20th March: Colin Webster & Andrew Lisle

After a few single-band gigs, this week we have a double-header of top improvising musicians. Baritone/tenor monster Colin Webster will share the bill with Shatner’s Bassoon drummer Andrew Lisle. Both will play solo sets, then they’ll play together as a duo.

Colin Webster

Colin Webster is a saxophonist/improvisor from London who has performed with some of the key figures in free jazz and improvised music, including Archie Shepp, Joe Bowie, Steve Noble and Alex Ward. Colin has recorded four albums and toured extensively with poet Anthony Joseph, and also recorded four albums of improvised music with drummer Mark Holub. Colin is also involved in other projects and collaborations with like-minded souls from all over the world.

Colin’s solo work focuses on the extremities of the saxophone sound, often exploring strict sonic palettes. His debut solo album ‘Antennae’ was released on cassette by Gaffer Records in October 2013. The album is a series of close-miked improvisations with an emphasis on minimal saxophone sounds such as breath, resonance, mechanical sounds (key/pad noise), and so on. Colin is currently working on a second solo album exploring the other end of the sonic spectrum, focusing on loudness and abrasiveness.

Andrew Lisle

Andrew Lisle is a drummer in the early stage of making his mark on the London improv scene. After graduating from Leeds College of Music in 2011 he moved to Lisbon, Portugal where he performed and recorded with local and international improvisers. Since moving to London in September 2013 he has started a number of projects including; duos with Alex Ward and Daniel Thompson, collaborations and live performances with Tom Wheatley, Seymour Wright, Thomas Lumley, Ricardo Tejero and Roberto Sassi. His style blends fast, dry, dynamic playing with dark, cinematic sounds.

Should be a lovely night! Doors 8pm, music 8.30pm. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL. £5 entry.

13th March: Vitor Pereira Quintet

This week we’re hosting guitarist Vitor Pereira as part of his Jazz Services UK tour. Vitor and his band have already played in Sheffield and Poole earlier this month, and will be heading off to Cardiff, Brighton and Bristol next.

Vitor Pereira Quintet

Vitor Pereira – Guitar/compositions
Chris Williams – Alto sax
George Crowley – Tenor sax
Andrea Di Biase – Bass
Dave Hamblett – Drums

Vitor Pereira’s quintet was formed in 2009. Initially a quartet, they have been focusing mainly on original music and experimenting with a broad range of aesthetics (as well as band members). The time has clearly been well spent, culminating in the fully grown and conceptually mature band it is today, with tunes full of weaving, intricate melodies and off-kilter yet catchy rhythms.

The group’s Portugal-born leader studied classical guitar before moving into jazz, and despite its obvious jazz roots Pereira’s music draws on a background of musical influences. Energetic riffs, together with hints of classical and world music, create a unique and dynamic sound capable of captivating even the most reluctant listener. The release of 2012’s debut album ‘Doors’ (F-IRE Presents) attracted great reviews. With a successful performance history and the talent of prominent and award winning musicians, this quintet is gaining momentum as an extremely promising prospect on the contemporary UK jazz scene.

“Pereira merges technique and creativity to hit the target” – All About Jazz

“An impressive first album from a guitarist already making strides on the London scene” – Bebop Spoken Here

“An intriguing group with a strong line-up and well-delivered compositions” – Jazz Breakfast

Doors 8pm, music starts 8.30pm, £5 entry. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL.

6th March: Dave O’Brien Electric Trio

This week we’re hosting the first performance of a brand new trio project from F-IRE Collective member Dave O’Brien. Dave’s other group Porpoise Corpus is one of Cath’s favourite bands, and you should definitely check out their eponymous first album. It’s quite hard to describe Dave’s music for the Porpoise, but Mike Flynn (Time Out London) said of one gig that it ‘lurch[ed] between Jarrettish piano interludes and funky schlock-horror jazz-rock’! So there you have it. Come along and hear his new venture…

Dave O’Brien Electric Trio

Dave O’Brien – keyboards

Kevin Glasgow – bass

Nick Smalley – drums

Winner of the Peter Whittingham Award in 2006, Dave is a musician who has always had an itching desire to explore the unfamiliar and likes to invite audiences and band-mates to join the quest. In demand as a double bassist, bass guitarist and pianist, he works with many other groups in London playing jazz, rock, funk, m-base, samba, son-montuno, and various fusions involving other influences such as south-Indian music, flamenco and cabaret. He has been on musical field trips to Cuba, the Gambia and New York, where he attended a course at the School for Improvised Music.

Doors 8pm, music starts 8.30pm, £5 entry. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL.

27th February @ Long White Cloud: Wolf Suit

We’re really looking forward to welcoming this high calibre trio this week. Get down to Long White Cloud early to make sure you get a seat!

Wolf Suit

Freely improvised jazz from this new trio, featuring award-winning reedsman James Allsopp, sought-after bassist Olie Brice and and the ever-impressive Tim Giles. Between them the members of Wolf Suit have worked with leading musicians as diverse as Paul Dunmall, Django Bates, Ingrid Laubrock, Jeff Williams, Mark Sanders,Tom Rainey, Mark Lockheart, Julian Arguelles and Stan Sulzmann, among many others…

James Allsopp – reeds
Olie Brice – double bass
Tim Giles – drums

Doors 8pm, music starts 8.30pm, £5 entry. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL.

20th February @ Long White Cloud: Deemer & Tom McCredie/Matt Herd Duo

This week we’ve got an exciting double bill of two improvising duos: Deemer, a collaboration between LUME’s own Dee Byrne and sound artist Merijn Royaards, and sax/bass duo Tom McCredie/Matt Herd. Come and sip a coffee, beer or glass of wine in our fantastic new venue and experience these complementary yet contrasting bands…

Deemer

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-manned’ 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.

Tom McCredie/Matt Herd duo

Tom McCredie (bass) and Matt Herd (alto saxophone) are graduates of the Royal Academy of Music, up and coming on the London jazz scene. Through improvisation they explore moods and atmospheres drawing on their varied musical influences, from jazz to classical to folk and so on. They have been performing together for three years now and are hoping to release an EP by the end of this year.

Doors 8pm, music starts 8.30pm, £5 entry. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL.

13th February @ Long White Cloud: Pickpocket

We are looking forward to welcoming Ian Bumstead and his quintet Pickpocket to LUME next week. We saw them play at the Amersham Arms last Autumn and really enjoyed Ian’s compositions played by such a killing line up of London’s finest players! We’re in for a treat – but watch your belongings!

Pickpocket

Surreptitiously pilfering through the musical baggage, the fast-fingered SE-London quintet Pickpocket combine edgy grooves and sinuous lines amid sonorous free-improv with an almost criminal abandon. More artful than the Artful Dodger, structured simplicity brushes against anarchic freedom, where dissonant vamps casually disappear into distant harmonious sequences. With a veiled nod in the directions of Dave Holland, Mark Turner and David Binney, dexterous misdirection is the name of the game, no matter how deep the pocket.

Ian Bumstead – Tenor Saxophone

Tom White – Trombone

Steve Pringle – Fender Rhodes

Fergus Ireland – Double Bass

Pete Ibbetson – Drums

The gigs will start a bit earlier this season, i.e the music will *actually* begin at 8.30pm. Doors at 8pm, £5 entry. Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL. Nearest station: Hoxton. See you there!

6th February @ Long White Cloud: Corey Mwamba/Martin Pyne Duo + Cath Roberts

Happy New Year! After a two month Winter break, we’re looking forward to starting things up again. The first gig of the new season features not one but two vibraphones, played by our friends the exciting improvisers Corey Mwamba and Martin Pyne. They will be joined in the second set by LUME’s own Cath Roberts on baritone sax. This should be an enjoyable evening, and our first at Long White Cloud. We’re hoping to make this space our new home, so do come along, check it out and help us settle in.

MWAMBA / PYNE DUO

Corey Mwamba – vibes, small instruments
Martin Pyne – vibes/electronics/percussion/toy piano

Vibes players Corey Mwamba and Martin Pyne initially stumbled upon each other’s work in cyberspace. Once they met in the flesh they began discussing the unlikely project of an improvising vibraphone duo. This remained an idea for a long time, until choreographer Sheron Wray called Martin and asked him to provide music for a project for improvising dancers. This provided the perfect opportunity to road test the duo format, and musicians and dancers were all smiling happily after the first rehearsal so it was all systems go!

Expect to hear a surprising range of textures and colours. Corey is one of the most fluent and inventive improvisers you will ever hear, dragging an extraordinary array of sounds from his instrument. In his work with his own band Busnoys, Martin has made a point of extending the sonic scope of the vibes with a range of subtle electronic processing, as well as triggering a variety of specially made sampled loops and drones. And expect a few other instrumental flavours thrown into the pot as the music simmers as well.

New gigs!

We’re happy to announce our first batch of gigs for 2014. LUME will start up again in February and we look forward to hosting this exciting array of musicians:

6th February Corey Mwamba / Martin Pyne

13th February Pickpocket

20th February Deemer & Tom McCredie / Matt Herd

27th February Wolf Suit

6th March Dave O’Brien Trio

13th March Vitor Pereira Quintet

20th March Colin Webster & Alex Bonney / Simon Roth

27th March Steve Beresford/Julie Kjaer & Ripsaw Catfish

We will also find ourselves in new surroundings once again, this time over in Hoxton at Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road, E2 8JL. This friendly cafe venue is about three minutes’ walk from Hoxton overground station and all the buses of Kingsland Road, just around the corner from the Premises Studios. They regularly host art events and are looking forward to getting into live music too. It will be interesting to see how the gigs work in the space, and we’d love to know what you think.

As usual, more detailed posts about each gig to follow. In the mean time, get the dates in your diary and we’ll see you at Long White Cloud in Feb!

See you in 2014!

Just a quick post to say thanks to everyone who has supported and played at LUME over the past 5 months. We’ve had a blast….

Plans are underway for the new season in early 2014, so watch this space for news on that.

See you next year!

Cath and Dee

28th November @ The Harrison: Otriad + Roth/Bonney/Marshall

After an amazing gig last night for the EFG London Jazz Festival, LUME decamps to The Harrison for our last gig of the year. We are very pleased to welcome Alex Roth’s Otriad.

OTRIAD

In 1941, three Jewish brothers went into hiding in Poland’s Naliboki Forest to escape capture by the encroaching Nazi troops. By the end of the Second World War, they had led over 1,200 other Jews to safety, establishing a tight-knit community that resisted the Germans on one side and their co-operating Belarussian forces on the other. The Bielski Otriad, as the group became known, defied the fate of so many of their kind by refusing to give up hope even under the bleakest conditions.

It is this strength of community spirit that inspired the formation of Alex Roth’s Otriad, itself centred around three brothers of Polish-Jewish ancestry. Nick, Alex and Simon Roth (playing saxophones, guitars and percussion respectively) grew up to the sound of their mother’s violin and piano, quickly taking up the instruments that would eventually allow them to develop a unique musical understanding together. This three-way dynamic has been pivotal to each of their careers thus far, forming the core of several groups along the way (including the ten-piece electro-acoustic chamber ensemble Sefiroth).

Otriad is completed by two musicians whom Alex has met through studying for his MA at the Royal Academy of Music: James Opstad, who has been the bassist in Alex’s trio (with Simon again) since 2010, and saxophonist Joe Wright (half of the electro-acoustic improvising duo Wright/Roth, which has been active for over a year now).

Alex’s music for Otriad is an expression of the relationships that have formed between these five musicians, moving between folk-like melodies, free-form improvisation, electro-acoustic soundworlds, complex rhythmic structures and richly evocative harmonies.

Support set with:

Nick Roth (sax)
Alex Bonney (trumpet)
Hannah Marshall (cello)

See you at the Harrison, 28 Harrison Street, Kings Cross, WC1H 8JF.

Doors 8pm, music starts from 8.30pm. Entry £5.