SFQ contemporary compositions for improvising quintet
2001 tour
alex ward - clarinet
gail brand - trombone
alex maguire - piano
simon h. fell - double bass
steve noble - drums
compositions
for quintet by simon h. fell
“one of the most
interesting and consistently successful composers working with
improvisers today” resonance
“the debate about
2lst-century music starts right here” hifi news &
record review
“music of a passion and
originality unusual in britain” the guinness encyclopaedia
of popular music
“it’s hard to think
of anybody else among the jazz-related musicians of fell’s
generation who is working with such audacious
inventiveness” the wire
“fell’s composition
no.30 (1998) was a modern masterpiece; one of the most important
musical works to come out of britain since the sixties” cadence
manifesto
SFQ represents bassist
& composer Simon Fell’s latest stage in developing a
‘fourth-stream’ music, synthesised from free improvisation,
experimental jazz and modernist compositional techniques. The group
features leading players from the UK scene performing complex,
challenging and witty music that is not afraid to swing, enabling
Fell to explore his latest compositional theories and discoveries
with an organic, flexible and sympathetic group.
Formed in 1999, SFQ is the
first Fell-led performing unit since Persuasion in the late-eighties;
this will be the first UK tour of Simon Fell's compositions since 1988.
personnel
Alex Ward first came to
prominence for his work with Derek Bailey & Company, and his duo
with Steve Noble. Since 1993 he has been working with Switch in The
13 Ghosts, and is a member of Camp Blackfoot.
Gail
Brand studied composition with Veryan Weston &
Eddie Parker, and music with Chris Batchelor & Stuart Hall;
recent work has included performing with Billy Jenkins, Veryan
Weston, London Skyscraper, Mingus Moves & Lunge.
Alex Maguire studied with
Howard Riley, Andrew Ball and John Cage and went on to co-found the
Ping Pong Club with Steve Noble. Alex is currently a member of the
Michael Moore Quartet (with Mark Helias and Han Bennink) and Elton
Dean's Newsense (featuring Roswell Rudd, Annie Whitehead and Paul Rutherford).
Simon
Fell is active in free improvisation, contemporary
jazz and chamber music. He has performed in many contexts, including
with Peter Brötzmann, Billy Jenkins, Joe Morris, Keith Tippett,
John Zorn, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Elliott Sharp, Billy Bang and
Jack Parnell. Regular groupings include London Improvisers Orchestra, IST
and Hession/Wilkinson/Fell.
“a major contemporary musician” The Penguin Guide To Jazz
Steve Noble is one of the
most dynamic performers in British improvised music. International
festival appearances include Geneva, Pisa, Genova, Barcelona,
Köln, Nickelsdorf & New York. “one of the country's
most creative drummers” The Guardian
venues
Friday 2nd November: BBC Radio 3
Jazz On 3, BBC Radio 3, FM
90.2-92.4; 11.30pm
Saturday 3rd November: Newcastle
Jazz NE/No-Fi, Bridge Hotel,
Castle Sq.; 8.00pm; £6/£5; info 0191 375 7347
Sunday 4th November: London
LMC, The Warehouse, 13 Theed St.,
SE1; info www.l-m-c.org.uk,
020 7403 1922
Wednesday 7th November: Leeds
Leeds Jazz, The Wardrobe, St.
Peter’s Sq.; 8.30pm; £8/£6; info 0113 274 2486, www.leeds.ac.uk/music/leedsjazz
Thursday 8th November: Colchester
Colchester Arts Centre, Church
St.; info www.colchester-artscentre.org.uk,
01206 500900
Friday 9th November: Cambridge
Mumford Theatre, A.P.U., East
Rd.; 1.10pm; admission free; info 01223 352932
Monday 12th November: Norwich
UEA Music Centre/Other Sounds,
John Innes Centre (Main Theatre), Colney Lane/Watton Road, Colney;
8.00pm; £7/£4; info 01603 624312
programme
Composition No. 40.5d:
Trapped By Formalism • Composition No. 50: Köln
Klang • Composition No. 51c: Thirteen Rectangles Version
2 • Composition Number 54a: Cambridge Surprise Minor
Radio 3, London &
Cambridge: Composition No. 51c only
acknowledgements
This tour presented by Bruce’s
Fingers with support from Jazz Services Ltd, the Musicians’
Union and Anglia Polytechnic
University •
Composition No. 51 commissioned by The Termite Club with
funds from Yorkshire Arts • Composition No. 54
commissioned by Haverhill Town Council • leaflet design:
SHF • general info: Bruce’s Fingers, P.O. Box 57, Haverhill
CB9 8RD; www.brucesfingers.com;
info@brucesfingers.com