Iain Ballamy
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT IS NOW ONLY AVAILABLE AS A LIVE STREAM
Iain Ballamy is an award-winning saxophonist widely considered to be one of the most intriguing and creative players on the jazz scene today. Iain’s CV reads like a who’s who of jazz, beginning with Loose Tubes and Bill Bruford’s Earthworks and including work with the likes of Hermeto Pascoal, Gil Evans and long-time collaborator Django Bates. Signed to the famed ECM label with his bands ‘Food’ and “Quercus’, Iain was a recipient of the ‘Award for Innovation’ at the BBC Jazz Awards and was listed in the Corporation’s ‘100 Jazz Legends’, being described as an ‘ingenious innovator’. His quartet Anorak with whom Iain is performing tonight describes its approach as ‘doffing the hat towards the tradition whilst moving it forward at the same time”, with a repertoire that spans “burning swing, soulful ballads, and quirky re-writes of classics including Blue in Green, Stella, I Got Rhythm and All the Things You Are.” Alongside Iain the band includes Anorak members, the world-renowned bassist Steve Watts and drummer Martin France, along with special guest, the BBC Jazz Award-winning, Mercury Music Prize nominated fellow ECM recording artist, pianist Kit Downes. A quartet of truly extraordinary calibre and not to be missed.
“...leaves you in absolute awe…the sheer virtuosity and sense of joy makes you feel like a kid about to step onto a twinkling, old-fashioned merry-go-round” BBC