Hannes Riepler invites Chris Cheek, one of New York’s leading musicians to play upstairs at the Vortex. (His last gig in London was at Wigmore Hall.) They will be playing new music inspired by this collaboration, also featuring master drummer James Maddren and Ollie Hayhurst on bass.
Saxophonist Chris Cheek moved to New York in 1992 and currently resides in Brooklyn. Since then he has toured and recorded with Paul Motian, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, The Bloomdaddies, and Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos. Chris has also played with Bill Frisell, Brian Blade, Lee Konitz, Carla Bley, Tom Harrell, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Frank Carlberg, Eliot Zigmund, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, El Muchacho, Jakob Bro and many others. In addition to appearing on numerous CDs as a sideman, Chris has recorded 4 albums as a leader for Fresh Sound Records.
Guitarist Hannes Riepler has made his mark on the city’s vibrant jazz scene, not only for his outstanding, inventive guitar skill and freewheeling energy, but as an extraordinarily talented composer. Riepler moved to London from Austria in 2006, his debut album The Brave was released in 2012 (Jellymould). He is known as the host and curator of London’s gem of a jam session at the Vortex Downstairs. For the evening Riepler will perform his own material tonight, showcasing some of the works to be released and toured in 2015. Riepler stylishly combines the immediacy of New York’s propulsive Downtown style with classical and folk textures.
“London continues to be a magnet for foreign jazz musicians, and one of the best is Austrian guitarist Hannes Riepler” The Daily Telegraph
James Maddren is a highly gifted drummer who in recent years has become the ‘first call’ drummer of choice amongst the younger and even more established generation of jazz musicians in the UK. Known for a musical maturity beyond his years compounded with a stand-out technique, Maddren has shared the stage with many artists and ensembles, including the Gwilym Simcock Trio, Kit Downes Trio, Marc Copland/Stan Sulzman quartet, the Mark McKnight Organ Quartet featuring Seamus Blake, Ivo Neame Qt, Phil Donkin, Will Vinson, Martin Speake quartet, Phronesis, Jonathan Bratoeff Quartet, and Tangent.
Oli Hayhurst, a bassist, is a founding member of The Orient House Ensemble who has worked and played with a range of fine musicians which include Tim Whitehead’s Quartet, Polly Paulusma, and was featured on Zoe Rahman’s Mercury nominated album, ‘Melting Pot’, which also won the Best Album award in the 2006 parliamentary jazz awards. He has played all over Europe, north Africa and Brazil, and held annual residencies at Ronnie Scott’s in London and the Blue Note Milan. He has demonstrated his versatility through his collaborations with Melanie C, Vanessa Mae, Bill McHenry, Tom Rainey, Bobby Wellins, Jacqui Dankworth , Ian Shaw and Kit Downes to name but a few.
