Loop Collective Blog

Some ICA stuff....feat. Tom Challenger, Tim Giles...listen and enjoy!!!

2011-06-21T17:58:00.001+01:00

http://soundcloud.com/noise-immemorial/time-and-gravid-hands-calling-out-of-context-festival-ica-nov-09

Loop Collective presents Summer party @ The Vortex on Friday June 24th– double album launch: Splice & MA + Snack Family

2011-06-19T11:40:00.007+01:00

Friday 24 June | 8.30pm | £8 | Book online  Snack family: Andrew Plummer - vocals/ baritone guitar, James Allsopp - baritone sax, Tommy Greenhalgh - drums

MA Led by Redsnapper/Outhouse saxophonist, Tom Challenger, MA features fellow Loop collective collaborator, drummer Dave Smith, organist Ross Stanley as well as long term friend and collaborator Matt Calvert on electronics.  Within a setting of dubby beats and drones, MA utilise deceptively simple themes as a launch pad for music that is hugely atmospheric but full of powerful improvisation and unexpected textures. Tonight MA will launch their CD 'The Last'.

Splice Splice's raison d'être is to mesh together influences of contemporary jazz, free improv, loud and soft noise, punk grit, ambient music, and more... with seamless blends or blunt juxtapositions.  Featuring Alex Bonney on trumpet and electronics, Robin Fincker on tenor sax and clarinet, Dave Smith on drums, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay on bass guitar and electronics, Splice will launch their debut CD 'LAB'.

DJ set from Ross Mcdouall

New Ma Album - 'The Last' available!!!

2011-04-18T09:09:00.001+01:00

Just to announce that the new Ma Album - 'The Last' is available from either www.tomchallenger.co.uk or www.loopcollective.org It's been a long time coming but thankfully - now it's ready for release (which is incidentally in June - it's available early here!).

LOOP FESTIVAL 16-19 March 2011

2011-01-17T10:48:00.060Z

The Loop Collective is delighted to present the third edition of its yearly festival, in an exciting new London venue with a packed-out program of new projects, special guests and friends.

Taking place for the first time at The Forge in Camden, the festival will include an evening dedicated to the European Jazz-collective-gathering: “ZOOM!”, the launch of three new records by Loop artists and the long-awaited Loop compilation as well as a movie projection and special outings of Loop bands performing new music written for the occasion.

The Loop Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of PRS Foundation, Arts Council England, The French Bureau Export and BBC radio 3.

Press inquiries:
For further information, tickets requests, interviews and photos please contact Stéphanie Knibbe info@loopcollective.org or 07719529313.

Ticket Prices:
Wednesday + Thursday: £12/night
Friday + Saturday: £15/night
2-day pass: £25
4-day pass: £40

Opening Times:
Wednesday + Thursday: doors open 7pm music starts 8.30pm
Friday + Saturday: doors open 6.30pm music starts 8pm

PROGRAM

Wednesday 16 March:

7pm Opening of the festival! Meet, greet + drinks.

8.30pm Mick Coady Quartet

Michael Buckley - tenor sax
Ivo Neame - piano
Mick Coady - bass
Sean Carpio - drums
Although generally regarded as tightly rooted in the jazz tradition, Mick Coady's original work reveals another side of his musical character, one that draws its inspiration from a wide diversity of influences. The rich harmony and angular melodies prominent in his compositions are a result of his long immersion in the jazz idiom but the epic song forms and intense grooves that underlie many of his pieces are evidence of an earlier exposure to rock and folk, and many other musics besides. Coady's performance at this 3rd annual Loop festival will be the first outing for a number of tunes currently in the works. It is also a prelude to his first recording as a leader (set for May), the result of a recent award granted to him under the Music Network Recording Scheme.

9.30pm JEANNE ADDED solo

Jeanne Added - voice / bass guitar
"Jeanne Added is always fascinating by her way of combining a laid back, almost detached attitude and maximal intensity, with a vocal technique which seems not wanting to show, between murmure, plain notes and words. a capella or with her bass, she sings her own songs as well as some of Prince, Purcell or Schubert." franck bergerot, jazz magazine.

"With her we go through telluric and lyrical feelings, as we would in the company of a griot." mathieu malgrange, atelier du plateau, paris.
10.30pm MA special

Tom Challenger - Tenor Saxophone
Matt Calvert - electronics
Ross Stanley - organ
Dave Smith - drums
+ John Blease (Percussion); Ben Bryant (Percussion)
'Ma appear here with an expanded line-up (including a percussion section) performing (for the first time) a new piece of work written especially for this concert at the Forge.

Expect to hear Ma's customary and highly individual improv-meets-dub-meets-electronica sound world, alongside percussive sounds that will be performed using the venue and space as key components to the overall musical result.

--------------------------------
Thursday 17 March:

ZOOM night.

7pm Presentation of the new Loop Compilation and the three albums launched at the Loop festival.
8.30pm Kindergarten (Yolk Collective)

Matthieu Donarier - clarinets & saxophones
Poline Renou - singer, keyboards player and composer
Kindergarten is a...children's garden as the world is.
Kindergarten results from the encounter of two musicians coming from very different musical worlds, its repertoire mixes with original compositions, revisited ancient and contemporary musics, improvised pieces, litterature reading and a touch of electronics... Together, Matthieu Donarier and Poline Renou have decided to build a peculiar, fragile and polymorphic musical universe, which dares silence and bareness, mixing written and instantaneous poetry, harmonic murmurs and rhythmic fury.
Microdiffusion, acoustic concerts taking place inside the audience and respect for silence are part of this flexible group concept, around which others musicians, dancers and writers will come along in future creations.
Kindergarten's first album was released in April 2008 on Yolk Records.

9.30pm Arthurs.Høiby.Richie (F-ire Collective)

Tom Arthurs - trumpet
Jasper Høiby - bass
Stuart Richie - drums
'This threesome has deserved all the praise it's received this year. They are due for a lot more' John Fordham, The Guardian

'what a great trio... their session was a corker!' Jez Nelson, BBC Radio 3, Jazz on 3

Wide-open, intensely rhythmic original compositions inspired by twisted dance-musics,  concentrated yet intimate improv, various complexities of the  [post-]modern world and avant-garde baking techniques...

High-energy, highly interactive and fresh every time, Arthurs.Høiby.Ritchie are a trio with unlimited potential for invention and for the unexpected; manipulating and extending material through detailed improvisations, and with an individual take on the great composition/improvisation debate. Playing music by Arthurs, Jasper Høiby and Stuart Ritchie complete a trio of personalities drawing on a wealth of influences and experiences.  
A.H.R have performed at the Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham International Jazz Festival, the London Jazz Festival,  Moving on Music (Belfast) and Manchester Jazz Festivals, as well as in France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.   In 2007 they performed specially commissioned music by leading SPNM composers at the Purcell Rooms.  The composers were Ailis Ni Riain, Adam Melvin and Richard Glover.
AHR have recently returned from a collaboration with the Geneva Downtown Orchestra, featuring a suite of music commissioned by the GTDO, and in 2010, worked on a special project with the renowned Elysian (string) Quartet.

Their debut record, Explications,was released to much acclaim on Not Applicable records in 2008.

10.30pm Fringe Magnetic special (Loop Collective)
with guests Alex Bonney + Jim Hart

Rory Simmons - trumpet; Tori Freestone - Flute; Robin Fincker - clarinet; James Allsopp - bass clarinet; Kit Massey - violin; Nathalie Rosario - cello; Jasper Høiby - bass; Ivo Neame - piano; Ben Reynolds - drums + Alex Bonney - trumpet & Jim Hart - vibraphone
Led by trumpeter Rory Simmons (and featuring Jasper Høiby, Robin Fincker, James Allsopp amongst others), twisted ensemble Fringe Magnetic draw on the legacy of Django Bates and the clashing rhythms of the New York Downtown. Fringe Magnetic create an icy Anglo-Nordic ambience which can at once transform into quirky elastic rhythmic grooves; and the grunting power of a Tom Waits groan, which in the next moment leads you on a bizarre melodic journey which is as near Ligeti as it is Lykke Li.

Their performance at this year's Loop Festival will include a specially written piece with an extended version of Fringe Magnetic. This performance will feature Jim Hart on vibraphone and Alex Bonney on trumpet.

--------------------------------
Friday 18 March:
8pm Projection of the silent film 'Sunrise', with music composed and improvised by Alcyona Mick, Geoff Hannan & Jon Wygens

Alcyona Mick - piano
Geoff Hannan - violin
Jon Wygens - guitar
Earlier in 2010 Alcyona Mick was commissioned by 7 Inch Cinema and supported by the Arts Council to compose a new score for one of cinema's historical silent films, 'Sunrise'. It was then performed live at the Flatpack Film Festival 2010.

Featuring Alcyona on piano, together with violinist Geoff Hannan and guitarist Jon Wygens who are both composers in their own right, the music has a strong improvisatory element alongside the written contemporary score.

9.30pm Risser / Duboc / Perraud trio (France)

Eve Risser - piano
Benjamin Duboc - bass
Edward Perraud - drums
Although a very recent band, its members Benjamin Duboc and Edward Perraud have been playing together for years in ETAU (out on creative sources) and THE FISH with Jean-Luc Guionnet (out on ayler records...). On several occasions Eve Risser and Benjamin Duboc found themselves playing together on various Parisian stages.
Soon, it becomes obvious that there is a common will between the three artists which leads them to start a trio around powerful music, at once organic and forceful. At the crossroad between free music and a wide range of other musical influences, their work focuses on the elasticity of the time.
Risser, Duboc and Perraud share an understanding of rhythm and harmony so close to telepathy that they could call their band ‘Evidence’ (Obviousness).

10.30pm Andrew Plummer’s World Sanguine Report
Andrew Plummer - voice; Alex Bonney - trumpet; James Allsopp - reeds; Chris Sharkey - guitar; Matt Bourne - keyboards; Dave Kane - bass; Tom Greenhalgh - drums
Part demonic vaudeville, part psychotic big band, vocalist Andrew Plummer revels and writhes in the macabre as he heads his jazz noir project World Sanguine Report through visceral tales from the dark side of life, love and death. Propelled by demented carny rhythms, Plummer's bruised, gruff vocals and darkly-enthralling lyrics are enveloped in a tide of swirling tones and textures, with the constant threat of breaking into waves of cacophony. Featuring musicians of national and international renown, tonight World Sanguine Report will be serving up choice cuts from Plummer's first three albums.

'Moving between threatening intimacy and deranged demagoguery, rasping and roaring desperation before cutting off with a terrifying fixed smile, (W.S.R.) are fabulous, refreshing and uncategorisable music and excellent theatre.' The Venue

'(W.S.R.) twist the nobel craft of songwriting into a dystopian mindfuck.... Plummer's warped vaudeville, always dark turning darker, is something entirely his own.' The Wire

'The honey-and-razor-blades voiced singer/composer: Andrew Plummer's World Sanguine Report are a multi-headed beast of a band, boasting some of the freshest new talent on the UK scene. They all join together on Plummer's heartrending wonky pieces, that sound part New Orleans brass band part Mr Bungle to spellbinding tragic-comic effect.' Jazzwise

--------------------------------

Saturday 19 March:

Album Launch night. Recorded by BBC radio 3

8pm Mirror (Album Launch)
Dan Nicholls - keyboards/fx
James Allsopp - tenor saxophone
Dave Smith - drums
Mirror is a bold and engaging ensemble interpreting and reworking the compositions of keyboardist Dan Nicholls. Featuring the distinctive voices of James Allsopp and Dave Smith, the band's highly dynamic sound ranges from thrash grooves to barely audible undertones - aiming for fluidity between written and unwritten, and exploring connections between sound and image.

9pm Mark Hanslip/Javier Carmona Duo (Album Launch)
Mark Hanslip - tenor sax
Javier Carmona - drums
The duo of saxophonist Mark Hanslip and drummer/percussionist Javier Carmona will be playing music from their forthcoming album out on the Babel label in early 2011. Almost entirely improvised, their music is notable for extreme contrast between minimalist, ambient sounds (and silence) and dense, furious free-jazz, startling and sudden changes of direction and oddball musicianship.

'Startling.... highly intuitive.' (TimeOut London)

10pm Splice (Album Launch)

Robin Fincker - tenor sax / clarinet
Alex Bonney - trumpet / electronics
Pierre-Alexandre Tremblay - bass / electronics
Dave Smith - drums

Splice's raison d'être is to mesh together influences of contemporary jazz, free improv, loud and soft noise, punk grit, ambient music, and more... with seamless blends or blunt juxtapositions.

Featuring Alex Bonney on trumpet and electronics, Robin Fincker on tenor sax and clarinet, Dave Smith on drums, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay on bass guitar and electronics, Splice will launch their debut CD LAB at the 2011 Loop Festival at the Forge, London.

11pm Jim Hart + Ivo Neame's 'Duo Plus'
with guests Oren Marshall + Rory Simmons

Ivo Neame - piano & saxophone
Jim Hart - vibraphone & drums
+ Oren Marshall - tuba, Rory Simmons - trumpet
Multi-instrumentalists Jim Hart and Ivo Neame have been playing together since the beginning of the century. Both founder members of the Loop collective and members of each other’s bands, (The Ivo Neame Quartet and Jim Hart's Gemini) they have developed a superb empathy for one another's playing – 'as if they are finishing each other's sentences'. Their music is often rhythmically charged whilst being very fluid and open.

Duo Plus crept in to being after Ivo and Jim were asked on several occasions to play as a duo and began exploring the different textures that piano and saxophone (Ivo) with drums and vibraphone (Jim) could create. By chance Rory Simmons (trumpet) was at one of these gigs and he sat in. Duo Plus was born. Rory will feature again for the Loop festival and the duo will also be joined by tuba virtuoso Oren Marshall.

--------------------------------

Alex Bonney's tribute to Albert Ayler live at Charlie Wrights 18.11.10

2010-11-16T09:59:00.001Z

Looking forward to playing at Charlie Wrights this Thursday with messrs Dunmall, Sanders, Allsopp, Kane, Brice and Bates in tribute to Albert Ayler. Hoping the roof will be raised!

Loop Double bill at the Vortex Friday August 27th

2010-08-19T20:31:00.002+01:00

Dave Manington’s Riff Raff

Dave Manington – Double bass/compositions
Brigitte Beraha – Vocals
Tomas Challenger – Tenor Sax
Ivo Neame – Piano/Rhodes
Tim Giles – Drums/Percussion

This dynamic ensemble of young musicians features the highly acclaimed musicians Brigitte Beraha (Paul Clarvis/Chris Laurence, Kenny Wheeler, Henry Lowther, L.J.O.), Ivo Neame (Cinematic Orchestra, Fringe Magnetic, Phronesis), Tomas Challenger (Outhouse/Red Snapper), and Tim Giles (Iain Ballamy/Stan Sulzmann/Kenny Wheeler/Art Farmer). The starting point for the music is collective improvisation but compositionally it draws on as wide a range of styles as possible. Folk, electronic music and contemporary classical influences are added to the mix with complex jazz harmonies and rhythms. Different and contrasting strands are layered up on top of one another to create tension. Often the music has been rewritten many times after rehearsals sent the music spinning off in a different and exciting direction. Most of the material is through-composed with the theme re-emerging in a different form, key, or time signature. The most important thing for us is to develop a band sound and understanding so each time we play the music can be re-invented collectively, often quite radically. Several new compositions feature fantastic lyrics from Brigitte Bereha and on other tracks she sings wordless vocals, often harmonizing with the sax line to great effect. A new album and tour is planned for 2011.
"Creative contemporary jazz composition with its freedom of improvised expression is in safe hands in my opinion having just heard this album. These musicians are equally matched and share a lucidity and flow within their music that subtly but powerfully demonstrates their individual and collective excellence!" Iain Ballamy

JON IRABAGON
J

on Irabagon, winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, has performed extensively as both a sideman and as a leader in an ever-expanding range of projects, from the most straight ahead to the most searching. Jon has studied under such divergent artists as Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, Dick Oatts, Jason Moran and Victor Goines, and has performed and/or recorded with musical luminaries such as Billy Joel, Wynton Marsalis, Bright Eyes, Tom Harrell, Tommy Iago, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Deborah Gibson, John Abercrombie, Frank Wess, Wycliffe Gordon, Renee Fleming, Kenny Washington, Lou Reed, Jenny Lewis, Ron Sexsmith, and Ken Vandermark. Jon has performed and done clinics and workshops in the United States, Canada, Europe, Macau, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and Japan, and performs regularly in New York City’s top venues such as Birdland, the Jazz Standard, 55 Bar, the Jazz Gallery, Zebulon, Barbes, Sweet Rhythm, and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola.
     Jon’s conception of complete musical inclusion in his improvisation and composition is apparent in the wide-ranging body of work he has compiled in his young career: his quintet Outright! (Innova) that embraces the complete history of jazz while wrapping it up in group improvisation, his continuous additive duo project with drummer Mike Pride “I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But the Blues” (Loyal Label), his unapologetic 80s cover band, his Sonny Rollins Tribute Trio, the straight-ahead modern jazz group Confluence (For the Artist Records) that he co-leads with fellow Manhattan School of Music graduates, the freely-improvising RIDD Quartet (Clean Feed), as well as his long-time tenure in the self-destructing bebop cyborg terrorist band Mostly Other People do the Killing (Hot Cup).
     Jon has been signed to Concord Records and has a CD of original music and jazz standards coming out in the fall of 2009.

Dog Soup plus Tom Mix w/ Veryan Weston @ Vortex 25.6.10

2010-06-19T17:12:00.002+01:00

Friday 25 | 8.30pm | £10 | Loop Double BIll
Dog Soup
Led by trumpeter Robbie Robson, with John Turville and Hans Koller (keyboards), Johnny Brierley (bass) and Tim Giles (drums), the band use a number of electronic effects to create different textures and colours.

Samplers and loops create a swirling bed of music over which to improvise, blurring the distinctions between gritty, dark grooves, electronic sounds, loops and samples and free group improvisation.

'Robson, sampling and remodulating his trumpet tones, let his notes ooze in and out, their edges as hazy as Mark Rothko’s luminescent colour slabs. John Turville’s strangely distorted Rhodes-piano chords recalled Dali’s melted fob-watch. Be warned: Dog Soup before bedtime leaves you with feverishly vivid pictures (Jack Massarik).

Tom-Mix & Veryan Weston
Tom-Mix – Mark Hanslip (tenor saxophone), Olie Brice (double bass), Tony Marsh (drums) – have worked hard on developing a trio sound based on open improvisation, intense group listening and rhythmic flexibility, which makes reference to John Coltrane, Lee Konitz and Sonny Rollins, Bartok, Webern and Xenakis, free improvisation and the raw energy of free jazz.

For this Loop Collective residency, they're delighted to be joined for the first time by piano great Veryan Weston, perhaps best known for his long-standing relationships with both vocalist Phil Minton and saxophonist Trevor Watts.

Henry Lowther and fringe Magnetic @ the Vortex 19.6.10

2010-06-19T17:09:00.000+01:00

Saturday 19 | 8.30pm | £12* | Still Waters
Henry Lowther’s Still Waters was born out a long association and friendship between Henry and bassist Dave Green. It is now one of the most accomplished, tightly-ensembled and creative bands around.

Although a classic quintet of two front line and rhythm, Still Waters plays radical and original music, ranging from gentle, quietly pastoral and melodic music, reflecting the band’s name, through to dynamic, free improvisation. ‘Meltingly attractive solos, startling originality...’ (Chris Parker).

Fringe Magnetic
Trumpeter Rory Simmons Fringe Magnetic plays loose grooves with free vocal improvisation, fusing chamber music and cutting-edge jazz. Featuring some of the most exciting and dynamic young musicians from the London jazz, classical and improvised scene.

‘Stunning new project with an extended woodwind and string section. The nine piece create multi-layered orchestral sounds laced with flitting folk reels, modern harmony and topped with cutting edge improv’ (Time Out).

*Evening ticket holders can attend the late night jam for a reduced rate of £3

Saturday 19 | 10.30pm – 1.00am | £5 | Book online
Tomorrow's Warriors JALC Jam Session
Featuring musicians from the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, who will be in residence at the Barbican in June.

New Earconnector music and news: Alex Bonney/Dave Manington/Thomas Savy

2010-05-17T21:23:00.002+01:00

Umlaut and Gemini at the 2010 Loop Collective festival BBC broadcast

2010-05-02T13:46:00.002+01:00

Friday 30th April: Golden Age of Steam @ the Vortex

2010-04-30T11:54:00.000+01:00

A new monthly residency of the LOOP Collective at the Vortex, showcasing LOOP members, new ventures and associates of the collective.

Golden Age of Steam
Led by reeds player James Allsopp, the band builds on his association with drummer Tim Giles, co-leader of the award-winning quintet Fraud. The line-up is completed by keyboard virtuoso Kit Downes, winner of the BBC Jazz Award for Rising Star 2008.

Inspired by the anarchic playfulness of Ligeti’s music, the joyous thunder of Coltrane and Ayler and the twisted lyricism of Captain Beefheart, the music is sometimes labyrinthine, sometimes eerily sparse – incorporating seismic riffs, limping marches and intricately woven textures.

'An evening of no-nonsense, full-on music from some of the scene's freshest talents' (Chris Parker).

Plus support from
Philip Hochstrate
‘Fraud’ pianist plays a solo piano set of freely improvised music influenced by contemporary classical, free jazz and impressionistic music.

Leverton Fox April 2010 UK tour supporting Humcrush (Norway)

2010-03-30T12:05:00.000+01:00

Festival Thanks

2010-03-04T10:29:00.001Z

A late thank you to all of you who came to the Festival at the Vortex recently and helped make the full house it was so nice to see every night! Nice review here:

http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-loop-collective-frestival.html

Working my way slowly through the recordings of the sets - more info on that to follow!

----Alex

Toms Challenger/Rogerson Duo

2010-03-02T17:45:00.001Z

ust a quick note to let you know about a new release coming from my back yard: "Tomas Challenger (Ma., Outhouse, Red Snapper) collaborates with Thomas Rogerson (Three Trapped Tigers) in an improv-duo setting utilising their acoustic instruments (Saxophone and Piano respectively) alongside the mighty Farfisa Organ/Drum Machine and Effects." So thats the press! It's been released on Mini Loop Records and is available on Limited Edition CD and through MP3. You can contact me (tomchallenger@hotmail.com) for all of that. All for fiver plus shipping. Also, to let you know that the new Ma. album is making it's way swiftly through the editing/mixing/mastering process. Watch this space! We have a gig in Bishopsgate Hall on the 25th of March if you fancy it? Info/sounds @ www.myspace.com/tomaschallenger. More plugs thoughts soon....Here's a thought...Ches Smith. Burning.

Photos from Loop Fest day 1- please come to day 2 tonight!

2010-02-18T15:06:00.000Z

A small reminder: LOOP FESTIVAL STARTS WEDNESDAY 17th @ THE VORTEX!!

2010-02-16T14:08:00.005Z

Free download/donation in memory of Ebou Secka

2010-02-14T17:34:00.001Z

Fringe Magnetic Photos from session @ The Fishmarket

2010-02-05T14:11:00.004Z

I had a great day yesterday in the control room of the Fishmarket studios listening to the amazing Fringe Magnetic record their new album. Well done folks! Looking forward to the mixing.

I left early for a very enjoyable gig at E17 jazz with Ollie Brice, Rachel Musson and Josh Morrison, more with that band soon I hope

------Alex

My Debut Blog

2010-01-31T12:28:00.000Z

Hello everyone,

my first foray into blogging here....
Just to let you all know, a mini version of my band Fringe Magnetic are playing at Charlie Wrights in Old Street tomorrow night. The band will feature
me- trumpet/flugelhorn
Kit Massey- violin
Natalie Rozario- cello
James Allsopp- bass clarinet/ clarinet
Tori Freestone- flute
Ben Reynolds- drums/perc

very excited about this gig, we will be playing almost exclusively new music. We are recording this new set of music on thursday with the addition of Ivo Neame, Andrew Plummer and Elisabeth Nygaard on a few tunes. Going to be very fun. Please come down to the gig tomorrow, it is a double with a great German/English band called Paragon. And the current Fringe Magnetic album (Empty Spaces) will be available to buy on the night.

In the meantime, been really interesting reading what other Loopers are listening to at the moment. Here is my sunday morning playlist...
1. Henri Dutilleux- Symphony No 1
2. Dave Douglas- Witness (for the millionth time this year)
3. Jon Hopkins- Insides
4. Captain Beefheart- Ice Cream for Crow (specifically 'Hey Garland, I Dig Your Tweed Coat'!'
5. Chicago Underground Quartet

Fringe Magnetic- Empty Spaces officially released tomorrow in HMV/Amazon/Play etc etc ...

Best wishes
Rory

Loop Fest Facebook Event Page: come down - you know you want to!

2010-01-30T12:52:00.001Z

Loop Website

2010-01-27T14:44:00.003Z

FIXED------
The Loop Collective website is temporarily offline - we are working on this and it will be back up as soon as possible, apologies.

Hayward/Challenger/Doyne-Ditmas and Leverton Fox at Cafe Oto 23rd Jan 2010

2010-01-25T12:32:00.005Z

We had a blast playing with Leverton Fox (with new member Sam Britton on laptop) on Saturday night at Oto, thanks for those who came down and thanks to promoters and label Gravid Hands for putting it on.

After accidentally missing Glockenspiel's set (sorry guys-we were in the wonderful Shanghai Chinese restaurant near Kingsland Station) it was great to hear the Charles Hayward group. It is refreshing to hear improvised music that is not afraid move into in time grooves, the great no-no of much of the improv scence. I've heard Tom refer to this open mindedness as a 'South London' improvisers mentality!
Tom certainly knows how to not get boxed in playing on grooves as he demonstrated with tireless energy and creativity. A particular favorite moment of mine was when Hayward played bowls (see one of the photos) creating a very intimate soundscape with the the other two members.

The rise and rise of Cafe Oto has been amazing to watch, in many ways summing up my favorite aspects of London (which seem harder and harder to find but that's another story): diverse, open minded people going to see refreshingly uncompromising music in a forward thinking independently run venue. Unfortunately in the weekends the ambient talking level is too high for my taste as a listener and performer (a problem always scrupulously avoided at The Vortex). It means that it feels very lonely when the band's volume drops below a certain threshold. I suppose this is the price you pay for an audience comprising as much of curious post pub Dalstonites as die hard improv fans. However if the audience for this music is going to expand as a result I'll live with it! Nevertheless a great night was had by all.

----Alex

HELLO From Tom Challenger

2010-01-22T14:11:00.001Z

Hello all. this is me saying hello...

Looking forward very much to the festival. Aside from playing with new music with Outhouse and for the first time ever with The Riff Raff, 'MA' will be performing on saturday night in front of the old BBC's mics. Very exciting.

This week has been pretty crap for me...did my back in on monday night which has meant nuff bumming about (I've actually been penning some new tunes), blowing out Outhouse rehearsals...RUBBISH. Been listening to lots of tunes:

1) Anthony Braxton - Six Compositions for Quartet (1984)
2) Jarrett - Live at the Deerhead inn (Motian and Peacock....brill)
3) Steve Lehman - On Meaning
4) Vijay Iyer - Historiocity (what ever it is...)
5) Johnny Griffin - Inroducing
6) Monk - Complete Solo on Columbia
7) Ornette on Tenor

ALL VERY GOOD!!!

Also saw Ex Pat John Escreets gig at ronnies. It was really good. Ambrose Akinmusire was really impressive. He made great stuff happen, definitely NOT going through the motions. Thats always nice to hear.

Got to try and rebuild my back now...will be writing more v. soon about some new things coming everybody's way.

Love to all

Thanks to our guests 'Q' from France for their fantastic music- some pictures from one of their London gigs

2010-01-22T13:22:00.005Z

For the visiting French trio Q, think John Zorn’s Naked City in heavy grindcore mode minus the humour but with all its rampant and intoxicating presence. Drummer Sylvain Darrifourq brought a depth of beat and vigour of propulsion like that of Jim Black, while electric bassist Fanny Lafargues would have put many heavy metal players to shame with her menacing bass-lines. On guitar Julien Deprez wove into the music John Scofield-esque motifs and a Bill Frisell-nuanced textural palette. A sketched out cover of the 1980’s Miles classic ’You’re Under Arrest’ tied into the evening’s nostalgic undercurrent while a cameo appearance from tenor saxophonist Robin Fincker brought the set into softer yet equally compelling territory. We look forward to Q’s return visit.

---Review from Jazzwise magazine

More Details on February 2010's Loop Festival @ the Vortex

2010-01-19T10:35:00.002Z

Balladyna

2010-01-11T09:51:00.000Z

Another album I'm enjoying very much at the moment is this 70s ECM classic with a young Dave Holland and the amazing Edward Vesala. Stanko's trumpet playing is astonishing on this, as Chris Batchelor said to me, he sounds like Ayler!

Tomasz Stanko – Balladyna

-Alex

2010-01-09T20:38:00.000Z

This is my favorite album at the moment. Listen to it on Spotify, it's great:

Konono N°1 – Congotronics

Here's truly remarkable music from a streetcorner band that hails from the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. "Discovered" by awesome Dutch avant-punk act the Ex during a tour in the embattled region, Konono #1 makes hypnotic, beautiful, heavily rhythmic dance music with an often heavily-distorted electric thumb piano as the lead instrument. Fans of Fela and the Ethiopiques discs will dig this, as will fans of the Notwist, Prefuse 73 and Aphex Twin. Thankfully, Vincent Kenis' production allows the music to sound truly live, with plenty of distortion, frenzied call and response, and shambling percussion. Most of the instruments (including the twelve-piece group's renowned sound system itself) were scrounged ingeniously from scraps while microphones were carved from wood, so it's really important that the rough edges do show through. That's not to say there isn't inventive grace throughout, just that it's rad there's no candy-coated Daniel Lanois-type sheen here. In fact, it sounds like the whole studio was dancing up and down while making this awesome document. --Mike McGonigal

- Alex

Knuckle Biter

2010-01-09T13:26:00.000Z

We are trying to book some gigs in the UK in March for this band. Have a free listen to an EP we made in Northern Ireland last year here

-Alex Bonney

steve 'dakiz' davis - drums/laptop, alex bonney - trumpet/electronics, simon jermyn - bass/electronics

Loop Collective Festival at the Vortex Feb 17th to 21st 2010

2010-01-09T13:08:00.003Z

We are all very excited about the forthcoming Loop Festival. The progamme is being finalised but is looking like:

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Wednesday 17 February

8:00pm / Loop Friends series: F-ire: Seb Rochford + Leafcutter John
Seb Rochford - drums / John Burton - laptop

9:00pm / Sam Crockatt 4tet
SamCrockatt – tenor saxophone / Kit Downes – piano / Oli Hayhurst – bass / Ben Reynolds - drums

10:00pm / Alex Bonney's Tribute to Ayler w/ special guests Mark Sanders & Paul Dunmall

Alex Bonney – trumpets / Robin Fincker – saxophone / Paul Dunmall – saxophone / Dylan Bates – violin / Dave Kane – bass / Johnny Brierley – bass / Mark Sanders - drums

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 Thursday 18 February

8:00pm / Dog Soup

Robbie Robson – trumpet & fx / John Turville – keyboards / Johnny Brierley – bass guitar /

Tim Giles – drums

9:00pm / Tom Mix
Mark Hanslip – tenor saxophone / Oli Brice – bass / Tony Marsh - drums

10:00pm / Phronesis

Ivo Neame – piano / Jasper Hoiby – bass / Anton Eger - drums

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 Friday 19 February

8:00pm / Loop Friends series: Yolk: European TV brass trio

Matthias Schriefl – trumpet / Daniel Casimir – trombone / Francois Thuillier - tuba

9:00pm / Blink w/special guest Vincent Courtois
Robin Fincker – sax & clarinet / Alcyona Mick – Piano / Paul Clarvis – drums /

Vincent Courtois – cello

10:00pm / Dave Manington’s Riff-Raff
Brigitte Beraha – vocals / Mark Hanslip – tenor saxophone / Ivo Neame – rhodes /

Dave Manington – bass / Tim Giles - drums

11:00pm / The Golden Age of Steam (ALBUM LAUNCH)
James Allsopp – Tenor Sax / Kit Downes – organ / Tim Giles - drums

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Saturday 20 February - Recorded by BBC radio3 for Jazz on 3

8:00pm / Ma 

Tom Challenger – tenor sax / Ross Stanley – organ / Dave Smith – drums / Matt Calvert - laptop.

9:00pm / Fringe Magnetic (ALBUM LAUNCH)
Rory Simmons- trumpet/flugel/composer / Tori Freestone - flute / Natalie Rosario - cello /

Kit Massey - violin / Robin Fincker - clarinet / James Allsopp - bass clarinet / Ivo Neame - piano /

Jasper Hoiby - double bass/bass guitar / Ben Reynolds - drums / Elisabeth Nygaard - vocals

10:00pm / Loop Friends series: Umlaut: Peeping Tom w/ special guest Evan Parker

Pierre-Antoine Badaroux – alto sax / Joel Grip – bass / Antonin Gerbal – drums / Evan Parker – sax

11:00pm Gemini
Jim Hart – vibraphone / Ivo Neame – alto sax / Jasper Hoiby – bass / Dave Smith - drums

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Sunday 21 February

8:00pm / Loop Friends series: LIMA:Matt Bourne solo

Matt Bourne – keyboards & laptop

9:00pm / Outhouse

Robin Fincker – tenor sax & clarinet / Tom Challenger – tenor sax / Johnny Brierley – bass / Dave Smith - drums

10:00pm / Ivo Neame quartet (ALBUM LAUNCH)

Jim Hart – vibraphone / Ivo Neame – piano / Jasper Hoiby – bass / James Maddren - drums

+ SUNDAY EARLY EVENING - 6 to 8pm Duos series
Bonney/Simmons: Al Bonney - tpt / Rory Simmons - tpt

Hanslip/Carmona: Mark Hanslip - tenor sax / Javier Carmona - drums

Hans Koller new record with Bill Frisell

2010-01-09T12:51:00.004Z

Just starting mixing this large ensemble record with Hans and Jeff Williams which was recorded on November 10th 2009. It's a corker of a album featuring the one and only Bill Frisell. It's going to be out on Emanem at some point this year, so check it out...I'll post more info as it comes.

- Alex Bonney

Photo - Caroline Forbes

Jazz at the Oxford - new Facebook page

2010-01-09T11:45:00.000Z

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=236873986009&ref=nf

Background

2010-01-09T11:34:00.000Z

Loop is a collective of musicians that was founded in 2005 in London. Its members represent a generation of like-minded Jazz musicians who wanted to create a network of shared resources and a platform for artistic collaborations, events organisation and the promotion of recorded creative music.

Although its music is contemporary by nature, Loop does not aim to represent a specific style or genre; on the contrary it encourages the artistic diversity of its community. Thus, since the collective’s foundation, each member has developed a strong individual voice.

This blog is a chance to for members of the collective to post info about their gigs, what they are working on/listening to and other musings!