It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Beats & Pieces Big Band’s debut EP will be released on Efpi Records on November 30th, and that this will be celebrated to great extent at the official launch party at Odder in Manchester on December 2nd – come one, come all! We’ll be playing two sets featuring all of the EP’s 5 tracks, some newer stuff thats not on the EP and some stuff thats so brand new they don’t have names yet… Its also FREE ENTRY so you can save all your cash to buy the CD!
Doors open 8.30pm, live set from 9.30pm sharp. Odder, Oxford Road, Manchester (opposite the BBC). Contact info@beatsnpieces.net for more information
Posted by on 26/10/2009 at 12:02 in beats & pieces, gigs, news and tagged efpi, ep, gig, manchester, odder, party. Leave comments here.
In one of my pontificating moods the other day I came across this article (via A Blog Supreme) by an American saxophonist called Greg Osby, talking about suitable attire for jazz musicians on a gig. It got me thinking a little bit about what we wear for Beats & Pieces gigs – I normally just tell the band to wear something comfortable and similar to what they normally wear, which is exactly what Osby doesn’t like… Obviously I can only comment on myself, but some of the things he particularly doesn’t like to see are:
…all of which I have been known to exhibit. I take issue with the unwashed hair though – messy and unkempt it may be but its always washed!
All joking aside, I’d be genuinely interested in your comments regarding this issue and Beats & Pieces specifically. Does our less formal dress detract from our performance? Is the sight of my arse appearing over the top of my jeans personally offensive? Personally I’m of the impression that the music we play isn’t ‘just’ jazz influenced, and contains strong influences from rock and pop music where casual dress for gigs seems to be the norm. Osby says that people see you before they hear you and gain an impression from that, but I feel that if we were to arrive for a gig dressed in 1950s suits then the impression that would be given off wouldn’t be representative of the music we play and are influenced by. But like I say I do really want to know what you think, and maybe the next time you see us we’ll all put our glad rags on…
Below are some pictures for comparison of Greg Osby looking razor sharp (and quite pleased about it actually) and me looking arguably less so…
Posted by on 24/10/2009 at 12:47 in misc and tagged bums, clothes, dress, gigs, greg, jazz, osby. Leave comments here.
Just a quick reminder about our gig at the Lescar in Sheffield tonight! We’re really excited about it as its our first chance to try out a couple of new things we’ve been working on, so make sure you get down there early to get yourself a decent spot! Doors open 8.30pm, music starts at 9 sharp and its £5/£4 entry – bargain. Click here for directions if you don’t already know where you’re going…
See you down the front!
Posted by on 14/10/2009 at 11:40 in beats & pieces, gigs, news and tagged gig, lescar, sheffield. Leave comments here.
So apologies for the shameless self-promotion but…
One of my other projects apart from Beats & Pieces is Token Otter, a free improv trio with Anton Hunter and Josh Kopecek. At the moment we’re working with a visual production company called Kimchi and Chips, and applying for funding for a project called Cottonopolis. This will be a totally immersive audio/visual experience held in a regenerated church in Ancoats, based on the decline of the textile industry in the area and the subsequent regeneration in the information revolution.
This is where you come in! As I mentioned we’ve been applying for funding to many sources, including Umbro Industries (the sportswear people). On their website is a database of all applications, and people can vote for whether they like the project. Can you see where this is going yet…? If you could take a couple of minutes to rate our proposal and maybe even leave a suitably gushing comment that would be very much appreciated by all of us. As a reward there’s even an accompanying video where I make a fleeting, misspelt and somewhat disheveled appearance…
Click here to visit the site, and thanks a lot!
Posted by on 10/10/2009 at 11:29 in b&p friends, misc. Leave comments here.
Beats & Pieces EP
Available now from Efpi Records
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