Category Archives: pandemonium

27th November: Colin Webster/Alex Ward/Andrew Lisle

This week at Long White Cloud, we’re hosting the debut performance by a brand new improvising trio comprising Colin Webster (saxophones), Alex Ward (guitar), and Andrew Lisle (drums). The trio formed prompted by an offer of a free recording session – an offer too good to pass up! This first musical meeting led to the trio’s new album ‘Red Kite’, out this month on Raw Tonk Records.

All three members of the trio are prolific on the UK and European improvised music scene. Alex Ward is known for his early collaborations with Derek Bailey, his powerhouse trio N.E.W. with Steve Noble and John Edwards, and his composition/songwriting work with his sextet, and duo Dead Days Beyond Help respectively. Andrew Lisle has worked with a number of key London-based improvisors including Ward, Daniel Thompson, Seymour Wright, and plays in Roland Ramanan’s Tentet, and punk-improv band Shatner’s Bassoon. Colin Webster is known for his duos with drummer Mark Holub, and also turntablist Graham Dunning. He also performs regularly with Dutch free jazz/noise trio Dead Neanderthals.

Join us for a great night of music!

18th, 19th, 20th November: LUME @ London Jazz Festival

For this year’s London Jazz Festival we’re presenting a special three night series of our own current projects, featuring some of the UK’s most exciting improvising musicians aka the LUME usual suspects…

Tuesday 18th November: Ripsaw Catfish ‘Shoaling’

Ripsaw Catfish is Anton Hunter (guitar) and Cath Roberts (baritone saxophone). The Manchester and London-based duo formed in 2013 to explore improvised and composed music, and whatever lies between those things. They employ a collection of pre-composed elements which can be drawn upon, or not, during the course of an improvisation. Tonight they launch ‘Shoaling’, a UK tour with a collaborative focus, with support from Sound And Music. The duo will assemble ad hoc ensembles (‘shoals’) of improvising musicians at each location to play spontaneous sets of new music informed by, incorporating or ignoring the Ripsaw Catfish composed material. For this performance they are joined by improvising vibes player Corey Mwamba and his trio.

Anton Hunter guitar

Cath Roberts baritone sax

Corey Mwamba vibraphone, small instruments

Dave Kane bass

Joshua Blackmore drums

Wednesday 19th November: Deemer & duck-rabbit

The brain-child of Merijn Royaards and Dee Byrne, Deemer started life in 2006 as a weekly improvisation/electronics session in a warehouse in Hackney Wick. The project has since evolved into an installation/performance based electro-acoustic ‘two-piece’ orchestra, whose aural narratives are created within fluid frameworks that map a trajectory in time, but leave the sonic textures and compositions entirely free and undetermined. Deemer employ, among other things, alto saxophone, drums, analogue electronics, tape, transducer microphones/speakers to instantly compose, activate space, and blur the boundaries between free jazz and sound installation.

Merijn Royaards electronics/percussion

Dee Byrne alto saxophone/electronics

duck-rabbit

This new improvising trio explores two contrasting and overlapping personalities; one acoustic, one electronic. Using unique electronic instruments, they interact with their acoustic improvisations to form a rich and varied dialogue. Their interaction creates an absorbing interplay between past and present, a constant re-imagining of ideas within an expanded sonic terrain. Two releases, ‘Path To Field’ and ‘Scattered Voices: Part 1’ came out in early 2014.

Joe Wright – saxophone/electronics

Tom Taylor – piano/electronics

James Opstad – double bass/electronics

Thursday 20th November: Entropi & Quadraceratops

Entropi

Led by Dee Byrne, Entropi started life in 2010 as a vehicle for composition and improvisation. Dee’s compositions deal with the inconsistent nature of time, the transience of life, exploration of the unknown, pivotal moments of decision making, journeys in outer space and the unlikely symmetry of seemingly unrelated events.

Dee Byrne alto saxophone

Andre Canniere trumpet

Rebecca Nash keyboards

Olie Brice bass

Matt Fisher drums

Quadraceratops

Cath Roberts leads this septet playing her compositions, described by Jez Nelson as ‘suitably psychotic!’ The current set of music is inspired by insects, fairground rides, underground tunnelling machines and fictional serial killers. The first Quadraceratops album was released on Efpi Records in October.

Cath Roberts alto saxophone, compositions

Tom Ward tenor saxophone

Henry Spencer trumpet

Magnus Dearness trombone

Dave O’Brien keyboards

Jason Simpson bass

Olly Blackman drums

On all three nights it will be doors 8pm, music 8.30pm at Long White Cloud. We hope you can join us for three festive nights at LUME!

‘LUME Presents…’ at the Vortex, Sunday 5th October: Quadraceratops (album launch) & Paradox Ensemble

‘LUME Presents…’ at the Vortex is back! This month it’s a double bill of medium sized ensembles from the roster of our favourite Manchester contemporary jazz/improv/experimental music label Efpi Records, to celebrate the launch of the debut album from Cath’s band Quadraceratops! The album is coming out on Monday 6th October, and the band will head up to Manchester on Tuesday 7th for the northern leg of the album launch. At the Vortex they are joined by trumpeter Nick Walters’ excellent Paradox Ensemble….this will be a great night!

Paradox Ensemble

Manchester and London-based nonet led by trumpet player Nick Walters (Riot Jazz,
Beats & Pieces Big Band). Bringing together many strands of his musical experience,
Nick has taken inspiration from jazz composers such as Gil Evans, electronic artists
such as Aphex Twin, and from artists who blur the lines between the two, such as Jaga
Jazzist and Tortoise. The result is, as Manchester Jazz Festival put it ahead of the
groupʼs live debut in 2013, ‘a coherent synthesis of electronics, live effects and
samples but retaining an earthy groove.ʼ Paradox Ensemble released ‘Entanglement’
in August 2013 on Efpi Records.

Nick Walters – trumpet + electronics
Tim Cox – trombone
Sam Healey – Alto sax
Ed Cawthorne – tenor sax + bass clarinet
Ben Kelly – sousaphone
Rebecca Nash – keys
Aidan Shepherd – accordian
Anton Hunter – guitar
Paul Michael – bass
Yussef Dayes – drums

Quadraceratops

Cath Roberts leads this septet playing her original compositions, described by Jazz On
3′s Jez Nelson as ‘suitably psychotic!’ Formed in 2011, the band have played at
numerous jazz nights around London as well as appearing at the London Jazz Festival
and ‘Jazz In The Round’ at the Cockpit Theatre. In Spring 2014 they recorded a
selection of music inspired by insects, fairground rides, underground tunnelling
machines and fictional serial killers. The result is their debut album ‘Quadraceratops’,
released on 6th October by Efpi Records and launched this evening at The Vortex.

Cath Roberts – alto saxophone, compositions
Tom Ward – tenor saxophone
Henry Spencer – trumpet
Magnus Dearness – trombone
Dave O’Brien – keyboards
Jason Simpson – bass
Olly Blackman – drums

Come down to the Vortex and check out these two bands playing great new music! Plus, Cath’s album will be on sale….just sayin’…

Doors 8pm, music 8.30pm and it’s £10 on the door, but £8 if you book tickets now on the Vortex website.

Not long until ‘LUME Presents…’ at the Vortex!

Our ‘LUME Presents…’ series at the Vortex kicks off on August 3rd with a double bill of Overground Collective and Madwort’s Menagerie. It’s all very exciting and advance tickets are available now from the Vortex website! Here’s some background on the two bands…

Overground Collective

Paulo Dias Duarte is an award-winning Portuguese composer, based in London since
2003. Paulo’s compositions mix styles and frame musical clichés in very unusual way,
guiding audiences through rarely-visited musical fields. The Overground Collective is
an unorthodox big band composed of some of the wildest improvisers on the London
jazz scene. The combination of Paulo’s music and these improvisers makes each
concert a unique experience….as you can see from this video!

Guitar/composition – Paulo Dias Duarte

Alto saxophone/soprano/flute – Chris Williams
Alto saxophone/flute/piccolo – Julie Kjaer
Tenor saxophone – Rachel Musson
Tenor saxophone – Dan Mays
Bass clarinet – Tom Ward
Baritone saxophone – Joseph Stout

Trumpet – Noel Langley
Trumpet – Yazmeen Ahmed
Trumpet – Andre Canniere
Trumpet – Henry Spencer

Trombone – Paul Taylor
Trombone – Ed Reiband
Trombone – Raph Clarkson
Bass Trombone – Olivir Haylett
Tuba – Ben Kelly

Bass – Ben Bastin
Keyboards – Danny Keane
Drums – Jon Scott

Madwort’s Menagerie
After a momentary glimpse in a misfiring big band rehearsal, Tom Ward has been
bugged by an overheard snippet of a weird quartet comprising bass clarinet, flute,
trumpet and trombone. Transmogrifying some of his compositions for sax quartet,
hybridising this with his free improv duo Ti/om and finally balancing woodwind, brass
and strings with the addition of a cello, Tom is proud to present Madwort’s
Menagerie. Featuring some incredible improvising musicians with a full spectrum of
credits ranging from the London Improvisers Orchestra through Brass Mask, the
Overground Collective, Quadraceratops and The Imaginary Delta to Sinfonia Cymru
and the London Tango Orchestra.

Tom Ward – bass clarinet, flute, composition
Julie Kjaer – flute, alto flute
Alex Bonney – trumpet
Magnus Dearness – trombone
Adam Spiers – cello
Tim Fairhall – double bass

We hope you’ll agree it’s going to be a fantastic night of new music. Join us as we venture into a new chapter of LUME with these amazing musicians!

Artwork by the ever-awesome Peter Beatty…

24th July: Sarah Gail Brand and Mark Sanders

This will be our last regular gig for a few weeks, as we’re taking a break for August: we’ll be back at Long White Cloud every Thursday starting on September 4th. To tide you over though, we’re launching our new ‘LUME Presents…’ series at the Vortex on August 3rd with Overground Collective (fantastic big band led by Paulo Duarte!) and Madwort’s Menagerie (brand new project from Tom Ward!). Head over to the Vortex website for advance tickets: we’d love to see you there as we kick off this new venture.

Anyway, back to the gig in hand! We’re excited to welcome two top names on the improv circuit this week, for our last gig of the Summer season. Here go the biogs…

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.

We’re really in for a treat! Doors 8pm, music starts at 8.30pm. £5 entry….

‘LUME Presents…’ at the Vortex

We’re very excited to announce a new venture for late Summer and Autumn 2014: ‘LUME Presents…’ at the Vortex in Dalston! We will be hosting monthly double bills of our favourite musicians every first Sunday of the month starting on August 3rd. Join us for an extra dose of great original and improvised music…and a great excuse for some brand new artwork from the amazing Peter Beatty! Tickets are on sale from the Vortex website.

3rd July: Vicky Tilson Quartet (LUME 1st anniversary gig!)

A year ago this week, we put on the first LUME gig upstairs at Hundred Crows Rising near Angel. Since that first double bill of Redshift and Identity Parade we’ve hosted so many bands that we’ve lost count, and there are plenty more coming up!

We’re celebrating a year of presenting great ensembles playing new music by….presenting a great ensemble playing new music. Come down and join us this Thursday, 3rd July at Long White Cloud as we toast a year of LUME with:

Vicky Tilson Quartet

The VTQ is influenced by a range of musicians but in terms of the compositions, bassist Vicky Tilson has this to say: “My writing is constantly influenced by that of Charles Mingus, particularly his Changes I and II albums, which showcase his more esoteric side. The groove-based, odd meter tunes of Dave Holland and Steve Coleman have also inspired me and HEADLOVIN’ was the first piece I ever wrote in this style. More recently, Phronesis have inspired me to continue the groove-based odd meter side of things, whilst the influence of British pianist/composer Michael Garrick has led me melodically. Some of my harmonic ideas have even been awakened by listening to indie band Blur!”

TIME OUT say: “Bass-led modern jazz from this Guildhall trained bassist/composer, who combines deep Mingus-style grooves and pastoral melodies with gritty textures on top provided by guitarist Stuart Fiddler and alto sax ace Dee Byrne.” – 25th April 2012.

To hear what the band sounds like head over to their Soundcloud page.

Dee Byrne alto sax

Stuart Fiddler guitar

Vicky Tilson bass/compositions

Reinis Axelsson drums

Doors 8pm, music at 8.30pm, £5 entry. See you at Long White Cloud!

26th June: Shatner’s Bassoon

An exciting finale for the month of June with the notorious Leeds-based sextet Shatner’s Bassoon, bringing their distinctive brand of ‘controlled pandemonium’ to LUME as part of their UK tour. We’re in for a treat! Here’s the biog….

Shatner’s Bassoon are a group of six Leeds based composers/improvisers. Since forming in 2010 they have embarked on two tours of the UK, completed a PRS funded residency program, had a live show featured on BBC Jazz on 3, released their debut album ‘Aquatic Ape Privilege’ on their own label – ‘Wasp Millionaire’ and have been selected by Jazz North as ‘Jazz Ambassadors of the North’ on their ‘Northern Line’ program.

Influenced by contemporary artists such as Tim Berne, Mr. Bungle, John Zorn, Frank Zappa, Tyshawn Sorey and a range of rock and electronica; and with a combined experience that includes eastern European folk, Hindustani music, Brazilian music, straight ahead and free jazz, reggae, metal, contemporary classical and musique concrete; Shatner’s Bassoon have developed a unique collective sound based on developing complex compositional structures through improvisation – allowing the music to be naturally infused by their experiences. The results can range from dense free noise through intense riffs and ambient textures. They play with musical clichés and conventions to produce music that negotiates a path from the beautiful to the sinister, humorous and surreal.

Michael Bardon – bass/electronics

Ollie Dover – sax/clarinet

Joost Hendrickx – drums/electronics

Andrew Lisle – drums

Johnny Richards – keys/electronics

Craig Scott – guitar/electronics

This will be a packed night with a BIG lineup, so make sure you get to Long White Cloud early to avoid having to climb over the band! Doors 8pm, music starting at 8.30pm, £5 entry…join us!