BIRCHALL / SMAL / WEBSTER:
David Birchall: guitar
Rogier Smal: drums
Colin Webster: saxophone
David Birchall is one of the most engaging improvising musicians currently in the UK. With his shamanistic approach, and breath-taking technique, he is one of the key figures in the highly fertile improvised music scene in Manchester. David has performed widely in the UK and Europe, and recent collaborators include: Sam Andreae, Andrew Cheetham, THF Drenching, Philip Marks, Otto Willberg, Greta Buitkute, Ollie Brice, and Richard Scott.
Rogier Smal is a drummer who experiments with free percussion sounds. Currently based in Amsterdam, he plays with different groups, musicians and solo. Lately Rogier has been lucky enough to have been making sonic waves of liberty with gems like: Dagora, Marshall Allen, Dylan Carlson, Eugene Chadbourne, Asuna Arashi, Frankie Vis, City Hands, Yedo Gibson, Sunburned hand of the man, Mik Quantius, Cathy Heyden, Ryoko Ono, Daevid Allen, Nora Mulder, Arvind Ganga, Johannes Lunds, Maria Bertel, Don McGreevy and many more..
London based saxophonist Colin Webster is quickly establishing himself on the European avant-garde scene. Working with a broad range of collaborators, Webster is know for working from extreme sonic palettes – from minimal to maximal, constantly pushing boundaries. Colin’s recent collaborators include: Alex Ward, Steve Noble, Dirk Serries, Graham Dunning, Sheik Anorak, and Dead Neanderthals.
ALEX WARD ENSEMBLE:
Olie Brice: double bass
Tom Jackson: clarinet/bass clarinet
Rachel Musson: tenor sax
Alex Ward: clarinet/guitar/compositions
Alex Ward’s variably-sized ensemble was initially formed as a quintet to perform the extended work “Glass Shelves And Floor”, and subsequently expanded to a sextet to record the “Projected/Entities/Removal” album (both available on Copepod Records). It currently operates both in its full capacity and as various smaller subsets, and tonight’s 4-piece incarnation offers a music equally grounded in poised chamber intimacy and collective energy-music enchantment.
Olie Brice is a jazz and improv double bassist living in London, and the leader of the Olie Brice Quintet. He also plays in a trio with Tobias Delius and Mark Sanders, and is a member of the Nick Malcolm Quartet and Mike Fletcher Trio among many other projects.
Tom Jackson is a clarinettist and saxophonist based in London and Brussels. He is largely dedicated to the fields of contemporary classical music and free improvisation, and regularly performs with European improvisers and contemporary ensembles.
Rachel Musson is a saxophonist, improviser and composer living in London. She led and wrote the music for the band Skein, and currently plays in many improvising groups including trios with Liam Noble/Mark Sanders and Julie Kjær/Hannah Marshall, and duos with Olie Brice and Corey Mwamba.
Alex Ward is a composer, improviser and performing musician based in London. Besides working in many freely improvised combinations, he leads the bands Predicate and Forebrace, and is the guitarist, singer and co-writer for the 2-piece rock band Dead Days Beyond Help.
