm/8.45pm. Entry is one Bank of England note.

Kordik Lucas

Kordik Lucas is an improvising duo combining trombone and analogue synthesisers. They have been active on the London scene and beyond for a few years, both as a duo and in other contexts: you might have caught Ed Lucas’ duo set with guitarist Daniel Thompson at LUME last year. The duo also run Earshots Recordings, a label releasing improvised music, most recently including a bass duo album from John Edwards and Tom Wheatley. Kordik Lucas released their own album ‘MMXII’ on Earshots in 2012.

‘The juicy sounds of the Vostok synth wiggle with squelchy non-classical balls of trombone fluff’ – Next Festival, Bratislava, 2012.

Daniel Kordik analogue synthesisers
Edward Lucas trombone

Dee Byrne/Ed Riches

Dee Byrne and Ed Riches first met playing in keyboardist/vocalist Xantone Blacq’s band in 2008. Since then they have collaborated as part of improvising sextet Zonica (as seen at ‘LUME Presents…’ last month), but tonight is their first performance as a duo. Following on from their work with Zonica, they will play an improvised set using guitar, alto sax and electronics. Expect sonic cookery of the first order…

Dee Byrne alto saxophone/electronics

Ed Riches guitar/electronics

18th June: Alex Munk Quartet

Guitar-led original compositions this week from an exciting new band!

The Alex Munk Quartet combines mammoth riffs with explosive improvisation, embracing the frenzied rhythmic patchworks of Tigran Hamasyan and the visceral roar of Wayne Krantz. Thick, sonorous basslines merge with pounding drums and luscious soundscapes to hypnotic effect. There are triumphant themes, knotty hooks, pearly pools of sound reminiscent of Bill Frisell. And the whole lot is shot through with Munk’s love for the melodic directness of blues and rock.

‘Alex Munk is very much a musician to watch, his patient, motivic solos displaying a striking character and maturity.’ – Dan Paton, Music OMH

Alex Munk guitar
Matt Robinson fender rhodes/keyboards
Conor Chaplin electric bass
Dave Hamblett drums

11th June: Shatner’s Bassoon

They’re back! Leeds’ finest iconoclastic sextet return to Long White Cloud on their UK tour. When they told us they were coming through London promoting their new album, we couldn’t resist inviting them back. Come with us on a joyous journey into musical chaos, as the band unleash their violent cocktail of Zornish style collisions and freewheeling improv, negotiating a path from the beautiful to the sinister, humorous and surreal. An essential gig…make sure you get here early!

Michael Bardon bass/electronics
Ollie Dover sax/clarinet
Joost Hendrickx drums/electronics
Andrew Lisle drums
Johnny Richards keys/electronics
Craig Scott guitar/electronics

Double LUME week: Rowland Sutherland Double Trio & LUME On Tour Entropi album launch!

This week is the last double LUME week of the season and it’s going to be a good one! We’ve got a fantastic improvising ensemble at Long White Cloud, and the London leg of LUME On Tour at the Vortex. The Vortex gig is also Dee’s Entropi album launch!

4th June @ Long White Cloud: Rowland Sutherland Double Trio

This week at Long White Cloud we welcome back internationally-acclaimed flautist Rowland Sutherland, with a different take on his double trio format. The ensemble features six top improvising flute players from the London scene and explores the combination of Western and non-Western flutes. After the Saxoctopus gig last year, this is the largest one-instrument group we’ve had at LUME, and it should make for an evening of fascinating textures and soundworlds. Join us for this celebration of the flute in its many forms!

Rowland Sutherland concert flute, alto flute
Julie Kjaer concert flute
Neil Metcalfe wooden concert flute

Jan Hendrickse non-Western flutes
Hyelim Kim taegum/Korean flute
Clive Bell shakuhachi/Japanese flute

7th June @ ‘LUME Presents…’, Vortex Jazz Club: Entropi ‘New Era’ album launch & Quadraceratops

The ‘LUME Presents’ season finale, with performances from ensembles led by LUME organisers Cath Roberts and Dee Byrne. Tonight is not only the London date of ‘LUME On Tour’, but also the launch gig for Entropi’s debut album ‘New Era’.

Entropi

Dee Byrne formed Entropi while studying at Trinity College of Music in 2011, and since then they have fast become a name to watch on the UK contemporary jazz scene, regularly performing in London and beyond. Playing Dee’s original material with plenty of space for improvisation, the quintet take their listeners on an exploration of the musical cosmos. Their debut album ‘New Era’ was released on 1st June on the F- IRE Presents label.

‘Hard hitting…searing solos…other-worldly…Entropi’s debut album should be well worth hearing’ (The Jazz Mann, 2014 live review)

Dee Byrne alto saxophone/compositions
Andre Canniere trumpet
Rebecca Nash keyboards
Olie Brice bass
Matt Fisher drums

Quadraceratops

Led by Cath Roberts as a vehicle for her compositions, Quadraceratops released their eponymous debut album in October 2014 on Efpi Records. The release attracted an enthusiastic reception from the jazz blogosphere and national press alike, with John Fordham in the Guardian describing them as ‘an exciting genre-juggling outfit…one to watch’. The band have been playing together since 2011, appearing regularly in London and occasionally Manchester (home of Efpi), with a live recording broadcast on the BBC’s ‘Jazz On 3’ programme in December 2014.

Cath Roberts alto saxophone/compositions
Nick Walters trumpet
Tom Ward tenor saxophone
Magnus Dearness trombone
Dave O’Brien keyboards
Jason Simpson bass
Olly Blackman drums

We’d love to see you at this last gig of the season – come down and celebrate Dee’s album release!

28th May: Raw Tonk Records Night

This week we’re away with ‘LUME On Tour’, but we’re leaving the Long White Cloud gig in extremely capable hands…

Raw Tonk Records Night

We invited our good friend Colin Webster to take the reins at LUME for a week, so this Thursday will be a Raw Tonk special! Colin’s label puts out all sorts of cool music and is well worth checking out if you haven’t already. For this gig, guitarist David Birchall (who you might have caught playing with Sam Andreae and Andrew Cheetham at ‘LUME Presents…’ earlier this year) will collaborate with Colin. They’ll be playing solo improvised sets, then joining together for a duo. Come down and hear some of the UK’s finest improvisers!

21st May: Olie Brice Quartet

***LAST MINUTE VENUE CHANGE: Tonight’s gig will now be at Hundred Years Gallery, 13 Pearson Street, E2 8JD. Doors 7.30pm, music 8pm.***

This week we welcome back Olie Brice and his fantastic quartet. Olie has appeared at LUME in all sorts of groups, including solo, and this band played for us back in 2013 at our first venue Hundred Crows Rising. Olie is one of the most in-demand and versatile bass players on the UK jazz/improv scene.

The Olie Brice Quartet features Olie on double bass, George Crowley on tenor sax, Alex Bonney on trumpet and Jeff Williams on drums. They play Olie’s original composiitons combining his love of swing and melody with a strong sense of freedom and experimentation. Olie Brice recently released his debut album as a leader, ‘Immune to Clockwork’. The album has received excellent reviews and the group was picked as one of the 5 new bands of 2014 by El Intruso Iinternational Poll of Jazz critics.

“One of the most interesting and satisfying bands on the current UK scene” – Richard Williams

Alex Bonney cornet/trumpet

George Crowley tenor sax

Olie Brice bass

Jeff Williams drums

14th May: Corey Mwamba’s ‘New Dark Art’

This week we welcome improvising vibraphone player, multi-instrumentalist and composer Corey Mwamba back to Long White Cloud for a special concert: the London premiere of his composition ‘New Dark Art’.

In 2014 Corey completed an MRes at the University of Keele, producing ‘New Dark Art’ as a part of this research project. His focus was on the improvisational, conducting and notational practices found in medieval music, and how these might inform the music of contemporary improvising musicians and composers. The idea wasn’t to create a musical fusion of jazz and medieval music, but rather to look how medieval approaches could be employed to create new music. You can read more about the project on Corey’s MRes website.

At this week’s gig, music from ‘New Dark Art’ will be performed by an improvising Eb sax quartet and by Corey on solo vibraphone. The sax quartet met once last year to try out the music with Corey in a rehearsal, and performed it for the first time in Derby on 7th May this year. Join us for a fascinating evening of new music!

Featuring:

Chris Williams alto saxophone

Tom Ward alto saxophone

Colin Webster baritone saxophone

Cath Roberts baritone saxophone

and the composer Corey Mwamba on vibraphone

7th May: chemistry beats electricity

An extremely high-calibre collective of improvisers will be descending on Long White Cloud this week and we can’t wait! chemistry beats electricity will play improvised sets in various combinations, so expect an evening of sonic exploration from some of the most renowned musicians on the UK scene.

Caroline Kraabel saxophone

Cleveland Watkiss voice/electronics

John Edwards double bass

Mark Sanders percussion

Double LUME week: a duo, a trio, a quartet and a crocodile…

Double LUME week has come round again! This time we’ve got multiple sizes of ensemble, original writing, plenty of improv and a reptile heading for the Vortex…

30th April @ Long White Cloud: Gus Garside/Annie Kerr & Byrne/Nash/Pursglove

A double bill this week, with an improvising duo of Gus Garside and Annie Kerr and a new trio with LUME’s own Dee Byrne…

Gus Garside has worked in a variety of musical settings – jazz, contemporary music, pop, cabaret, dance, theatre and, most importantly, improvised music where he has performed with many leading players. Inspired by the late John Stevens, Gus took to running creative music workshops. This led him into leading music projects with musicians of a wide range of abilities. He remains active as a musician, performing in a number of improvisation and contemporary music settings including his long standing string trio arc (with Sylvia Hallett and Danny Kingshill); The Static Memories, a duo with Dan Powell (on laptop and processed percussion and guitar) and the West Hill Blast Quartet, a free jazz quartet with Ron Caines, Dan Spicer and Andy Pyne.

Annie Kerr works as a violinist, pianist and composer. She is a music tutor, a writer and creative arts facilitator. She works with individuals and groups to generate and sustain tailor-made creative projects. She has a particular interest in working with adults who are exploring creative work for the first time. She writes poetry and fiction and has had work read on radio 3 by Juliet Stevenson. Her work received a commendation in the 2013 Sussex poetry competition and was long listed in the 2014 National poetry competition. Her own musical projects have included facilitating combined arts workshops at Brighton’s Fabrica gallery and a soundscape collaboration she performed in Rottingdean Windmill as part of 2014’s Brighton Festival Fringe.

‘You blow me away – this sort of improv is the type of art experience that gives back 110%’ Jeane Myers, abstract painter living in Washington State.

Byrne/Nash/Pursglove

Dee Byrne and Rebecca Nash met while studying for a Masters at Trinity College of Music. Their duo has evolved from weekly sessions in which they enjoy exploring the freedom and creative scope the duo format invites. This new trio welcomes the formidable talents of Percy Pursglove on double bass. In the spirit of true collaboration they’ll play a mixture of their own original compositions with lots of space for improvisation.

Dee Byrne alto saxophone
Rebecca Nash keyboard
Percy Pursglove double bass

3rd May @ ‘LUME Presents…’, Vortex Jazz Club: Jeff Spencer’s Crocodile & Nick Malcolm Quartet

Jeff Spencer’s Crocodile

Crocodile is the vehicle for compositions by bassist Jeff Spencer, featuring an all-star lineup of some of the best young jazz musicians around. The best of modern classical influences sit amongst infectious and raucous world rhythms and obtuse funk. With a healthy splattering of free improv and some almost rock bits, Crocodile is a crafty beast and it’s after your ears!

Gareth Lockrane flute
Laura Jurd trumpet
Gavin Broom trumpet
James Gardiner-Bateman alto sax
Josh Arcoleo tenor sax
Joe Wright tenor sax
Kieran McLeod trombone
Callum Au bass trombone
Elliot Galvin keys
Alex Munk guitar
Jeff Spencer bass
Dave Hamblett drums
Hugh Wilkinson percussion

Nick Malcolm Quartet
Nick Malcolm is a musician who happily inhabits multiple stylistic worlds, equally at home playing freely improvised music as he is in a more composed jazz setting. His quartet play his original compositions, exploring this love of both freedom and structure. The music merges and deconstructs rhythm, melody and all the points in between, resulting in an intense and thrilling performance. Featuring some of the leading improvisers on the UK scene, the quartet have released two albums to critical acclaim, the most recent being 2014’s excellent ‘Beyond These Voices’.

Nick Malcolm trumpet
Alexander Hawkins piano
Olie Brice bass
Ric Yarborough drums

Join us! This will be a fantastic night at the Vortex…