Pianist & composer Lafayette Gilchrist leads genre-defying band The New Volcanoes, while his solo work and trio Inside Out invite adventurous ears everywhere to enter his world. Tonight he’ll be playing with two of the UK’s most established improvisers; Paul Dunmall (saxophone) and Mark Sanders (drums).
Lafayette Gilchrist
There’s good reason why jazz fans and critics alike are so excited about Lafayette Gilchrist. The Baltimore-based pianist hit the scene hard with his debut, The Music According To Lafayette Gilchrist, and went straight to earning rave reviews for his sophomore release, Towards The Shining Path. Emerging from jazz legend David Murray’s Black Saint Quartet, Gilchrist has an approach and presence that’s drawn comparisons to royalty such as Andrew Hill and Sun Ra. His music has been featured in David Simon’s acclaimed TV dramas “The Wire” and “Treme”
Of late Gilchrist has returned to his exploration of small group concepts, notably with his acclaimed trio INSIDE OUT (featuring Michael Formanek and Eric Kennedy) plus performances with South African drum legend Louis Moholo Moholo, Gerald Cleaver,Oliver Lake,William Parker, Steve Swell,Sabir Mateen and Andrew Cyrille amongst others. Recordings with a number of these artists are currently in the works.
His latest release , a live solo piano outing “The View from Here” was voted 2013 best Jazz release by Baltimore City Paper.
Paul Dunmall
For thirty years Paul Dunmall has carved out a reputation for himself and is now widely recognised as one of the most uncompromising and talented reed players on the International jazz/improvised music scene.Whether playing in small groups or big bands his musical sensitivity and imagination combined with a powerful sound make him one of the most distinctive improvisers playing today. His octet and Moksha big band showcases his abilities both as a composer drenched in the Jazz traditions and Folk traditions and as a sympathetic leader able to give maximum freedom to a elite group of fellow improvisers.
Mark Sanders
Mark has played with many renowned musicians from around the world including Evan Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Myra Melford, Paul Rogers, Henry Grimes, Roswell Rudd, Okkyung Lee, Barry Guy, Tim Berne, Otomo Yoshihide, Luc Ex, Ken Vandermark, Sidsel Endresen and Jean Francois Pauvrois, in duo and quartets with Wadada Leo Smith and trios with Charles Gayle with Sirone and William Parker.
…in a set of explorations with drummer Mark Sanders, a gifted player capable of seamless movement between free-rhythms and propulsive swing
John Fordham. The Guardian