Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Johnny Hunter Quartet at Huddersfield Jazz


The Johnny Hunter Quartet is a contemporary jazz group based in Manchester formed to explore the freedoms and challenges presented by the absence of a harmony instrument. The group play mostly original material specifically for this line up, written by drummer/leader Johnny Hunter. This sharp young band features personnel from the city’s acclaimed Beats & Pieces big band, which was an engaging presence on the Efpi label’s recent showcase gig in London.

In the manner of classic late bop players, trumpeter Graham South and tenor saxophonist Ben Watte uncork punchy hooks over Stewart Wilson’s buoyant bass-walks and the bustling percussion of the leader, whose approach is fuelled from many sources, including 21st-century street grooves, post-rock, free-improv, and music from the Middle East and Turkey.

On their latest CD, While We Still Can (Efpi Records) the more freely time-bending and improvisationally open episodes often suggest a contemporary New York downtown band. The brooding and then spiritedly dancing Ayça combines Arabic scales, uninhibited avant-swing, and Watte’s measured tenor meditations.

Johnny Hunter: Drums
Ben Watte: Tenor sax
Graham South: Trumpet
Stewart Wilson: Double Bass

Saturday 25 March 2017 at 8pm (doors open at 7.30pm)
The Jazz Room, Heritage Quay
University of Huddersfield
www.huddersfield-jazz.co.uk
Tickets: £14 (£5 students) available from:-
www.huddersfield-jazz.co.uk/buytickets/

In partnership with Jazz North (www.jazznorth.org)

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