Jazz Articles

Acoustic Triangle: 3 Dimensions

by John Kelman
October 26, 2008

Britain's Acoustic Triangle has always operated with the distinct premise of playing only in environments acoustically suited for completely acoustic performances. Recording with the same devotion to making the room a fourth member of the group, with no post-production processing, the trio has gradually shifted further away from overt jazz references, with Resonance (Audio-B, 2005) moving even closer to a place where formal composition and improvisation join. More than its earlier releases, 3 Dimensions is chamber jazz where the trio's ...

Spike Wells / Gwilym Simcock / Malcolm Creese: Reverence

by John Kelman
October 22, 2007

Given its often spiritual nature, it's not surprising to find men of the cloth with a deep love of music. Still, finding priests who are talented jazz musicians is a greater challenge, but in the case of British drummer Spike Wells the order of events is important. Ordained as a priest in 1996, Wells began his professional life in the 1960s, playing with artists including iconic saxophonists Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott. He's a fine and flexible player whose Reverence ...

Northern Sinfonia / Tim Garland / Chick Corea: The Mystery: Orchestral Music by Tim Garland

by John Kelman
July 1, 2007

That musicians primarily connected to the jazz world possess greater stylistic multiplicity is nothing new. Nor is the concept of adapting jazz material to symphonic contexts. But British woodwind multi- instrumentalist Tim Garland is a rarity--an innovative improviser and composer who studied classical composition before shifting into performance and jazz at the age of twenty. His discography as a leader has largely focused on jazz, but the first signs of Garland's broader interests show up on Rising Tide (Sirocco, 2003), ...

Alcyona: Around The Sun

by Chris May
November 16, 2006

The young pianist and composer Alcyona, until recently known as Alcyona Mick, is emerging as an original new voice on the British jazz scene. She's still only 24 (or just turned 25) years old, but her band's performances during the past year or so have several times overturned their “support act" billings.

An alumnus of Birmingham Conservatoire (where she had the good fortune to be tutored by the distinctive Liam Noble) and London's Royal Academy of Music, Alcyona's style includes ...

Acoustic Triangle: Resonance

by John Kelman
January 3, 2006

In a 2003 interview, drummer Peter Erskine spoke about playing in concert halls with such inherently good acoustics that PA systems were unnecessary. “audiences love it, they absolutely love it. The world has gotten so noisy, and things have gotten so dense and assaultive, that people are grateful for a chance to rest their ears, rest their spirits and maybe their psyches." Acoustic Triangle understands, perhaps more than most, the significance of Erskine's words. Formed by ...