Home » Jazz Articles » Sebastian Rochford
Jazz Articles about Sebastian Rochford
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 Reading137: Strangeness Oscillation
by Chris May
More comebacks than Sinatra? Well, not really, given that this is the first one, but the return of the beyond-category British saxophonist and flautist Larry Stabbins after an eleven-year absence is headline news. In 2013, Stabbins (a.k.a. Stonephace) very publicly announced that he was beyond disgusted with the music business in general and the jazz business in particular and that he was leaving London and returning to the West Country where he was born and bred. We would be hearing ...
Continue ReadingDavid Preston: Purple / Black Vol. One
by Neil Duggan
Guitarist David Preston, one third of Preston-Glasgow-Lowe, has previously released two recordings with that trio, exhibiting an intense fusion-based style. He is often found sharing on-stage credentials with musicians such as Emma Rawicz and Melody Gardot. For Purple / Black Vol. One, his debut recording as leader, he has opted for a simpler, more distinctive soundscape which emphasises atmosphere and texture. Despite this change of style, Kevin Glasgow remains as electric bassist and they are joined by two ...
Continue ReadingRuth Goller: Skyllumina
by Chris May
The Italian-born, British-based bassist and composer Ruth Goller has been rattling jazz's cage since 2007, the year she joined Acoustic Ladyland. The band was in the vanguard of what became known as “jazz punk," although its sound was closer to metal than classic punk, and the lineup included tenor saxophonist Pete Wareham and drummer Sebastian Rochford. Four years later, Acoustic Ladyland disbanded and Goller and Wareham morphed into Melt Yourself Down, where they were joined by tenor saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings ...
Continue ReadingSebastian Rochford / Kit Downes: A Short Diary
by Karl Ackermann
London-based drummer Sebastian Rochford (aka, Seb) and pianist Kit Downes have a long working history but have recorded only once as a duo on the EP Live @ The Vortex (Loop Collective, 2012). They reunite on the poignant and cerebral A Short Diary. Rochford began his relationship with ECM Records as part of the Andy Sheppard-led Trio Libero (2012). He led a Mercury Prize-nominated experimental jazz band called Polar Bear and played with Sons of Kemet, David Byrne, Brian Eno, ...
Continue ReadingPulled By Magnets: Rose Golden Doorways
by Chris May
After a momentous start in the mid 2000s with saxophonist Pete Wareham's Acoustic Ladyland and his own band, Polar Bear, drummer Sebastian Rochford's path through British jazz has been distinguished, though not without the odd glitch. The highs have been Himalayan. Perhaps most notably, he played a key role in reeds player Shabaka Hutchings' Sons Of Kemet, and is heard on Burn (Naim, 2013), Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do (Naim, 2015) and Your Queen Is A ...
Continue ReadingSüdtirol Jazz Festival 2015
by Libero Farnè
Bolzano e provincia 26.06-05.07.2015 Oltre ottanta concerti si sono svolti in cinquantasette diversi spazi distribuiti in ventidue comuni della provincia di Bolzano e non solo, ospitando quasi duecento musicisti. Queste cifre sintetizzano l'ottica di una programmazione che ha ribadito la sua vocazione ad un'ampia diffusione territoriale, facendo circuitare molti dei gruppi invitati, favorendo l'integrazione di musicisti residenziali in diverse formazioni e progetti, molti dei quali produzioni originali del festival. Come era già avvenuto lo ...
Continue Reading
