Following on from my descent into twitter (if you’re not following me already please do, I don’t really have many so far…) I’ve been keeping up with the 21st century by trying to get a decent mailing list system working and think I’ve finally cracked it! Sign up now for a periodic e-mail (not too often, promise!) about what we’ve been up to and what we will be up to in the near future. And if you do run into any problems with the form or anything else then let me know – one issue that I’ve found so far is that sometimes the confirmation e-mails get sorted into your junk folder, so maybe check there if it doesn’t arrive and add beatsnpieces.net to your list of allowed domains so it doesn’t happen again!
I’ll be sending the first mailing out in about a week so sign up now to make sure you don’t miss out…
Posted by on 01/02/2010 at 13:18 in beats & pieces, news, site and tagged mailing list, twitter. Leave comments here.
I decided resistance is futile and its about time that I started tweeting things… Obviously I have nobody to tweet to at the moment though, so follow me @beatsnpieces and I’ll try to make it vaguely interesting for you!
Posted by on 23/01/2010 at 15:58 in beats & pieces, news and tagged twitter. Leave comments here.
I’ve just put up a couple of gigs that have recently been confirmed for the coming months… There’s a few more in the pipeline too so keep checking the gigs page for the latest news!
4/02/10 The Spin Off, Bar Santiago, Leeds
21/05/10 The Forge Venue, Camden
We’ll also be playing at the Marlborough Jazz Festival over the weekend of the 9th July – exact day to be confirmed but should be a good one!
Posted by on 19/01/2010 at 13:14 in beats & pieces, gigs, news and tagged beatsandpieces, beatsnpieces, camden, forge, gig, leeds, london, marlborough, spinoff. Leave comments here.
We’ve got another review of the EP, this time by Jazzwise contributor Chris Ackerley, writing on his blog, The Sound Of Now – cheers, Chris! You can read the post here, or the full text is posted below. You may also have read the review in the NWJazzworks newsletter, thats written by Chris. If you don’t already subscribe, its a great monthly roundup of all the jazz happenings in the region, so head over to NWJazzworks to sign-up!
Remember, the EP is still available to purchase (£5, handmade limited edition CD) or download for free/flexible price at the Efpi Records site, but if you’re after the limited edition CD then hurry as we’re fast running out!
From its explosive opening bars until its final lingering hum, the Beats & Pieces Big Band’s first EP is nothing less than a bombardment of the senses. The brainchild of Manchester based composer Ben Cottrell, this sizable affair unites the cream of Manchester’s emerging jazz talent, including Sam Andreae (t. sax), Fin Panter (dr), and Graham South (trp).
At its core the ensemble is traditional big band, but by cross-stitching a multitude of genres to its already rich tapestry of sound, something both unique and fresh has emerged. On tracks such as Yafw (part iii) there are reminisces of Quincy Jones’ more malevolent 1970s blaxploitation soundtracks; the underlying latino groove being almost chased along by the dangerously edgy horn section.
Elsewhere, the compositions also show a real elegant restraint, with classy arrangements that show the record’s maturity. This is most notable in the EP’s final track, Broken, which also manages to combine subtle electronic elements successfully. Bjork is evidently an influence, and here the highly lyrical playing is matched with an almost Nordic chill, which acts as calming digestif after some of the more frenzied earlier tracks.
This is a rich and colourful first CD that comfortably combines Hendrixesque guitar riffs, Herbie Hancock style funk, and even inflections of Eno’s ambient music. While for many groups this osmosis of ideas would produce a conflicting overall sound, Beats & Pieces Big Band have created something that’s both catchy and original.
Posted by on at 13:09 in beats & pieces, news and tagged beatsandpieces, beatsnpieces, chrisackerley, efpi, ep, review, thesoundofnow. Leave comments here.
Let me be the last person to wish you a happy new year! Hope Christmas and everything was good, its perhaps a bit late for that but its always nice to say it anyway… And whilst we’re being late check out the Efpi Christmas message here if you haven’t already, it’ll put you right in the mood all over again.
Thought now would be an excellent time to recap all the stuff from the end of 2009 that I’ve been meaning to post, just to close everything off nicely. First of all, I’ve just uploaded a load of photos from the EP launch night on 2nd December to the gallery; the pictures were all taken by Martin Wilson and they’re really good so check them out now… I think that this one is my favourite.
Also it was my birthday just before Christmas, and wanted to share with you this picture of my amazing birthday cake – remind you of anything?? Thanks Lucy!
Posted by on 08/01/2010 at 00:48 in beats & pieces, misc and tagged cake, christmas, ep, ep launch, gig, odder, party, photos. Leave comments here.
I spent last week in Helsinki on an Efpi Records ‘business trip’, visiting Sam and doing a gig with ‘Beats & Pieces Finland’ – a big band made up of some of the cream of Helsinki’s young jazz talent. There’s a tour diary with pictures of our fun in the snow over at the Efpi site, and I’ve uploaded some photos from the Cafe Mascot (with Sagolik) gig below and to the Gallery.
Thanks to everyone who came to the gig and especially to those who gave up their time and effort to play in the band – it was great to meet and play with you all! Hopefully it won’t be the last gig for the ensemble…
Posted by on 23/12/2009 at 21:01 in beats & pieces, gigs and tagged beatsandpieces, beatsnpieces, cafe mascot, efpi, finland, gallery, gig, helsinki, photos, sagolik. Leave comments here.
The new EP received 4/5 stars in a review by Mike Butler in yesterday’s (11th December) Manchester Evening News – great news, cheers Mike! Full review is posted below…
Posted by on 12/12/2009 at 14:29 in beats & pieces, news and tagged beats, beats & pieces, beatsandpieces, beatsnpieces, efpi, ep, haq, manchestereveningnews, mikebutler, review. Leave comments here.
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