Beats & Pieces is not your average big band. These 14 millennials have been playing together since school and have become a tight knit bunch, open to a huge diversity of music. Björk, Radiohead, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Gil Evans en Kenny Wheeler: all kinds of influences pop up in their performances, in new arrangements or as snippets in the compositions of band leader and conductor Ben Cottrell. A fine example and an absolute highlight is ‘Let’s Dance’, which quotes various David Bowie songs.
‘Highly recommended, a return to the idea that contemporary jazz for big band can still generate the kind of direct impact more associated with rock and pop music, but without undermining its essential craft and sophistication’ (Jazzwise).
Ben Cottrell director, Anthony Brown saxophone, Oliver Dover, Tom Ward saxophone, Nick Walters, Graham South, Owen Bryce trumpet, Simon Lodge, Rich McVeigh, Ed Horsey trombone, Anton Hunter guitar, Richard Jones piano, Stewart Wilson bass, Finlay Panter drums