Doors 9pm, music 9.30pm
Line-up:
Myra Melford – Piano
Steve Buckley – Alto Saxophone
Chris Batchelor – Trumpet
John Edwards – Double Bass
Mark Sanders – Drums
About
Exciting one-off Vortex appearance combining visionary US pianist Myra Melford with the telepathic horn partnership of Steve Buckley and Chris Batchelor and legendary free improv bass and drums team Mark Sanders and John Edwards.
Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including Cecil Taylor, the blues and boogie-woogie of her native Chicago, the poetry of Rumi, the AACM and yoga, she’s explored an array of formats, among them ruminative solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs.
Melford first connected with altoist Steve Buckley and trumpeter Chris Batchelor on a 1999 tour by the UK/US combination Equal Interest +, which featured iconic improvisers Leroy Jenkins and Joseph Jarman. This experience led to the formation of the influential group Big Air in 2002 with tuba player Oren Marshall and US drummer Jim Black, which went on to win a BBC jazz award for their eponymous CD, described by Brian Morton in Jazz Journal as “the best British jazz record for 20 years”.
There are other longstanding connections. Sanders appeared on Buckley and Batchelor’s multi-layered “Life As We Know It” album and in 2009 Melford and Batchelor collaborated with drummer Mark Sanders in an improvising/electronics trio which toured the UK. Playing with Melford for the first time at this unique Vortex gig is Sanders’ long term rhythm section partner John Edwards on bass, who together with Sanders has played on hundreds of gigs and made many recordings.
“Myra Melford has often placed her music at the fulcrum between gleaming beauty and turbulent unrest. This is music with an endless capacity for elasticity and surprise, along with an affirming spirit of coherence.” NPR
Photo credit: Bryan Murray