Category Archives: improv

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…

23rd April: Mark Sanders and Sarah Gail Brand

They’re back! After a fantastic gig at LUME last Summer, we’re very happy to welcome Mark and Sarah Gail as they return to Long White Cloud. Free improvisation of the highest order from this long-standing duo.

Mark Sanders
Mark has played with many renowned musicians from around the world including Evan Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Myra Melford, Paul Rogers, Henry Grimes, Roswell Rudd, Okkyung Lee, Barry Guy, Tim Berne, Otomo Yoshihide, Luc Ex, Ken Vandermark, Sidsel Endresen and Jean Francois Pauvrois, in duo and quartets with Wadada Leo Smith and trios with Charles Gayle with Sirone and William Parker.
New collaborative projects include `Riverloam Trio` with Mikolaj Trzaska & Olie Brice, `Asunder` with Hasse Poulsen & Paul Dunmall, duos with John Butcher and DJ Sniff, `Statics` with Georg Graewe & John Butcher and trio with Rachel Musson & Liam Noble

Sarah Gail Brand
Described as “the most exciting trombone player for years” (The Wire), Sarah Gail has recorded and performed on the international jazz and improvising scene since the early 1990s with Mark Sanders, John Edwards, Billy Jenkins, Elton Dean, Evan Parker, Phil Minton, Lol Coxhill, Martin Hathaway, Alexander Hawkins, Maggie Nicols, Wadada Leo Smith, Jason Yarde and countless others. Gail has composed music for short films, including an original score for Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Easy Street’, performed live to film at the Barbican Cinema, London and has music projects in development for theatre. Recent work includes: work with comedian Stewart Lee and appearing in ‘Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle’ (BBC TV): duo with US improvising vocalist Morgan Guberman; long standing duo with drummer Mark Sanders; Gail Brand Sextet performing her pieces with edgy improvisation at the heart of the music. Sarah Gail is an occasional interviewer on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 programme.

16th April: Sloth Racket & Alex Ward

A new project from half of LUME this week, as Cath brings a new ensemble she was invited to put together for Gateshead International Jazz Festival last weekend. They share the bill tonight with the excellent Alex Ward playing a solo set…

Alex Ward

Alex Ward is a highly-acclaimed composer, improviser, and performing musician. His involvement in freely improvised music dates back to 1986, when he met the guitarist Derek Bailey. As an improviser, he was initially principally a clarinettist (sometimes also playing alto sax), but since 2000 he has also been active as an improvising guitarist. On both instruments, his longest-standing collaborations in this field have been with the drummer Steve Noble. Much of his writing and performing has been done with Dead Days Beyond Help, a duo with drummer Jem Doulton. He also currently leads a number of bands including Predicate, Forebrace, The Alex Ward Quintet/Sextet, and Alex Ward & The Dead Ends.

Sloth Racket

For this new project, saxophonist/composer Cath Roberts assembles four of the most exciting improvisers on the UK scene. Tenor player Sam Andreae is known for his collaborations with Scandinavian musicians in the exceptional and critically-acclaimed Trio Riot and Silence Blossoms, as well as countless other projects including a recent sound art installation at Manchester’s Penthouse with David Birchall. Anton Hunter was recently commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival to write a new suite of music ‘Article 11’, in addition to leading his own trio, playing in Beats And Pieces Big Band and co-running experimental/jazz/improv label Efpi Records. Seth Bennett is a prolific bassist, leading his own trio Nut Club as well as playing in Martin Archer’s Engine Room Favourites, Laura Cole’s Metamorphic, and the Grew Quartet among many others. Johnny Hunter has recently toured the UK with his quartet and appears regularly in all kinds of settings, from Nat Birchall’s spiritual jazz group to dub reggae band Skamel. The group will play a new set of music by Cath, using it as a jumping-off point for freely improvised group explorations.

Sam Andreae – tenor sax
Cath Roberts – baritone sax
Anton Hunter – guitar
Seth Bennett – bass
Johnny Hunter – drums

9th April: KTHXBYE with Colin Webster & New World Order

This week we’re excited to welcome touring Norwegian improv duo KTHXBYE to LUME, with special guest Colin Webster. On the other side of the bill, a fiery London trio…

KTHXBYE

KTHXBYE [Ok. Thanks. Bye] is a norwegian duo coming out of the experimental music scene in Oslo. Their style is straight up free improv but manages to stay both dynamic and focused on form. They have joined forces with London based saxophonist and powerhouse Colin Webster for the last year adding even more layers to their music while not giving and inch to their original concept. Their debut album is due spring 2015.

Brage Tørmænen drums
Stian Larsen guitar

and:
Colin Webster baritone/tenor sax

New World Order

NWO (New World Order) consists of cracking open the unbroken egg of silence and frying it in a pan of squeals, pops, rattles and any other gorgeously undulating sounds they can produce.

Thomas Lumley saxophones
Andrew Lisle drums
Tom Wheatley bass.

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

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….

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

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.

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

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