Laura Jurd - trumpet
Raph Clarkson - trombone/FX
Rebecca Nash - keys

This stellar south-west line-up forms for the first time to bring the music of Kenny Wheeler to Fringe in the Round.

Kenny's trumpet playing, improvising, compositions, recordings and collaborations have been hugely influential in the British jazz scene and beyond. His tunes have become a staple of the standard repertoire, some of which you'll hear tonight, alongside lesser-known pieces (which are no less beautiful!).

The music is variously reflective and nostalgic, melodically expressive, harmonically surprising, groovy and catchy... perhaps one the best descriptions was offered by his long-time friend and collaborator John Taylor:

"Kenny's music is full of joy, but with pain bubbling under the surface". Indeed, this music feels like it is going some way to explore and express what it means to be human.


LAURA JURD
Composer-performer Laura Jurd's unique voice as an improvising trumpet player is at the heart of everything she creates. Her music celebrates and innovates the rich traditions of jazz and folk music, digging into something primal and earthy, whilst taking twists and turns that prove Laura to be one of the UK's most distinctive composer-performers in contemporary music.

As a composer she has collaborated with the London Sinfonietta, the Festival of New Trumpet Music, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the Ligeti Quartet to name a few. She has performed throughout the UK, Europe and beyond with Mercury-nominated band Dinosaur and under-her own name, having played the likes of North Sea, Montréal and Molde International Jazz festivals to name a few.

“Jurd seems unconcerned by transient fashions or enrolment in any kind of scene, and pursues a private muse that draws on jazz, folk traditions from Europe and the Middle East, and the harmonic language of Stravinsky – yet her work is always spiritedly accessible, and often suggests wordless songs” - John Fordham, The Guardian.

RAPH CLARKSON
Raph is a trombonist, improviser, composer / arranger & workshop leader, working across multiple genres & disciplines. Based in Bristol, his guiding principle is the power in music to form connections in community and collaboration.

Raph's work as a creative trombonist & writer has been featured on albums including those by Isaac Birituro & The Rail Abandon, a Ghana/U.K. collaboration (Wah Wah 45s label), Laura Jurd (Edition + Discus Records) and WorldService Project (Rare Noise Records) as well as his own projects The Dissolute Society, RESOLUTE (Babel Label) and South Africa-U.K. group Equal Spirits (Ubuntu Music), and most recently electroacoustic improv duo LEDLEY (Impossible Ark Records).

Raph has also been commissioned to write music and words for Sinfonia Viva, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Britten Sinfonia, The London Sinfonietta and Spitalfields Music, as well as leading creative community projects for these organisations and others including the Bristol Recovery Orchestra, Travelling Light Theatre, Bristol Beacon and Mindful Music.

Recent highlights include new school & family shows for Britten Sinfonia (The Robot and the Bluebird for KS1 and Dots and Lines for KS2) as well as guesting with the Wiltshire Youth Jazz Orchestra for a project exploring his music.

REBECCA NASH
Having firmly established herself as a pianist within the UK, Rebecca Nash is now garnering an international reputation for her distinctive sound, full of artistry and heart.

Redefining Element 78 (Whirlwind Recordings) was commissioned by Bristol Jazz Festival and is Rebecca’s latest project and follow-up album to Peaceful King (Whirlwind Recordings). It presents a new compositional voice of increasing clarity. Distilling elements of her previous album and fusing them together with classical influences such as late Scriabin, Debussy, and Bartok along with free improvisation and post tonal approaches, this music is an exciting new departure.

Rebecca also works closely with singer-songwriter Sara Colman; the pair are currently preparing to release a joint album on Stoney Lane Records entitled Ribbons. She also regularly collaborates with trumpeter/producer Nick Walters with whom she hatched a new project in lockdown. They will be releasing on Dear Old Thing Records in due course.

Musical highlights include: the EFG London Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, We Out Here Festival, The World Economic Forum, Love Supreme Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, and Ronnie Scott’s amongst others. Rebecca recently gave a broadcast for BBC Radio 3’s J to Z, as well as a solo performance at Turner Sims for International Women’s Day.

Rebecca regularly works as an educator for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, THSH’s B:Music, National Youth Jazz Collective, Earthsong Flagship Programme, and Cheltenham Festivals. She has also worked as a visiting tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio) — Read more — Read less