Air Artist Agency
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Air Artist Agency, in GERMANY & AUSTRIA MARCH 2011 Air Artist Agency, THE CONCEPT I was welcomed and In March 2011, six of Britain’s most exciting and forward-thinking bands will invited to England in be descending on Germany and Austria to perform 72 gigs over the period of two weeks. 12 clubs in 12 different cities will be running a ‘Brit-Jazz- the friendliest of ways. Week’ and hosting performances from a different one of the bands London is without each night. doubt Europe´s capital Between them, the bands have been recognised by the MOBO and for culture. There are MOJO Awards, Mercury Music Prize and just about every British Jazz a dozen great concerts Award available! They have all toured internationally but this is the to go to every day, all first time any of them will be presented in Germany and Austria in museums are free and such a big way. the local music scene is With influences as diverse as Indian music, Hip-Hop, Rap, Trip-Hop and vibrant, energetic and Rock, the bands involved are ex-Portishead Jazz-Rockers Get The Blessing, imaginative with a great saxophonist Jason Yarde, Indo-Jazz Clarinettist Arun Ghosh, pianist Kit Downes, mixture of artists from The Julian Siegel Quartet and rapper-saxophonist Soweto Kinch. all sorts of backgrounds; We are organising full German/Austrian press coverage for the event and one of a true melting pot of the main aims of the project is to launch each of the bands in this territory and build the foundations for regular touring in Germany and Austria. Each of the styles, rhythms, musical bands involved has an album out (or will do) so this should also boost their sales languages and heritage. in one of the most important European territories for record sales. In Soho there is one threatre next to the other This tour will be launched with 3 nights of performances in and clubs string together London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club (Dean Street) on the 11th, 12th like pearls on a bracelet. and 13th March 2011, with 2 bands playing each night. For ticket I immediately felt the enquiries please contact the venue directly. necessity to bring out The Brit-Jazz-Week in Germany and Austria has been organised by Burkhard and tour some of those Hopper. From 1996 to 2004 Burkhard Hopper´s Munich-based company B.H. exceptional talents and Hopper Management presented the “Rising Stars” concert series throughout show them to audiences clubs in Europe, which brought the then hippest young artists to audiences in Germany and across Europe. Among others, Diana Krall, Brad Mehldau, Nicholas Payton, Jane Austria. Monheit, Kevin Mahogany, Eric Reed and Benny Green started their careers through the “Rising Stars” concert series. Burkhard Hopper Throughout the Noughties Burkhard Hopper had been managing Esbjörn Svensson and e.s.t., which came to a sudden and unexpected end when Esbjörn Svensson died in June 2008. Towards the end of the same year Burkhard Hopper moved to London and became a constant figure on the local music scene across the channel. He teamed up with Jamie Cullum´s manager Marc Connor and PR-whizz Sheela Bates and formed Air Artist Agency Ltd. an agency dedicated to excellence and the discovery and facilitation of young talent. For more information please visit www.britjazzweek.com or www.airartistagency.com Air Artist Agency, ARUN GHOSH Clarinet player Arun Ghosh was conceived in Calcutta, bred in Bolton, matured in Manchester and is now living in London. His musical vision and vocabulary reflects his rich geographical heritage. Arun’s Indo-Jazz Group plays original music of South Asian origin with a contemporary jazz attitude, rocking urban beats and the passion of punk. Sweet and timeless melodies give birth to soaring improvisations and raag explorations, driven by a heady mix of dub-reggae bass, tabla trickery and ferocious drum explosions. Arun Ghosh released his debut album “Northern Namaste” on camoci records in 2008 to critical acclaim and the opening track on “Northern Namaste” entitled “Aurora” also appears A charismatic on Gilles Peterson’s compilation album “Brownswood Bubblers Three”. figure with a The band rocked the Southbank Centre at future. their debut gig at the London Jazz Festival The Guardian in November 2007 and has since lit up the British jazz scene with intense and cathartic performances at clubs, festivals and melas in London and around the country. Alongside his performance activity, Arun maintains a healthy composition and education workload, particularly in the world of theatre, in addition to collaborating with other musicians, writers, poets, filmmakers and dancers. For more information please visit - www.britjazzweek.com or www.airartistagency.com Air Artist Agency, GET THE BLESSING Rarely has a band taken the jazz scene by the scruff of the neck and given it such a good shaking as Get the Blessing. Winners of the BBC Jazz Award 2008 for their debut album “All Is Yes” (Cake/Candid), Get The Blessing are currently one of the UK’s most exciting live bands. Featuring bassist Jim Barr and drummer Clive Deamer from trip-hop legends PORTISHEAD, plus the twin horns & electronics of saxophonist Jake McMurchie and trumpeter Pete Judge, GTB have forged a unique signature sound that defies easy classification, yet never loses sight of thumping tunes, monstrously infectious beats, or joyous collective spontaneity. Their punk attitude towards jazz and their quirky live performances have impressed audiences from Glastonbury the to Jazz Vitoria-Gasteiz and from The Big Chill to The heavyweights Cheltenham Jazz Festival. In fact, one of their tracks was selected for a compilation CD to celebrate the best acts of the that have appeared since The Big Chill’s inception. contemporary Their second album, “Bugs In Amber”, perhaps best described as the post-jazz soundtrack to jazz scene. an imaginary low-budget James The Independent Bond movie remade by Tarkovsky and starring Buster Keaton, also received widespread critical and popular acclaim. With influences ranging from Ornette Coleman and Tortoise, to Blondie and Samuel Beckett, GTB consistently confound expectation. Prepare to be teased, beguiled, soothed, spooked, jolted, and ultimately uplifted. For more information please visit - www.britjazzweek.com or www.airartistagency.com Air Artist Agency, JASON YARDE’S “TRIO WAH!” + “MY DUO” (JASON YARDE/ ANDREW MCCORMACK) A chance to see two very special groups in one night; the Jason Yarde Trio with Mike Pickering (drums) and Larry Bartley (bass) and ‘My Duo’ where Jason is joined by pianist Andrew McCormack. Composer, arranger, producer, musical director and saxophonist Jason Yarde writes music that has been described as powerful, spiritual, evocative, rhapsodic, hair-raising and formidable. He composes across variety of styles (progressive jazz, classical, hip-hop fusion, free improvisation, broken beats, R&B, reggae, soul, song writing) and for a variety of media (orchestras, chamber ensembles, Powerful, big band, dance, film, electro-acoustic and midi). His potential and originality is such that he was nominated for the Bird Award at spiritual, the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival and for the Jazz on 3 Innovation Award for the evocative, 2005 and 2006 BBC Jazz Awards. rhapsodic, In contrast to playing in the big bands of Andrew Hill, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, Hermeto Pascoal, Roy Ayers, Manu Dibango and his own Acoutastic Bombastic... hair-raising and Trio WAH! is a chance to hear Yarde’s playing and compositions in an intimate and stripped down setting. From tight and constantly shifting rhythmic patterns formidable. to free flowing rhapsodic episodes. Trio WAH! can cover the calm and the storm within a few bars never losing the important elements of rhythm, melody and even harmony in this exposed format. The trio features Larry Bartley on Double Bass and Mike Pickering on Drums. ‘My Duo’ with Andrew McCormack showcases a vastly different set of music with lush piano harmony complementing Jason’s saxophone playing. Andrew was the winner the BBC Jazz Award for ‘Rising Star’ in 2006 and his first album with Jason has been incredibly well-received by British jazz critics. For more information please visit - www.britjazzweek.com or www.airartistagency.com Air Artist Agency, KIT DOWNES TRIO Having met in their first year at the Royal Academy of Music, The Kit Downes Trio have been playing together since 2005. They released their first album “Golden” on Basho Records in 2009 which was chosen as a Barclaycard Mercury Album of the Year in 2010. Their music walks the fine line between improvisation and composition through an eclectic mix of influences. The band, featuring Calum Gourlay (Tommy Smith, Martin Speake, Tom Cawley) on a breathtaking bass and James Maddren (Marc Copland, Stan Sulzmann, Gwilym Simcock) on drums, has always been interested in making its music improviser, accessible, whilst not sacrificing any of its intellect - and doing so through new and original music. and weaver of magical piano soundscapes, Kit Downes is world class. Helen Mayhew, Jazz FM Together, they have performed at festivals including London Jazz Festival 2008 and 2009, Ronnie Scott’s British Jazz Festival, a BBC Radio 3 Live Broadcast, Glasgow Jazz Festival and Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Inspired by a wide range of influences, ranging from Bela Bartok to Keith Jarrett to Rufus Wainwright, the trio endeavours to both celebrate the classic piano trio tradition as well as develop it. They released their first album on Basho Records in 2009. After studying at both the Purcell School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, Kit now plays regularly with his own trio, Stan Sulzman, Troyka, The Golden Age of Steam, Sam Crockatt and Clark Tracey. He has also played with Joe Locke, Gilad Atzmon, Empirical, Gerard Presencer, Acoustic Ladyland, Ian Ballamy, Peter Ind, Gwyneth Herbert, Fraud and Dennis Rollins’ Badbone and Co.