‘My Iris’ is a new project from BASCA award winning composer and saxophonist Trish Clowes. Following collaborations with string quartets and the BBC Concert Orchestra, My Iris shifts Clowes’ perspective to the possibilities of a small ensemble. With Chris Montague on guitar, Ross Stanley on piano and Hammond organ and James Maddren on drums, My Iris explores startling melodies, earthy grooves and gnarly lines, creating a sound world that is both intimate and thrilling. The ensemble has honed these musical concepts in major performances including the Women in (e)Motion Festival for Radio Bremen, the Deal Festival and at the Southbank Centre.
“awesome foursome… impeccable”
4* from Dave Gelly, The Observer
“musical wizardry”
4.5* from Fiona Ord-Shrimpton, All About Jazz
The group’s first recording, Clowes’ fourth albuwith accompanying tour dates across the country. The album includes Muted Lines by Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian – commissioned by Clowes with support from the PRS for Music Foundation – and Clowes’ sister piece Tap Dance (For Baby Dodds). The works share a theme of migration, in particular forced migration; Muted Lines addresses loss and silence from the perspective of Cevanne’s Armenian heritage and features a 16th Century poem by Nahapet Kuchak. Tap Dance is built upon fragments of a Baby Dodds drum solo, celebrating the birth of the drum set and its central role in the music of the African diaspora.
https://youtu.be/YrE25wjafvE