Mark Lockheart, Jasper Høiby, Liam Noble.
Three of the great heroes of the Vortex team up to create the imaginative and enjoyable jazz that we have been led to expect from them all.
MALIJA was formed in 2014 as a result of an invite play at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in New York. All highly respected and innovative bandleaders in their own right, this all-star trio brings together three of the most exciting and original jazz musicians/composers in the UK. Featuring original material by all three members, the trio’s diverse influences include bluegrass, tango and old-fashion jungle grooves. It’s hard to describe this music but perhaps Jasper put it brilliantly when he described the trio’s music as “weird, simple, complicated, free, tight, floaty, ugly, beautiful and heartfelt depending on your mood”.
Their first collaboration was back in 2009, when the three musicians recorded and toured with Mark Lockheart’s acclaimed album ‘In Deep’, a record that brought these three musicians together as part of a quintet. Since then, each of them has developed a huge mutual respect and friendship, that to form a trio seemed the most logical and natural next step.