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.

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

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.

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

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….

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

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

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.

Double LUME week: small group improv at Long White Cloud and large jazz ensembles at the Vortex…

The two sides of LUME are combined in one double-gig week! Small groups of free improvisers will take the stage at Long White Cloud on Thursday 26th February, and we’ll be hosting some medium/large sized jazz ensembles at ‘LUME Presents…’ on 1st March.

26th February @ Long White Cloud: Alec Harper/Tom Wheatley/Andrew Lisle & Ti/om

An evening of improvisation from some of London’s top creative musicians…

Alec Harper/Tom Wheatley/Andrew Lisle

Harper, Wheatley and Lisle have been improvising together and also on the circuit for a few years in London, over the UK and throughout Europe and the U.S. This newly formed trio met through mutual friends on the London scene. The group play lengthy sweeping improvisations exploring sound worlds with abstract forms and textures. Strong rhythmic interactions are a key part of the trio’s identity.

Alec Harper tenor saxophone
Tom Wheatley bass
Andrew Lisle drums

Ti/om

Tom Ward and Tim Fairhall first met in about 2007 while studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and soon began meeting for duo sessions, exploring the dynamic and rapport between woodwinds and bass through free improvisation. There followed a hiatus of several years whilst they both pursued other musics, but the duo have recently reunited for a variety of musical activities including their infamous ‘Tour of North London’ in 2014.

Tom Ward bass clarinet, flute
Tim Fairhall double bass

with special guest the Swedish percussionist Matilda Rolfsson (bass drum, bells, gongs, bows, fingers, hands and brushes), who is spending a few months in the UK as part of her Masters course.

1st March @ ‘LUME Presents…’, Vortex Jazz Club: JJ Wheeler’s ‘Come Back Stronger’ & Ralph Wyld’s Mosaic

Two exciting medium/large sized jazz groups playing original music…

JJ Wheeler’s ‘Come Back Stronger’

JJ Wheeler’s Come Back Stronger is a 10-piece band formed to play the highly emotive suite, A Question of Hope. Written about the bandleader’s life-threatening battle with Cancer, the suite explores themes of desperation, anger, frustration and the search for hope through engaging, sometimes dark, sometimes light-hearted yet always sophisticated music. Weaving together influences from composers such as John Hollenbeck, Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler to Radiohead, The Invisible and Peter Gabriel, the group’s sound ebbs and flows seamlessly between driving grooves, epic soundscapes, delicate melodies and intricate rhythmic constructs.

Jess Berry vocals
Tom Dennis trumpet, flugelhorn
Tom Green trombone
Matthew Herd alto and soprano saxophones
Sam Rapley tenor saxophone
Rob Cope baritone saxophone, flute
Ralph Wyld vibraphone
Sam James keyboards
Misha Mullov-Abbado bass
JJ Wheeler drums

Ralph Wyld’s Mosaic

Featuring an array of young talent and a diversity of influences, Mosaic was created as a means of bringing together people, ideas and genres. The lineup provides vibes player/composer Wyld with a spectacular textural and timbral palette, from glistening, transparent treble to powerful, earth-shuddering bass. The unique character of each player is also highly valued, with improvisation taking a central role. Inspiration for the music includes Shostakovich, Copland and Piazzolla as well as Gil Evans, Vince Mendoza, Kenny Wheeler and Bill Frisell.

Ralph Wyld vibraphone
James Copus trumpet
Sam Rapley clarinets
Cecilia Bignall cello
Misha Mullov-Abbado bass
Scott Chapman drums/percussion