Liverpool International Jazz Festival, 2016
Andy Sheppard's Hotel Bristol
I'm delighted that Andy asked me to join this band in 2015, filling the drum chair after the fantastic Dylan Howe moved on to other projects. The band, with Denny Ilett on guitar and Percy Pursglove on bass and flugel, is the perfect groove-based foil for his ECM projects and work with Carla Bley and Steve Swallow. Every gig is a huge amount of fun with these guys.
"... the constantly shifting drum patterns of Mark Whitlam, who draws every sound possible from the resources of his kit, give ‘Hotel Bristol’ a wonderful sense of space and freedom ... this was music of world class" Trevor Bannister (Jazz in Reading)
We Are Leif
Louise Victoria and I formed this band in 2016 with two of our favourite musicians to play original music composed by the two of us. We're fans of Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens which informs our writing style, with the band's sound mixed in with more R'n'B / soul elements from the likes of Eryka Badu and Jill Scott.
Our EP is being released in April 2017 (mixed by Bat For Lashes producer, TJ Allen) with the debut album recording sessions being chalked up for summer 2017.
Michelson Morley
Formed by Get The Blessing saxophonist Jake McMurchie, we get experimental with electronic gizmos to create minimalist-influenced, sometimes cinematic soundscapes, other times raucous jazz punk. Our second album Strange Courage (Babel Label) received critical praise, receiving four stars reviews in The Guardian and Jazzwise magazine.
“… the sparse textures and nu-groove-with-loops aspects link to post-rock aesthetic as much as they do contemporary UK jazz. But it’s more than good enough to get the blessing from Jazzwise.” Selwyn Harris