Jason Yarde – Saxes
Andrew McCormack – Piano
Imagine a musical mélange, where a cross-genre of music–where jazz meets classical–communicates to the audience through weaving melodies while showcasing the joys of group interplay and individual virtuosity. Welcome to the McCormack & Yarde Duo. Andrew McCormack (piano) and Jason Yarde (saxes) are best known as highly accomplished jazz musicians. They have been playing and recording as a duo for a decade, earning significant acclaim. Their music is a synthesis of McCormack’s and Yarde’s diverse backgrounds, creating great lyricism with controlled poise…and then the pace can snap to white hot with raw energy and spontaneity. The McCormack & Yarde Duo first came together for a ‘one off’ performance at London’s, Vortex Jazz Club in the summer of 2008 and has since gone on to become one of the premier UK groups in the genre. Their first album, ‘MY DUO’ featured compositions from both Yarde and McCormack and was followed by ‘Places And Other Spaces’ in 2011 on the Edition Records label which received critical accolades internationally for it’s development as a project and the achievements made in the duo format. The latest installment album, ‘Juntos’ saw the duo collaborate with the Elysian String Quartet which explored the possibilites of cross genre experimentation with stunning results. The duo’s partnership is a strong testament to a longstanding musical friendship as well as their many individual merits.
‘The partnership between Yarde and McCormack is so unmistakably fuelled by the reflexive spirit of jazz… It’s a wonderful jazz conversation.’ – John Fordham, Guardian jazz critic
‘Great empathy exists between the two musicians. It should be one of the year’s treats to hear them live together in performance.’ – UK Vibe magazine