Tori and Alcyona formed their Duo in 2015 playing Monk tunes on a project in the Canary islands, and were given their first platform at Manchester Jazz Festival in 2015. Both much in demand players on the London Jazz scene, the two have known each other for years, working alongside in many different ensembles including the London Jazz orchestra and the Nikki Isles Big Band.
They recorded their debut album ‘Criss Crossʼ at the famous Artesuono Studio in Udine, Italy in 2017, featuring special guest vocalist Brigitte Beraha, it was released on the transatlantic label Whirlwind recording in 2018, followed by a tour of the UK and Germany.
The three musicians have a very spontaneous, interactive approach and share a large range of musical influences that fall not only within the jazz genre, including Brazilian music, English folk, Latin, Arabic, free playing, Monk and more. Performances have included Birmingham Symphony Hall, Museo del Grifo (Spain), Pizza Express Dean Street (London), Halle 424 (Hamburg) and the Manchester, Marsden, Lancaster (UK) and Emotion (Bremen, Germany) Jazz Festivals. In 2019 they are set to tour and perform in the trio format with Brigitte at venues and festivals in the UK, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain.
‘The no-hiding-place exposure of an improvising sax/piano duo is a tough call but the British pairing of pianist Alcyona Mick and tenor saxophonist Tori Freestone make light of it with singer Brigitte Beraha a significant interventionist’
– The Guardian, ‘Jazz Album of the Month’ **** review