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Polar Bear: Dim Lit
by Andrew Hunter
When Polar Bear released Dim Lit in 2004, shortly after being nominated for Best Band at the BBC Jazz Awards, it was clear that the British quartet led by drummer Sebastian Rochford were going to make some waves. Mark Lockheart (sax) was already in the middle of a successful career, having played with Django Bates and been part of the seminal 1980s British big band Loose Tubes. Pete Wareham (sax) was playing with Rochford in Acoustic Ladyland. Tom Herbert added ...
Continue ReadingLaura Jurd: The Big Friendly Album
by Chris May
The Big Friendly Album is what it is called and that is exactly what it is. London-based trumpeter/cornetist and composer Laura Jurd's fourth album under her own name is a big hearted, gorgeously lyrical, feel-good romp, which does not preclude cerebral engagement but which wears its complexities so lightly that one barely notices them. Jurd last came to the attention of All About Jazz during The Great Pause, with the release of the perfect little masterpiece To ...
Continue ReadingExploring New Directions with Mark Lockheart, Jorge Rossy, Daniel Carter and more
by Bob Osborne
Exploring new directions in jazz from around the world, this show has recent releases from Mark Lockheart, Jorge Rossy, Daniel Carter, Joaquin Muro, Nicholas Bridgmen, Pepa Päivinen and Mario Laginha. There is also music from the outstanding trio of Whit Dickey, William Parker, and, Matthew Shipp. The show kicks off with the funky sounds of the Shuffle Demons. Playlist Shuffle Demons “All In" from All In (Stubby Records) 00:00 Mark Lockheart “Dreamers" from Dreamers (Edition) 07:01 Jorge ...
Continue ReadingMark Lockheart: Dreamers
by Chris May
As a founder member of Loose Tubes and Polar Bear, saxophonist Mark Lockheart was at the forefront of two waves of reinvigoration of British jazz, one in the 1980s, the other in the 2000s. By age and experience, in 2022 he qualifies as close to an elder statesman of the music. But somehow one still thinks of Lockheart as a Young Turk. Mostly this is because he continues to search for new contexts in which to make his music.
Continue ReadingMark Lockheart: Days On Earth
by Roger Farbey
Mark Lockheart's Days On Earth encapsulates the term fusion in its most literal sense. This actually refers to the amalgamation of two different species of music; jazz and classical. It was deliberately organised so that the individual musicians from each respective genre were paired with their opposite number from “the other side." Something akin to footballers marking their opponents or parliamentary pairings during a vote. Pairing examples include flautists Roland Sutherland (jazz) with Anna Noakes (classical) or clarinettists James Allsopp ...
Continue ReadingLive From Old York: Mark Lockheart, King Courgette, La Mer Trio & YO1 Festival
by Martin Longley
Mark Lockheart's Ellington In Anticipation The National Centre For Early Music April 25, 2014 The music of Duke Ellington might represent an oft-traversed path across the jazz firmament, but the English saxophonist and composer Mark Lockheart can justify such persistent attentions. During the last decade, this tenor man has principally been associated with Polar Bear, those champions of skittish alternative jazzelectro sounds. In the 1980s, though, he established his reputation as a member ...
Continue ReadingMark Lockheart: Ellington in Anticipation
by John Kelman
Ellington in Anticipation isn't Mark Lockheart's first album to employ an expanded lineup; the Polar Bear/Blue Touch Paper saxophonist collaborated with Germany's WDR Big Band on 2010's Days Like These (Fuzzy Moon) and first cut his teeth in Loose Tubes, the now-legendary large UK collective of then-up-and-comers that included pianist Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy and guitarist John Parricelli, amongst other notables. But Ellington in Anticipation--whose septet's complexion is defined by the incorporation of violin alongside a three-horn frontline--is Lockheart's ...
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