A very special opportunity to experience Wedding Music; the stunning collaboration between Tom Challenger (Saxophone) and Kit Downes (Church Organ). Plus the remarkable keyboard player Dan Nicholls plays a solo set.
Kit Downes & Tom Challenger: Wedding Music
Having both led, co-‐led and recorded with their own critically acclaimed ensembles (Downes with his Mercury nominated ‘Golden’ and later ‘Quiet Tiger’; Challenger with Ma: ‘The Last’ and Outhouse: ‘Straws Sticks and Bricks’), ‘Wedding Music’ matches the unique texture of Church Organ and Saxophone, as well as bringing together two of the most exciting and gifted young improvisers in the UK.
Beautifully recorded over 3 days in the summer of 2012 in Huddersfield University’s St Paul’s Church (a space renowned for its acoustic qualities), the album is a selection of some of the music developed in residency. What emerges is an innovative yet melodic collection of improvised pieces that house sharply contrasting dynamics, microtonal nuances, and improvisational rapport that constantly engages and surprises. The quality of the recording lets the listener ‘into’ the space Downes and Challenger created this music in -‐ experiencing the saxophone and organ at a proximity rarely heard.
Since the album, they have gone on to perform at the Royal Festival Hall (as part of the ‘Pull Out the Stops’ Festival – welcoming the return of the newly-refurbished organ), Cafe Oto (as part of ‘Klammer Klang’) and the London Contemporary Music Festival 2014 – as well as several live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.
They plan to continue develops the work each time for different spaces and different organs, with a view to releasing a new record sometime in 2015.
Dan Nicholls
Solo Set (laptop/electric kalimba)
Keyboardist and producer Dan Nicholls’ new set of electronic music is derived from his self-built Electric Kalimba, merging multi-layered beats and avant-electronica with the raw, junk-yard sounds of Congolese Kalimba music.
‘An enthralling piece using every inch of the instrument…starting from scratches and taps and developing into complex beats, Nicholls referenced Four Tet and Aphex Twin en route to a Boiler Room-worthy finish.’ London Jazz Blog
