News
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10/01/2012
Some of the more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a few dates disappear from my Gigs page.
Unfortunately both gigs I had lined up at the Brown Lion in Birmingham (with Nadim Teimoori/Wheeler 4tet and with my own Quintet) have been cancelled as the whole series of Jazz gigs there has collapsed. Apparently the owners (not the managers, who actually really liked the Sunday night Jazz series) decided it wasn’t for them, so that’s the end of that! However, I must take this opportunity to thank Gareth Fowler who typifies the attitude of many great young Jazz musicians and fans out there who actually get off their seats and make Jazz happen. Gareth worked hard week-in, week-out to make sure the Brown Lion gig happened smoothly and has accommodated lots of great musicians over the last 9 months or so, not least what I hear was an astonishing gig with Mike Williams Quartet (Phil Robson, James Maddren and Percy Purseglove) just a few weeks back.
As well as this, the management at Stray’s in Newark have felt the need to move their Saturday night Jazz gigs to 6pm on a Friday evening, which unfortunately means Steve Tromans and I have had to pull out of our residency there as we both have academic commitments on Fridays. We’d like to thanks the team at Stray’s (especially Mat Short), which is a great little Tapas/Jazz Bar by night and Coffee/Book shop by day well worth checking out if you’re in the area of Newark, for their hospitality and keenness to have us.
15/01/2012
NOYALE COLIN/FLORENCE PEAKE/JJ WHEELER RHYTHMIC TRIALOGUE - So far...
For about a month now I’ve been working on a collaboration with two Post-Modern Contemporary dancers in South-East London, Noyale Colin and Florence Peake.
Initiated by Noyale, as part of her PhD research into performance practice and cross-arts collaboration, I was approached as an improvising Drummer to be a part of the group, which would be exploring the meaning and various aspects of Rhythm.
This process thus far has been very interesting one, at first exciting as we bounced ideas and concepts off of one another in freely improvised contexts. This then brought about occasionally frustrations as we struggled to understand each other’s intentions in movement/sound (particularly myself!), but this has led us to explore the languages of music and dance; how we communicate, the tools we use, the techniques employed and also to discuss further concepts in which we could all share a common language.
Suddenly the hook-up between what the dancers do and what I play on the drums makes a lot more sense and we are able to create a dialogue which is getting deeper with every meeting we have. I am genuinely excited about where this new understanding is taking us artistically.
Other areas we are exploring are various techniques of Scoring pieces, using art, impulse, natural rhythms (including heartbeat, digestive rhythms etc.), spacial awareness/cues and silence.
As the project develops we are discovering more and more interesting ways to communicate, use/arrange space and explore the intricacies of various forms of rhythm, which should culminate in a very interesting piece to be premiered at the Siobhan Davies Studio in Elephant & Castle, LONDON on Saturday 28th January.
The event is called ATMOSPHERES AND SPACE, featuring various performances and artistic ventures, with refreshments included in the £7 ticket price. Please do come and support the event if you think it sounds interesting, it is artist-led and non-profit, so every audience member is vital!
18/02/2012
Wow...it’s been over a month since I’ve had a chance to sit down and update this (literally! Sorry). January/February has been surprisingly manic, some prescribed, some self-motivated (or rather, motivated by what’s going on around me).
The previously mentioned Rhythmic Trialogue collaboration with Noyale Colin & Florence Peake went well - there was a strong audience (close to 100?) and we caused a bit of a stir by all accounts, including a last-minute decision to open with a piece featuring two metronomes! This project looks to be carrying on, with plans for a week-long residency plus a ‘symposium’ day in April/May, hopefully backed by Arts Council funding. Watch this space.
Also in January (seems like a long time ago now), I was fortunate enough to take part in the Royal Academy of Music’s first International Artist in Residence scheme, featuring one of my heroes, Dave Douglas. The focus Dave brought to the week (mainly on composition and not being afraid to just get it out there and on the bandstand) was amazing. Every student wrote and developed a tune throughout the week, with daily deadlines being set and workshops to try them out, culminating in a fantastic concert in the Duke’s Hall on Thursday 26th Jan. The first half featured tunes written by students (which I played in) and the second half an epic set of Big Band music written and led by the man himself. What a treat! Plus, the whole concert got rave reviews in national newspapers, magazines and online press (including a rare Guardian review!).
Meanwhile, plugging for the Steve Tromans/JJ Wheeler album Blue Room continues, with another successful gig at Dempsey’s in Cardiff. Although a long way to go, this trip was well worth it with a small but appreciative audience and two of the best promoters in the land! I feel we played a blinder on this one, evidence of which I think is on youtube...if you can find it! While we were there we recorded a live session for Rhys Phillips’ Jazz Special programme (which transmits every Sunday evening on Radio Cardiff, but is also available online to stream). I’m not sure when this hour long ‘Steve Tromans/JJ Wheeler’ feature (including live session & interviews) will be broadcast, but I’ll keep you posted!
At the Academy, I’ve been lucky enough to play in some great ensemble projects already, more recently led by Iain Ballamy. Iain is a true legend of British Jazz (one of the iconic ‘Loose Tubes Generation’) and also a perfect gentleman. His music is a real inspiration to play and personally hit a chord with me, which resulted in a brilliant concert on Valentines day. The next project (which we’ve already started work on) is with Martin Speake and will be paying homage to the anthemic work The Real McCoy by McCoy Tyner. The gig for this is on 19th March at 6pm and is free, so stick it in your diaries!
One last little plug in this epic post - JJ Wheeler Quintet! We’ve been getting some great reviews for the album Unconventional from national press recently, including in JazzUK, JazzWise and Sandy Brown Jazz publications. The album comes out on 1st March, but you can pre-order the record now for £8 and a special pre-order offer of free P&P applies! We’ll also be on tour in March promoting the record, so we’ll see you soon.
Dave Douglas -
Photo: Peter Gannushkin
05/03/2012
JJ Wheeler Quintet head out on tour this Friday! We’re very excited to be unveiling new Tenor saxophonist Nadim Teimoori (one of the Royal Academy of Music’s most exciting prospects in recent years), alongside myself, Tom Moore (Bs), Ralph Brown (Pno) and Chris Maddock (Alto). The tour is to support the release of our new album, Unconventional (available here). Dates as follows:
9th March - The BeBop Club, Bristol
10th March - The Hive, Shrewsbury
15th March - The Yardbird, Birmingham
16th March - Symphony Hall, Birmingham
17th March - Matt & Phred’s, Manchester
We hope to see you there!
06/03/2012
Also coming up for JJ Wheeler in the near future, a very exciting rendition of McCoy Tyner’s classic album, The Real McCoy in a septet led by Martin Speake (see gig page, 19th March), my debut with the Royal Academy of Music Postgrad Octet at the North London Tavern (ahead of a date at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho later in the year!), an artistic residency exploring improvised rhythm and contemporary dance with Noyale Colin at Middlesex University, my first live date with 60’s Soul legend Sir Joe Quarterman and much more...
...however, this could be the last News update for a while as team Wheeler creates an exciting new site! Keep your eyes peeled and thanks for your interest, support and patience!