Jazz

He was described by Chris Parker as “simply one of the UK’s most individual voices, both as a composer and pianist”. His début big band album New Memories from 2002 was hailed by John Fordham in the Guardian as “the most expansive, expressive and exciting new jazz orchestral sound to have emerged in this country since the late-lamented Loose Tubes” while his 2011 record with Bill Frisell was named an “instant classic” by John Eyles, giving it five stars.

His triple vinyl release received five stars in Jazz Journal, as well as from Mike Gates (UK Vibe) who described the recordings as “an incredible achievement [which] have to be rated as one of the most important and musically rewarding releases of 2016.” Matt Miller, writing in New York City Jazz Record, described him as “an artist steeped in tradition but with a distinct voice of his own”, while Dave Gelly, writing in the Observer, went as far as saying that “like his piano playing, Koller’s writing for large ensemble is difficult to describe because it doesn’t sound remotely like anyone else’s.”

Michael Tucker noted that his “approach to the interplay of the historical and the contemporary is as open-minded as it is creative”. Ian Carr, in his entry in the Rough Guide to Jazz (4th edition), remarked: “Koller is an exuberant talent, his music full of surprises”. And John Fordham, who has written on his work regularly since the early 2000s commented in 2016: “Koller solves the perpetual jazz conundrum of making music for the mind and the body […] with an intelligence and vivacity that brings him ever closer to the stature of George Russell, Gil Evans, Mike Gibbs, and that long procession of his famous elders”.

Saxophonist, composer and arranger Chelsea Carmichael is an understated innovator and educator – quietly adding her own contribution to the iteration of jazz that has evolved on these islands. She’s a warm and hypnotic player, who brings powerful and considered improvisation to everything she does. As an educator, she is a small band coach at Trinity Laban; Visiting Lecturer at Goldsmiths putting her research into Black British jazz to good use; and has done some mentoring work for Generations Jazz Festival Band Camp (Switzerland) and the RAUW Academy (Rotterdam); and in 2022 was the Co-Musical Director of the Montreux Jazz Academy (Switzerland) alongside Soweto Kinch.

As well as her own band Andrea often tours with ‘Jazz Extempore’ a European quartet which combines the jazz idiom with the folk influences of Eastern Europe. Recent tours have included performances in Italy, Croatia, Bosnia- Herzogovina and Bulgaria. Andrea performed in China at the prestigious 3rd Maritime Silk Road Art Festival 2017 with Croatian guitar virtuoso Elvis Stanic – the only UK musician to perform at the festival.

A prolific composer, she has been commissioned by the Arts Council, the BBC, Jazz Umbrella, the Peter Whittingham Trust, Teignmouth Jazz Festival and completed a setting of the poetry of A.E Housman for the Ludlow festival, released on the CD New Perspectives. Other projects include The Leasowes Bank festival;  ‘Women in Jazz project’ held at the ‘Hideaway Jazz Club’ during the London Jazz Festival; Scoring the Chet Baker “Speedball” musical and co-composing a new musical “The Austerity Playbook” plus and a funded residency at Lyth Arts Centre, Wick, Scotland. The BBC recently recorded Andrea for a live album with South African trumpet virtuoso Claude Deppa at the Ipswich Jazz Festival.

Andrea is also a well known and respected jazz educator holding a senior lecturer post and professorship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of music and dance (jazz). She is musical director and founder of the highly successful ‘Dordogne International Jazz Summer School’ and was a judge on the ‘Nottingham International jazz piano competition’ and the University of South Africa International Piano competition in Pretoria. Andrea is currently part of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Ambassadors jazz education project presenting workshops in schools nationwide. She instigated a Young Women’s jazz education taster day at Trinity following research project and feature article in Music Teacher magazine. Andrea has taught jazz and jazz piano at Pimlico Academy for twenty eight years – formerly the prestigious Pimlico Special Music Course – alumni including Antonio Pappanno (Royal Opera House), Django Bates, Andrew McCormack, Artie Zeitz, David Okumu etc. Andrea has published “A-Rhythm-A-Tik” a compendium of multi-level original jazz pieces for adult learners and teenagers; accompanied by a series of online video lessons.

Andrea Vicari presents a weekly show on JazzLondonRadio.com called “JazzDoodles” where she has interviewed many legends of jazz such as John Taylor; Peter Erskine; Hiromi; JohnAbercrombie; Omar Puente; Bill Stewart; Jonathan Kreisberg; Marc Copland; Antonio Serrano etc.

Wallen’s study of cognitive psychology has aided his transition towards conceptualising music as a medium for healing. Wallen raises awareness and invokes change by unlocking boundaries through the nature and science of sound. Widely recognised as a seminal figure in Jazz, Wallen is an acclaimed writer and producer whose original scores have been commissioned by the Science Museum; PRS, The BBC, Jerwood Foundation, Southbank Centre, National Theatre, Arts Council, FIFA and Sage Gateshead. He has also composed soundscapes for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros and Game of Thrones.

Wallen’s PRS commission (2017) Anthem for Woolwich forges new links between schools, venues, musicians and residents to strengthen the resilience and promote the cohesion of the community. His latest commission is a collaboration with Sheila Hill and Howard Skempton for Brighton Festival 2019 called Eye to Eye.

Wallen has received the BBC Jazz Innovation award (2003) and has been nominated several times for the MOBO award. In 2017 he was awarded the Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists.

Photograph credit: Urszula Tarasiewicz.

Bruno is a frequent host of the Ronnie Scott’s Late Late show, and has performed in venues and festivals including Southbank Centre, the Shanghai World Music Festival, the London Jazz Festival, Malta International Arts Festival, the Rest Is Noise Festival, Cadogan Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall. He has had his music played on BBC Radio 3, Jazz LineUp, Late Junction, BBC6 Music, BBC Scotland, in Austria, Canada, and the USA, as well as giving live broadcasts and interviews for the BBC and Rai 3 Italy.

He was taught by the late John Taylor and Pete Saberton, and has just been awarded an AHRC-funded practice-based PhD from the Royal Northern College of Music with the title ‘Counterpoint in jazz piano with specific relation to the solo work of Fred Hersch‘. As part of his research, he received funding to travel to New York City to interview and work with Hersch in 2016.

As a composer, Bruno has written for groups ranging from sextet to two pianos and percussion (for a project with Pete Saberton), and from big band to classical string ensemble (for a commission in 2017 from the Camerata Alma Viva). In 2009, Bruno was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Composers Award.

He recently held the piano chair for two performances of Bernstein’s Wonderful Town at the Barbican Centre with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

Bruno has a longstanding musical partnership with the outstanding Palestinian singer, composer and broadcaster Reem Kelani.

Malcolm’s love of many different styles of jazz has made him a versatile performer as well as a distinctive voice on the UK Jazz scene. In 1989, after studying at Exeter University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, occupying the lead trombone chair for two years. He has since performed with a variety of artists including Kenny Baker, John Dankworth, Henry Lowther, Martin Speake and Liam Noble. His debut album Lyric Trombone (1996) received wide acclaim – including encouraging words from American trombonist Jimmy Knepper, one of Malcolm’s major influences. He has also worked with soul artists Ronnie Spector and Martha Reeves and has twice toured with Bryan Ferry, featuring on two of his albums As Time Goes By, and The Jazz Age. More recently,  Malcolm has performed widely with the acclaimed Basin Street Brawlers and Three Way Stretch, a trio which also features Liam Noble and Dave Wickins, and draws on a wide range of jazz styles to achieve it’s unique sound. Their album I’ll be Seeing You (2020) is dedicated to the memory of the late Dave Wickins.

As a vocalist, Malcolm has developed a distinctive swinging style and an exciting approach to scat singing. Things are Looking Up by VoxCity5 (2007), features Malcolm’s original arrangements for two voices and rhythm section. The line-up includes fellow vocalist,  Nia Lynn and pianist Barry Green. His next release (due out  Autumn 2020), features Malcolm’s vocals  backed by a quartet, all of whom are graduates of the Trinity Laban Jazz Course and now well known names on the UK jazz scene: Leo Richardson (saxophones), Chris Eldred (piano), Conor Chaplin (bass) and Douglas Marinner (drums).

  The output of Cole’s artistic practice manifests through performance, composition and teaching; all informing and reinforcing each other. With a musical language that is informed by and spans across cultures and modalities, Xhosa is a sought after composer in the contemporary classical and improvising industries in the UK. Having been commissioned by the BBC, Symphony Hall, Ideas of Noise Festival and Flatpack Film Festival and Aldeburg Festival Cole is building his own methodology for composition that puts islamic geometry, natural structures/processes, West African rhythms and non-hierarchical orchestration and performance at its center. This unique combination is the foundation of highly invigorating music that has the stability of sacred music structures found in Wester- Harmony and free combustion of Black improvising traditions. Cole’s teachers include John O’gallager, Hans Koller and Pat Thomas, who supported in building an understanding of Western Classical composition from the foundations of Schoenberg’s ‘Fundamentals of Musical Composition’ through to the modalities of Messiaen, Bartok and Thelonious Monk.

    The pre-reductionist understanding that the arts are all reflections of the same divine principles has always been at the heart of Xhosa’s outlook on music. His first steps in the arts were through dance and thus he carries a vision that isn’t limited to solely music. To date he has co-directed 3 short films, curated and performed a durational piece at the Midlands Arts Central and worked with several award winning playwrights, poets and visual artists. His inquisitive nature has drawn him to the inner workings, both practically and conceptually, in these fields and continues to imbue his collaborations with increasing creative empathy for those with whom he works.

   In 2018 he was the recipient of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year Award and has since: performed alongside artists including Monty Alexander and Courtney Pine and as a soloist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; appeared at the BBC Proms, Cadogan Hall, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and Ronnie Scotts; and received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Newcomer, Jazz FM’s Breakthrough act and Peter Whittingham Jazz Award. Last year Xhosa completed a 38 date UK tour with his quartet featuring NYC tap dancer Liberty Styles. To date he’s recorded two studio albums: K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us featuring saxophonist, Soweto Kinch and Pianist, Reuben James and Ibeji, featuring conversations and duets with seven percussionists from the African Diaspora, which explores themes of Brotherhood, Ancestors, Masks, and Codes. As an improviser, Cole’s career has launched into the contemporary classical and free jazz communities into Europe and beyond, working closely with internationally acclaimed artists including Hamid Drake, Elaine Mitchener, Jason Yarde, Mark Sanders. More recently he has been developing connections within the Berlin music communities with Bex Birch, James Banner and Asger Nissan.

Xhosa has the rare trait of having firm roots in tradition paired with an uncompromisable radical vision. His art speaks to an intersectional experience that celebrates the reality of community connection and challenges conventions that inhibit true creative expression.

 

It is the highly gifted Xhosa Cole who is currently making most waves … Cole has the rich expressive range and technical skills that characterise significant soloists.

The Guardian

The 24-year-old tenor saxophonist/composer is a British sensation and proves that he’s here for blood with this release … He’s got technique, talent, artistry and a burning desire that shows throughout the set.

Downbeat

As a sideman, he has performed with many leading jazz musicians from across the UK, and the world. Gourlay has held the acoustic bass chair with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Tommy Smith, since 2006. He has also featured prominently with Tommy Smith’s own quartet.

Since 2018 Calum has been a professor of Jazz Bass at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. He has also taught one to one at the Royal Academy of Music and presented his own big band music with The Guildhall Big Band.

His debut album ‘Live at The Ridgeway’ (2015) received rave reviews from the UK jazz press, not least because of its confident format – a solo, live recording in front of an intimate audience.

In 2019 Calum released his first quartet album ‘New Ears’ on Ubuntu records. In 2020 the album was nominated for both a Scottish Jazz Award and an Ivor Novello Composer Award.

SAHRA has a range of enviable career highlights including performing at; London Jazz Festival, Dimensions, WOMAD, We Out Here as well as receiving co-signs from the likes of; BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Worldwide and Rinse FM. After a brief hiatus throughout the lockdowns, SAHRA is back for good and her recent single ‘Sorry’ confirms why, gaining support from; COLORS, BBC Introducing, BBC 1’s Victoria Jane, Worldwide FM, The Line Of Best Fit, and Wonderland to name a few. Exuberating mysticism, she is able to express her individuality through stories, commanding attention with her rich and faultless voice.

As well as performing and recording with Gary Crosby’s “Nu-Troop” and “Jazz Jamaica”, Tony’s playing has also been a feature of many bands and artists he has worked/recorded with include “US-3” The World Saxophone Quartet, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, The David Murray Big Band, Sam Rivers Rivbe Big band, Andrew Hill Big Band, Abdullah Ibrahim, Macy Gray, Julian Joseph Big band, Harry Connick JR, Byron Wallen’s Indigo, Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Coltrane Configurations and Ornette Coleman.

His fluent and fiery hard-bop style makes him constantly in demand. He currently leads his own Tony Kofi Quartet, Tony Kofi Sphinx Trio, Future Passed Trio and is also the co-founder with Jonathan Gee of the Monk Liberation Front, a group that is dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk. Tony’s latest project sees him performing with Alex Webb’s Café Society Swing, Arnie Somogyi’s Jump Monk, Larry Bartley’s JustUS Quartet, Larry Bartley Trio featuring Tony Kofi, Adrian Reid Quartet, a double leaders project with Alan Barnes called Aggregation, Orphy Robinson’s Bobby Hutcherson songbook project, Alina Bzhezhinska Hip Harp Collective, Jo Harrop’s Fever, Portrait of Cannonball (Music dedicated to Cannonball Adderley)

Tony Kofi and the Organisation, a recent project which he co leads on the Baritone Saxophone. Currently working with NYJO conducting Monk at the Town Hall.

Winner BBC Jazz Awards 2005 -Album of the Year

Winner, Best Ensemble, Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2005

Winner BBC Jazz Awards 2008 – Best Instrumentalist

Nominee, Mobo Awards 2008

Winner of the Jack Petchey award 2015

Presto Music Award 2020

Awarded an Honorary Professorship Nottingham University 2021

Films: King of Thieves, The Halcyon, The Cat.

Winner, Best instrumentalist Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2022

“Passionate… superb… heartfelt”

The Guardian

“There is so much respect in jazz circles for Tony Kofi.”

Jazzwise

In 1997 he joined the Bobby Wellins Quartet, the rhythm section of which continues today as the Liam Noble Trio, recently documented on the 2009 CD “BRUBECK”, gaining an almost unprecedented 5 star review in The Guardian.

In 2001, “In The Meantime”, released on Basho Records, explored longer compositional forms and unorthodox improvisational structures, and April 2002 saw a commission from Birmingham Jazz resulting in a song cycle based on Japanese Death Poetry. Noble plays keyboards and samples throughout, marking a new foray into electronica inspired by artists such as Aphex Twin and Arto Lindsay.

In 2004, following a Cheltenham Festival gig the previous year, Liam recorded the acclaimed “Romance Among The Fishes” on Basho Records with guitarist Phil Robson and the New York rhythm section of Drew Gress and Tom Rainey on bass and drums respectively.

Liam’s working relationship has continued with Tom Rainey in the free improv trio, “Sleepthief” with Ingrid Laubrock, with an album released in September 2008, and a second, “The Madness Of Crowds” in 2011. Other frequent collaborators have included Christine Tobin, Paul Clarvis and Julian Siegel. His growing reputation as a free improviser has also resulted in recent performances with Mary Halverson, Marc Ducret, Mat Maneri, Evan Parker, Okkyung Lee and Peter Evans.

In June 2011 he was featured on a recording by Zhenya Strigalev with Larry Grenadier, Tim LeFebvre and Eric Harland. “Brother Face”, an expanded version of his trio with Chris Batchelor and Shabaka Hutchings, looks to expand short form composition into longer arcs. As a kind of summation of the diverse areas in which he works combined with a compositional eye for structure, this new group was highly praised at its premiere performance at the Cheltenham Jazz festival in 2012.

A solo CD, “A Room Somewhere”, released in 2015 on Basho Records, features an eclectic mix of improvisations, as well as versions of music by, amongst others, Edward Elgar, Joe Zawinul, Gillian Welch, Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Liam has also played duo gigs with Dave Liebman and Tim Berne, two highly contrasting giants of jazz who exemplify the chameleon-like tendencies of his collaborations.

Liam holds posts as Lecturer in Jazz at Birmingham Conservatoire and 
Trinity Laban. He has published 4 volumes of transcriptions of the Bill Evans Trio, and a book of original compositions “Jazz Piano; An In Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters”, both published by Hal Leonard.

In smaller groups he has played with Gary Husband’s ‘Drive’, Django Bates’ Human Chain, NYC performance artist/violinist Laurie Anderson and pianist/singer-songwriter Steve Nieve, The Smith Quartet, Kirk Lightsey, Norma Winstone, Jason Palmer’s Quartet featuring Jeff Ballard. He is a member of Oren Marshall’s ‘Charming Transport Band’ featuring musicians from Ghana and Nigeria. Julian has also performed with vocalists Cleo Laine, Beverley Knight, Joe Lee Wilson, Liane Carroll, Eddi Reader, Charlene Spiteri, Jacqueline Dankworth, Lizz Wright, Juliet Roberts, Keziah Jones, Terri Walker, Christine Tobin and punk rock legend Steve Ignorant (formerly of Crass).