Michael Blake – sax
Hannes Riepler – guitar
Conor Chaplin – bass
James Maddren – drums
New York Tenor Saxophone Wizard Michael Blake teams up with London Jazz Guitarist Hannes Riepler and band for an evening of exciting tunes.
An enduring presence for the last 30 years, saxophonist, composer and bandleader Michael Blake has built his reputation playing jazz and creative music in New York City. This visionary composer and arranger has produced a cornucopia of recordings that vary in context and mood. He has played tenor and soprano saxophone with a diverse range of artists including The Lounge Lizards, Charlie Hunter, Henry Butler/Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9 and Ray Lamontagne Hannes Riepler grew up in Austria, studied jazz guitar in Amsterdam and moved to London in 2006, where he dived into the vibrant scene and played all over the city alongside fellow jazzers young and old. An energetic and inventive guitar player, spirited composer and host of the renowned Vortex Downstairs Jazz Night jam session over 5 years, he has become a mover and shaker of jazz in London himself. Riepler’s music is rooted in jazz tradition, contemporary and melodic, but always immediate and hot. Freewheeling at times, it thrillingly swings in New York Downtown style, which is perfectly matched by the fine musicians in his Quartet.
Conor Chaplin: ..clearly a highly versatile young musician…” – Ian Mann, thejazzmann.com “..harmonically intriguing..” – AllAboutJazz
”He has a wonderful capacity to communicate the joy of having just landed on a new idea, a texture, line, a rhythmic kick, to produce endlessly the sound of surprise.” – LondonJazzNews
James Maddren is a highly gifted drummer who has, in recent years, become the ‘first call’ drummer of choice for both the younger and more established generation of jazz musicians in the UK. Hannes and James have recorded and toured together and can be geared on the album “Wild Life” feat NYC saxophone star Chris Cheek.
“London continues to be a magnet for foreign jazz musicians, and one of the best is Austrian guitarist Hannes Riepler” -The Daily Telegraph
“If music is indeed the food of love, I’ll dine out on this for a long time!” Lance, Bebop Spoken Here
“As a writer, Riepler has a penchant for grooving, catchy, but heartfelt, tunes, as can be heard on his recent album Wild Life.” Graham Boyd, Jazzwise