Having hosted their first gig together as a duo here at the Vortex in the summer of 2008, we’re delighted to welcome back Andrew McCormack and Jason Yarde with their new collaborators the Elysian Quartet for the launch of their new album Juntos.
Andrew McCormack – Piano
Jason Yarde – Saxophones
Elysian Quartet – Strings
Following the success of their acclaimed debut collaboration, performing to a full house at LSO St Luke’s in London in November 2012, the McCormack & Yarde Duo and the Elysian Quartet spent two days together in Livingston Studio 1 recording a new album – JUNTOS will be released officially on May 5th 2014.
The music is composed by McCormack & Yarde separately and together, reflecting their diverse musical experiences from solo and small group jazz through to commissions from international big bands and the London Symphony Orchestra. Highly developed composition merges with cross-group improvisation and the full scope of colourful possibilities are explored to unique and compelling effect.
McCormack & Yarde Duo first came together for a ‘one off’ set 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 (JAE0001-2009) was followed by Places And Other Spaces in 2011 on Edition Records, both featured their compositions alongside those of Bernstein, Gershwin and Turnage and received critical accolades internationally for their developments in the duo format along with their dazzling live shows. This partnership is a strong testament to a longstanding musical friendship as well as their many individual merits.
“It’s a wonderful jazz conversation” – The Guardian
Elysian Quartet are a British string quartet specialising in contemporary, experimental and improvised music.
Drawn to projects that investigate all the possibilities of the string quartet they have performed internationally in a multitude of diverse scenarios: concert halls, clubs, multimedia art installations, beaches, fire sculptures, a volcano, helicopters and once in a barn being dive bombed by bats! The quartet has premiered many new commissions, including works by Graham Fitkin, Keith Tippett and Gabriel Prokofiev, and they have received much acclaim for their completely improvised performances and devised live scores for silent film.
“Astonishing” – The New York Times