JAZZLIVE in Second Life

The real and the virtual interact as digital artwork on a monumental scale provides a stunning virtual landscape while real-world jazz gigs, broadcast live from a small London club, are injected into the cyberspace.

Visit the virtual venue by clicking here

MUSICIANS

ALL EVENTS START AT 20:00 GMT in the UK (12 noon Second Life Time). First live set begins at 21:30 GMT (13:30 SLT)

Friday 6th of November 2009

PARTISANS

Phil Robson - guitar (jazz musician of the year 09 Parliamentary Jazz Awards)
Julian Siegel - reeds (best instrumentalist 07 BBC Jazz Awards)
Thaddeus Kelly - bass
Gene Calderazzo – drums

Since 1996 Partisans has been thrilling audiences with its energetic performances of tightly knit themes and groove-based sound, bridging the gap between New York swing, European improv and UK jam band. Partisans are real band where the combination of each member's influences feeds a genuine creative spark generating huge excitement and energy.

In summer 09 Partisans released By Proxy, their 4th album and a testament to their maturity and continuing inventiveness as composers and musicians. A great set of original tunes is caught live and at full throttle in the studio, beautifully engineered by Philip Bagenal at London's Eastcote Studios. Partisans cook up a trademark shot of gritty be-bop and hard bop, early electric Miles, ballads with sustained delicacy, rock riffs mixed with P-Funk grooves and with fresh departures into electronica notably on Thad Kelly's distinctive remix of Duke Ellington's 'Prelude to a Kiss'. The richly lyrical and strongly melodic compositions written by Robson and Siegel provide the framework and starting point, underpinned by the rock solid, freewheeling and supercharged rhythm section of Kelly and Calderazzo.

***** ‘restless, almost reckless energy..delirious listening…consistently thrilling’. BBC Music Magazine, September 09

www.partisans.org.uk
www.myspace.com/thebandpartisans

Friday the 13th November features neo-bop specialists The Dave O'Higgins Quartet.

Jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator. Dave played various musical instruments from the age of 7, finally settling on the saxophone. He moved from Derbyshire to London in 1983 to study music at the City University. Whilst still studying he started his own jazz quartet and began gigging with NYJO, John Dankworth & Cleo Laine, & Icelandic jazz-funk band, Mezzoforte.
Over the years Dave has won various accolades from the British Jazz Awards including Best Tenor Sax. Sketch Book (Jazzizit) is his 10th solo cd, featuring Dave alongside one of New York’s finest tenor saxophonists, Eric Alexander. Dave regularly features as a part of the Ronnie Scotts Allstars, BBC Big Band, and has recently been touring all over the world with the Chico Chagas/Dave O’Higgins Project – an exciting new collaboration with Brazilian accordion & piano playing composer, Chagas. This group won the Best Show Award at the 2009 Kaunas Jazz Festival in Lithuania earlier this year. Fast Foot Shuffle (Candid) & Push (Short Fuse) were conceived for the jazz dance market and have become favourites in clubs like London’s Jazz Café. The track North Station is also on compilations Brasilia Slim & Messin’ Around. Dave can be seen on many festival stages internationally performing with the breathtaking Jazzcotech Dancers.
Dave has played over the years with “everyone and their auntie” from Martin Taylor to Ray Charles, Matthew Herbert to Salif Keita. He has also done a fair amount of studio work (jingles, pop stuff, films, library), composes & arranges for jazz ensembles of all sizes, and teaches saxophone & harmony at the London Centre for Contemporary Music and Goldsmiths College.

The full line up will be Dave O'Higgins - tenor & soprano saxes; Tom Cawley - piano; Arnie Somogyi - bass; Matt Home - drums.

Friday 20th sees a welcome return for the Gareth Lockrane Septet.

Gareth is a virtuoso flautist and composer and without doubt, the finest jazz flute player in the UK and beyond and a regular performer at The Crypt.

Flautist, pianist, composer/arranger and teacher Gareth Lockrane started playing at the age of 10 and after raiding his dad's record collection discovered jazz at 14. Early influences included Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Stan Getz -on flute, the initial main inspirations were saxophone "doublers" like Frank Wess, James Clay, Roland Kirk, Bobby Jaspar and James Moody. In 1994 he enrolled on the jazz course at the Royal Academy of Music in London where teachers included Stan Sulzmann, Hugh Fraser and Eddie Parker and where he struck up musical relationships with fellow students the Fishwick brothers, Osian Roberts, Orlando le Fleming and many others. In 1997, his band "The Jazz System" formed with Osian Roberts was a finalist in the Vienna Jazz Festival Grande Concours de Jazz. In 1998, he studied on the Lake Placid Jazz Course in New York with Joe Lovano, Dick Oatts and Jim McNeely and in 2000 was a finalist in the Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition.

In 2002, he formed the band Grooveyard with saxophonist Alex Garnett which released a critically acclaimed CD "Put The Cat Out" which went on to win the Best European Jazz Group award in the 2003 Granada Jazz Festival. Grooveyard completed a successful Jazz Services tour of the UK in 2005. They have a new album coming out in 2009.

From 2006, he enrolled on the prestigious MA course in film composition at the National Film&Television School, graduating with a commendation in 2008.
He also leads his own septet,with a new album in production,to also be released in 2009. This band features Robbie Robson (trumpet), Steve Kaldestad (sax), Trevor Mires (trombone/euphonium), Robin Aspland - (piano) Matt Miles (bass) and Matt Home (drums).

He has also recently formed his own big band. Making their debut in the 2008 London Jazz Festival, the Gareth Lockrane Big Band is a natural extension of Gareth's other projects, Grooveyard and his septet, whilst at the same time being a fiery and unruly animal in it's own right. Influenced by, among others, Gil Evans, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler, Jim McNeely, Thad Jones, Basie, Mingus and many more, the band blends heavy grooves and luscious orchestrations to spectacular effect. The band play almost exclusively Gareth's compositions with some contributions from the other fellows in the band as well.

As a sideman ,Gareth has been involved in many diverse projects, most recently as a key member of the late Bheki Mseleku's group from 2005 to 2008. Gareth has also performed and recorded with Incognito, Georgia Mancio, Nia Lynn, Kate Williams, The James Taylor Quartet, Marti Pellow, Hans Koller New Memories Big Band (with Evan Parker), Dan Stern, Brazilian jazz-funk group Sirius B, Anita Wardell, Natalie Williams, David Migden, Paul Booth, Phil Donkin Qt (with Julian Siegel), The Urban Jazz Quintet (with Peter King), Gwilym Simcock Nonet / BigBand, Tom Richards Jazz Orchestra, David Beebee's Gaya and The National Youth Jazz Orchestra, as well as many tv and pop sessions.

The shows will also be recorded and mixed live by Jim Carey from Inventive Audio who will be aiming to get the best recreation of the very special live sound experience that is a jazz gig at The Crypt

Advance tickets for all our gigs at www.wegottickets.com/find/venue/crypt

The JAZZLIVE in Second Life events are part funded by The National Lottery Awards For All.