Lack of Afro - Back to the Day

Andy Gibbons (aka Lack of Afro)

Lack of Afro

Date: 18th April 2018
Venue: The 100 Club, London, UK
Current album: Back to the Day (LOA Records 2018)

drums

Future in 2018:
26 May- Band On The Wall, Manchester
31 May- The Parish, Huddersfield
1 June- Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle
9 June- Lemonfest, Newton Abbott
7 July- Mostly Jazz, Birmingham
15 July- Readipop Festival, Caversham
19 August- Sunrise Celebration Festival, Hereford

trumpet

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Adam Gibbons (aka Lack of Afro) is back in some style with ‘Back To The Day’, a beautifully produced summer sizzler crammed full of infectious hooks, top musicianship and most importantly - vibe by the bucket load. Taking a nod from classic material by artists such as The Jackson 5, Earth Wind & Fire (and more recently Vulfpeck), ‘Back To The Day’ is Lack of Afro doing what he does best – blending old and new with big drums and heavy percussion to come up with a crossover classic that’s entirely his own, whilst all the while developing his abilities as a songwriter.

Elliott Cole

Providing a dynamite vocal is regular collaborator Elliott Cole. Not just the voice of the track, he also plays guitars and bass, whilst ably backed up by some stellar musicians including George Cooper (Haggis Horns) on keys, Rory Simmons (Blur, Jamie Cullum) on trumpet, string and horn arrangements and Harry Harding (Yola Carter) holding down the backbeat on drums.

keys

Keeping the dancefloor packed and turning the party vibes right up to 11, ‘Take It Up A Notch’ (featuring the brilliant Wax & Herbal T and taken from the critically acclaimed ‘Back In Business EP’) completes what is arguably one of the strongest single packages of the year!

saxophone

Lack of Afro continues to go from strength to strength. 2016’s ‘Hello Baby’ (released on his own label LOA Records) picked up a BBC 6 Music ‘Album Of The Year’ nomination & appeared in the Top 10 of the iTunes R&B / Soul chart in 21 countries worldwide. More recently, Adam’s music continues to be used across all aspects of film & TV by networks such as ABC, Fox, NBC, Sony Pictures & the BBC whilst he also has released music on Universal & Warner Brothers Records. 

vocals

Both tracks are taken from the new album ‘Jack Of All Trades’, released on LOA Records in May 2018 and supported by a live band UK tour in May & throughout various festivals throughout the summer.

Crowd Company - The 100 Club

Chris Rand

Crowd Company

Rob Fleming - vocals and guitar

Emil Engstrom - bass
Robin Lowrey - drums
Claudio Corona - keys
Chris Rand - saxophone
Henry Spencer - trumpet
Esther Dee - vocals
Jo Marshall - vocals

Robin Lowrey

Date: 18th May 2018
Venue: The 100 Club, London, UK
Current album: Stone and Sky (Vintage League Music 2017)

Rob Fleming

Future:
June 9th 2018 - 229, London
June 28th 2018 -  Saint James Festival, London
June 29th 2018 - Aint Nothin But the Blues, London
June 30th 2018 - The Donkey - Leicester
July 12th 2018 - Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho), London
July 17th 2018 - The 100 Club, London

Emil Engstrom

An 8-piece modern take on vintage soul funk. Brimming with energy and a raw edge, catchy hooks, and tight grooves. The band combines a retro Hammond organ-based sound with a virtuoso horn section, soulful lead, and harmony vocals.

The band evokes the spirit of 60s and early 70s funk as well as modern day funk jam bands whilst also focusing on strong soulful songwriting.

Esther Dee

Crowd Company are renowned for dynamic, engaging live performances. The band have drawn accolades from their musical peers and have shared the stage with the likes of George Porter Jr from The Meters, Daptone’s Saun & Starr, Alan Evans Trio, The New Mastersounds, Monophonics

Crowd Company release their new album ‘Stone & Sky’ on the Vintage Lague label worldwide in September 2017 on vinyl, CD, online. The album was recorded at IronWax Studio, MA and was produced by Alan Evans (Soulive).

Claudio Corona

The band have had rave reviews from the music press for ‘Stone & Sky’ . 

“A delicious album. a must listen. exceptional” – The Huffington post (USA)
“An absolute gem **** 4/5 stars” – Blues & Soul (UK) “At the forefront of British funk **** 4/5 stars” – Music news (UK)
“Devastating grooves **** 4/5 stars” – Music culture (France)
“Funk & Soul done right ****4//5 stars” – Soul Spain (Spain)
“Infectious grooves” glide magazine` (USA) “
“we strongly recommend this album to all funk fans!” Sound & Image (Germany)

***Named by AXS in the: “Top 10 Best Funk&Soul Albuns of 2017”***

Henry Spencer

A busy gigging, band Crowd Company regularly play some of the UK’s prestigious venues including: The 100 Club, The Jazz Café, Brooklyn Bowl, 229, RichMix, Band On The Wall, Concorde 2, Pizza Express Jazz Club.

Jo Marshall

Geoff Berner - Canadiana Grotesquica

Geoff Berner

Geoff Berner

Date: 16th May 2018

Venue: A World in London, Resonance FM, Borough, London, UK

Current album: Canadiana Grotesquica (Coax Records 2017)

Another Suitcase Another Hall with satirical punk poet/accordionist Geoff Berner on this A World in London!

Click to listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-16th-may-2018/

When we spotted Geoff Berner’s suitcase in the corridor at Resonance FM our first suspicion was that our guest might be staying overnight, but as he explained later, our show was the rather tasty filling sandwiched between gigs in Wales and Brighton. That’s life on the road for you, and with Geoff it’s songs in the key of life with the soul of klezmer and the pogo of punk. His accordion is his melodic partner in wondrous wordplay around insightful and astute observations on the world social order – ‘’my mind absorbs music through the lyrics before my body feels it.’’ On this AWIL you’ll hear from Geoff’s new album Canadiana Grotesquica, plus freshly improvised material conjured up in our studio, highlighting his sharp-witted skills as a songwriter. Geoff also has a unique ability to connect with the many us that are not in the 1% club of financial elites, so that we’re all rooting for revolution, and for once, really are ‘all in this together’.                                                   

Geoff Berner

16/5/18 – AWIL 166  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-16th-may-2018/ Production & pics by Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling, and sketches by Alban Low. This week on SOAS Radio Eugenia Georgieva.

Click: https://soasradio.org/music/episodes/awil-260-eugenia-georgieva 

Next week Marcus Corbett at SOAS and Kal Lavelle at Resonance. #AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR! Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  www.resonancefm.com & 4pm SOAS Radio  mixlr.com/soasradio   

Steve Williamson Trio & StringTing

Steve Williamson Trio

Steve Williamson Trio
String Ting

Date: 11th May 2018
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, Southbank, London, UK

The enigmatic and magnetic saxophonist/composer, Steve Williamson explores the sonic elements that link contemporary classical and progressive jazz composition with his trio and members of Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing. (Part of Ligeti In Wonderland.)

Steve Williamson (born 28 June 1964) is an English saxophonist and composer.(tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboard and composition). He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary British jazz". Born in west London to Jamaican parents, Steve Williamson began playing saxophone at the age of 16 and started his career playing in reggae bands, including Misty in Roots. In 1984 and 1985 he studied at London's Guildhall School of Music, where he was tutored by Lionel Grigson. Williamson was a member of the noted collective of British-born black jazz musicians who came together as the Jazz Warriors in the mid-1980s. At the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday open-air festival in 1988 Williamson played alongside Courtney Pine in Wembley Stadium and afterwards was a constant presence at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. He was member of Louis Moholo's Viva La Black (1988) and of Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (1990). During the 1990s he led his own band and appeared in projects of Iain Ballamy, Maceo Parker, Bheki Mseleku, US3, and Graham Haynes. In 1990 Williamson released his first album A Waltz for Grace with Verve, featuring vocalist Abbey Lincoln. In 1992 he released his second album, Rhyme Time, followed by Journey to Truth in 1994, featuring Cassandra Wilson.

StringTing

Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing is the latest addition to the Tomorrow’s Warriors family of flagship ensembles and is focused around some of our best young string players drawn from our JazzStrings development programme. Members of Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing meet on a regular basis with their mentor – jazz double bassist and Tomorrow’s Warriors artistic director, Gary Crosby OBE – to work on a wide range of jazz repertoire for performance in a variety of settings, from public concerts and showcases to private functions.  In addition to performances as a distinct ensemble, members also have opportunities to work with our associated professional ensembles, such as Nu Civilisation Orchestra and Jazz Jamaica All Stars.

Oysland - Vundervelt

John Macnaughton

Oysland

Lori Secanska - vocals

Olga Baron - violin
John Macnaughton - clarinet
Iakovos Loukas - guitar
Twm Dylan - bass
David Tappeser - drums
Karen Yarnell - percussion

David Tappeser

Date: 2nd May 2018

Venue - A World in London, Resonance FM, London, UK

Current album: Vundervelt (2016)

Iakovos Loukas

Future performance

Sunday 6th May 2018 - The Oval Tavern, Croydon, UK

Saturday 19th May 2018  - The Step, 101 Myddleton Rd, London 

Olga Baron

Klezmer rock n’ roots with Oysland on this A World in London!

Click to listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-2nd-may-2018/

Lori Secanska

We last spoke to Oysland a year ago when they released their brilliant debut album Vundervelt, recorded in a Walthamstow shed over just one weekend with LKQ producer Rupert Gillett. Since then the Oyslandics have been touring everywhere taking their infectious sounds to weddings, bar mitzvahs, and taverns across the UK, but their mission has changed. On this show you’ll hear Oysland talk about their intense research into the origins of Klezmer music, why the genre is so important, and about the years lost to the Holocaust, the Nazis, and forced migration. It’s sobering information but adds compelling depth & authenticity to what Oysland play, and why. This is an essential AWIL  session to listen to so tune in online anytime, and rest assured that a new Oysland album is on its way too!! See them at the Oval Tavern Croydon May 6th and at The Step N22 on May 19th!

                      

Karen Yarnell

2/5/18 – AWIL 164  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-2nd-may-2018/ Production & pics by Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling,  and sketches by Alban Low. This week on SOAS Radio Branco Stoysin. Click: https://soasradio.org/music/episodes/awil-258-branco-stoysin  Next week Daemonia Nymphe  at SOAS and David Nissen at Resonance. #AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR! Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  www.resonancefm.com & 4pm SOAS Radio  mixlr.com/soasradio 

Twm Dylan

Happy Beigel Klezmer Orkester - Mouthwatering Music

Gergely Bándi

Happy Beigel Klezmer Orkester

Gergely Bándi - guitar

Peter Rayner - percussion

Jack Banjo-Courtney - trumpet

Gustavo Clayton-Marucci - clarinet

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Chun-Ting Wang - double bass

Georgia Ellery - violin, vocals

Date: 25th April 2018

Venue: A World in London, Resonance FM, London, UK

Gustavo Clayton-Marucci

Future performance

May 5th 2018 - Wembley Stadium, Women's FA Cup final

May 25th 2018 - Luna, Leytonstone, London, UK

26th May 2018 - The Railway Tavern, Tulse Hill, London, UK

Mouthwatering music by Happy Beigel Klezmer Orkester on this A World in London!

Click to listen: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-25th-april-2018/

Jack Banjo-Courtney

Brick Lane, beigels, smoked salmon & cream cheese are synonymous with the feel-good factor, but think again and re-educate your palette with The Happy Beigel Klezmer Orkester! This ultra-talented student band serves up a delicious menu of  Jewish folk music, topped with jazz, and gleaned from far Eastern corners of Europe on their debut album, recorded at the Guildhall School of Music. Savour a taste of ‘The Beigelz’ on this AWIL, with masterchefs Gergely Bándi on guitar, percussionist Peter Rayner, Jack Banjo-Courtney on trumpet, and clarinettist Gustavo Clayton-Marucci. See the full 6-piece line-up including Georgia Ellery and Chun-Ting Wang at Wembley Stadium on May 5th supporting the England Women’s Football Team, and at The Railway Tavern on May 26th. Eating music doesn’t get any happier than this!

                             

Peter Rayner

25/4/18 – AWIL 163  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-25th-april-2018/ Production & pics by Sofia Gaetani-Morris, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling,  and sketches by Alban Low. This week on SOAS Radio – DJ/journalist Jamie Renton. Click: https://soasradio.org/music/episodes/awil-257-jamie-renton  Next week Serbian guitar maestro/composer Branco Stoysin at SOAS and klezmatic Londoners Oysland at Resonance. #AWorldinLondon – IN ITS TWELFTH YEAR! Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4  www.resonancefm.com & 4pm SOAS Radio  mixlr.com/soasradio