Andy Sheppard – Saxophones
John Parricelli – Guitar
Dudley Phillips – Double Bass
Nic France - Drums
Saxophonist & Composer Andy Sheppard converges, in this open-ended project, an adventurous and vibrant series of compositions that break the convention of time and trends.
Few artists enjoy such a vast musical output as Andy Sheppard, who recorded for Island Records, Blue Note, Verve, and Provocateur to name a few of the labels on which he released albums as a band leader. A musician with an unceasingly evolving nature, writing for diverse settings from solo to Big Band and chamber music, this extraordinary versatility is reflected in his vast discography.
For the past 15 years, Sheppard found what he calls "his spiritual home" on ECM, with a catalogue of releases as a band leader as well as part of the legendary band Carla Bley Trios, alongside pianist and composer Carla Bley and Steve Swallow on bass.His debut on the label was with the album Movements in Colour, the recording was a fruitful venture of " Lyrical imagination …and pure Sheppard" as described by the Guardian, later in Trio Libero, an improvisational collective of stellar musicians led by Sheppard, he explored the elasticity of contemporary jazz to new heights and it was described by John Fordham as "masterclass in imparting ambiguity and depth to the smallest sounds – and a remarkable demonstration of how the catchiness of a pop song can be imparted to a tone poem that seems to barely rise above a murmur".
His project Andy Sheppard Quartet saw him returning to quartet form and had two releases on ECM: Surrounded by Sea and Romaria. The European supergroup toured extensively and made Andy Sheppard's graceful saxophones weave a path through the otherworldly guitar sounds of Eivind Aarset, and the skittering patterns of the rhythm team of Michel Benita and Sebastian Rochford. The Guardian described their debut album as "translucently beautiful", their second release "Romaria" developed further exploration through a sonic universe that "feels like a soundtrack to getting lost in the stars"- Downbeat.
More recently, the saxophonist formed the Andy Sheppard Trio, featuring Rita Marcotulli on Piano and Michel Benita on Double Bass. The trio has been touring in Europe and is due to record on ECM in Spring 2025. This empathic constellation of musicians, who are at the top of their game has “created a cinematic sound that was simply beautiful” Jazzwise.
Andy Sheppard QUARTETS is a new band that serves as a vehicle for Sheppard to reflect on past, present, and future compositional endeavors. It is an homage to one's own identity through time, embracing a block universe philosophy, in which all musical works from different eras coexist at once on the stage at a given time. Bringing back past compositions to the forefront of his shows, without the fear of sabotaging his renowned innovative spirit, he allows the present moment to reshape its version of music-making
by freely exploring new possibilities of improvisation, a constant shuffling of an evolving narrative with unexpected revelations.
The new compositions, for this saxophone and guitar-led band, derive from Andy´s explorations of individuality and his long love relationship with the guitar. In Sheppard´s own words when describing this new musical ensemble and its concept " It´s not about a nostalgia kind of thing, we will be playing a wide range of music that has come out of me over the last 20, 30 years …
However, it's a movable feast, with stuff I'm playing and working on at the moment…and tunes that I have re-arranged especially for Quartets. I am constantly writing… I usually write with the guitar…I love the guitar…This band will be continually developing, whilst at the same time digging into my own musical story."
In his review of the band, Tony Benjamin reflected on their performance at the Beacon in Bristol "Boy was it a treat….(The band) jousted and wove together throughout, echoing ideas and layering textures with impeccable empathy."
On another appearance, this time at Cork Festival, the band left both audiences and critics no less impressed "The quartet is a staple and well-established unit in jazz, an improvisational equivalent of the string quartet in classical music. (…) there were plenty of new and original compositions that were ideal vehicles for energetic solos and fiery group interaction. (…) Andy Sheppard on saxophone is one of the great sounds in modern jazz." (The Irish Examiner).
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