Call for Musicians for Jazz Directors Series with Zoe Rahman

Applications are now being accepted to be part of the third Jazz Director Series, run by Band On The Wall & Brighter Sounds. As with their two previous projects, featuring Terence Blanchard and Chris Potter), the call-out is for musicians to form the Inner City Ensemble. This time, the featured musician is pianist Zoe Rahman.

The Inner City Ensemble will work with Zoe in a residency before embarking on a short tour in October 2017. The instrumentation required for this incarnation of the band is - double bass, drums, flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, alto sax and tenor sax.

From Band on the Wall...


Described by the Observer as “a remarkable pianist by any standard”, pianist and composer Zoe Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. A vibrant and highly individual artist, her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performances, she has become a highly sought-after musician, recently working with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra. She is a winner of the prestigious UK Parliamentary Jazz Award, and has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.  

“I’m really looking forward to working with open-minded improvising artists who have a strong grounding in jazz, a deep sense of groove and who like to listen to a wide range of musical styles. There will be opportunities for all of the musicians to shine individually as well as contribute to the ensemble as a whole. Hopefully the project will be challenging, rewarding and above all fun for all of us.” – Zoe Rahman

The deadline is 13 August 2017 and successful applicants will be notified by 18th August. For more information and to apply, visit the Band on the Wall website.

Upcoming Jazz at Howard Assembly Room in Leeds

Howard Assembly Room in Leeds will host 5 very special performances featuring internationally renowned jazz musicians this May. Interesting line-ups and unusual instrumentation seems to be their theme this season...

March 11th brings baritone player Colin Stetson, performing solo. Colin has recently received praise for writing the music for films like 12 Years a Slave and Rust and Bone. His performances often feature rich soundscapes and cinematic music.

Moishe's Bagel will give a performance on 17th March, providing the live soundtrack to the 1930s soviet propaganda film, Salt for Svanetia. This gig features one full set from Moishe's Bagel as well as the film and live soundtrack.

Jumping ahead to May 4th, Courtney Pine brings his new project to Leeds - a duo with pianist Zoe Rahman. For this project though, Pine has opted to focus solely on bass clarinet.

He takes to the stage playing bass clarinet, drawing magic from its ‘low-register purrs and ship’s-timber creakings, lustrous mid-tones and whistling upper range’ - The Guardian.

May 14th will feature Cory Henry, part of the GRAMMY award winning Snarky Puppy. His Revival Project is a solo one, with Cory playing B3 Hammond organ to explore his musical roots in gospel, jazz and soul.

May 28th features another duo, this time the celebrated Hugh Masekela on trumpet and pianist Larry Willis. The performance draws on over thirty years of friendship between the musicians, from 60s NYC to Hugh's time in exile during Apartheid.

For more information, see the Howard Assembly Room website.

Zoe Rahman heads to Hedben Bridge

The annual Hebden Bridge Piano Festival takes place between 17th-19th April and amongst the predominantly classical programme, there is one jazz concert.

Pianist Zoe Rahman will perform on April 19th at the Waterfront hall. Her reputation as a creative voice in jazz has continued to grow in recent years and audiences are drawn her solo piano playing which has strong roots in her classical background and her Bengali heritage.

Tickets for this, and all other Piano Festival gigs, can be purchased on the Hebden Bridge Piano Festival website.

Women Make Music at Jazz North East

Jazz North East are presenting a special programme this season dedicated to contemporary Women in Jazz and Free Improvisational Composition.

The concert series was made possible through a grant from the PRSF Women Make Music scheme and will run until July. Laura Jurd's Human Spirit group featuring Lauren Kinsella opened the series on January 27th at the Black Swan.

The Jazz North East website gives full details of the gigs and venues, as well as details of the other gigs happening throughout the year.

Upcoming Gigs:

Thursday February 12th - Zoe Rahman (solo piano) + afternoon workshop
Sunday March 8th - Beatrix Ward-Fernandez Trio/Watching Sideways + afternoon workshop
Saturday April 11th - Zoe Gilby 'Pannonica' Quartet/Alice Zawadski Quintet + afternoon workshop
Sunday April 12th - Sloth Racket/Mussen-Kjaer-Marshall Trio + afternoon workshop
Thursday May 7th - Linda Sharrock
Thursday May 21st - Sarah Gail Brand/Mark Sanders Duo & Faye MacCalman Quartet
Saturday June 27th - Lindsay Hannon Plus & Jam Session
Monday July 6th - Mette Rasmussen/Chris Carsano Duo

Album Review: Jesse Bannister's 'Play Out'

Jesse Bannister: Alto Saxophone, Zoe Rahman: Piano, Kenny Higgins: Bass Guitar, Seb Rochford: Drums

The incorporation of Indian music into jazz is something I am often skeptical of. Although it is certainly not a new phenomenon on the British scene, dating back to the 1960s work of the British avant-garde such as Jamaican born saxophonist Joe Harriott, in recent years I feel it has sometimes been too easy to add some odd time signatures and a tabla player to a record and call the music 'indo-jazz'.

This is not the case with 'Play Out', the new album from alto saxophonist Jesse Bannister. Jesse's deep understanding of and respect for the traditions of Indian classical music run deep through the album, and the music is delivered with such skill and taste that there is not the slightest hint of gimmickry to the indo-jazz fusion presented here. 'Play Out' makes it clear why Jesse has earned the reputation of being the UK's leading Indian/Indo-Jazz saxophonist.

Jesse Bannister's 'Play Out' To Tour This Autumn

UK’s leading classical Indian/Indo jazz Saxophonist Jesse Bannister will be touring his new quartet across the UK this autumn. Featuring MOBO award winning pianist Zoe Rahman, highly acclaimed drummer Eddie Hick (Gilad Atzmon), groove infused lines of highly original and talented  bassist Kenny Higgins (Corrinne Bailey Rae), this powerful line up promises to deliver a challenging and uplifting performance and features tracks from Jesse’s long awaited new album “Play Out”. The record is a fantastic testament to Jesse's strength both as a performer and composer, as well as a stunning realization of his vision of tastefully fusing contemporary jazz with Indian classical.