What better way to escape the trials of the election than a night with one of our most imaginative musicians – pianist John Law? He returns with his a new version of Congregation. With Ashley John Young on bass and Lloyd Haines on drums/electronics. And featuring saxophonist James Mainwaring (of Roller Trio), mixing jazz with electronics.
John Law’s new line-up for his quartet Congregation will now feature the exciting talents of James Mainwaring, from Mercury Prize jazz winners Roller Trio. James will be playing both saxophone and guitar in the group, adding experimental electronics and subtle textures to John’s compositions, as well as full-on explosive saxophone solos with elements of rock and freely improvised music.
The original music of John Law manages to combine both complexity in harmony and rhythm with simple, direct, almost rock music-like anthemic melodies, mixing jazz with classical music and electronic sounds, augmenting the sound palette
of the classic jazz quartet line-up.
John Law, a prize-winning classical prodigy on piano, turned away from classical piano studies to pursue jazz and improvised music when he was 23 and has been involved in, and acclaimed for, his work in a wide variety of contemporary jazz projects: from solo piano concerts and albums through trio and quartet tours and recordings, right through to large scale works for his semi-classical ensemble Cornucopia.
He has played at over fifty festivals worldwide and recorded over thirty albums, working with musicians as diverse as Gwilym Simcock, Andy Sheppard, Jason Rebello, Tim Garland and Evan Parker. John’s main projects currently are his acclaimed trio Congregation, which has toured all over Europe, appearing to stunning audience acclaim in concert halls, clubs and at festivals such as the North Sea jazz Festival (Rotterdam) or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, at the London Jazz Festival, as well as solo piano projects and his electric project Boink! which combines electric keyboards, guitar, saxophone and drums with electronic music soundscapes and live, interactive visual backdrops.
‘An interesting and highly gifted maverick musician’ ALFRED BRENDEL
“pieces that turn from softly glimmering electronics to fluid uptempo improvisations, child-song themes that become anthemic, time-juggling twisters that embrace punchy ostinatos and mind-boggling minimalism, and a meditatively hypnotic title track that departs on a sample from the Brahms Requiem.” (John Fordham, Guardian)