Pigfoot is Chris Batchelor (trumpet), Liam Noble (piano), James Allsopp (baritone sax), Paul Clarvis (drums). Always fun, always alternative – a great way to enjoy Saturday night
Pigfoot burst onto the London scene in 2013 with their highly original take on New Orleans jazz ‘21st Century Acid Trad’, recorded live at the Vortex. At their ongoing Vortex residency ‘Pigfoot Play’ they have been extending their repertoire in all directions, with gigs dedicated to Opera, Motown, Elvis, Bacharach and the music of 1972, all spontaneously transformed by the band’s wild musicality and wry humour.
This imaginative approach to popular material by the all star line up has been met with critical and audience acclaim at Swanage, Bedford, Scarborough, Brecon and London Jazz Festivals. They have just completed recording their second CD “The Pigfoot Shuffle” due for release in Spring 2018.
Here they turn their genre-bending skills to re-workings of a range of classic material; Led Zeppelin’s raucous “Black Dog”, the 70’s funk of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman”, the South African township transformation of a Mozart aria from “The Marriage of Figaro” and, tipically, a medley of Elvis Presley and Wagner material.
The Pigfoot sound has also developed, with the introduction of Liam Noble’s creative and individual keyboard setup, which allows Chris Batchelor and James Allsop to combine as a flexible and powerful frontline, egged on by the inspired eccentricity of Paul Clarvis’ sparky and spiky drumming. Anything can happen.
There is all the musical intelligence you would expect from these four superb jazz musicians, along with a whole lot of heart and joy. There is also an admirably subversive glint in every eye. Damn, do these guys have a good time!
Peter Bacon thejazzbreakfast.com
Oh deep joy; something completely different to refresh the jaded critic’s palette……Pigfoot don’t parody the music – they simply have the virtuosity to take it outside itself, somewhat precariously, and then bring it home safe.
Garry Booth Jazz Journal
“..stunning in their originality and almost anarchically gleeful sense of fun. Pigfoot reminded us that this music was once raucously subversive and intensely joyous.”
Matthew Wright – londonjazznews.com