Sam Crowe composer and pianist
The Sam Crowe Group was formed in 2008 when Crowe (pianist/Composer) decided to expand his working trio with Jasper Hoiby (bass) and Dave Smith (drums) to forge a larger ensemble sound with the added textures of Will Davies on guitar and Adam Waldmann on saxophones. This new instrumental pallete has served as a basis for Crowe to explore and develop a highly individual band ‘sound’ in his writing, with exciting and beautiful results.
In May 2010, the group released their debut album on the F-IRE presents label which has received high praise and accolades from the press and public alike and has created a buzz on the British jazz scene. Jazzwise magazine described the album as “An extremely impressive debut by the young pianist-composer…. As promising a start to a solo career as you’ll see all year.” ****
Since then, the band has performed many sold out shows in London and across the UK were also invited to play a pre concert show at the Clore Ballroom (south bank centre) before Herbie Hancock at London Jazz Festival in November 2010.
Crowe’s compositions reflect his range of influences as a composer and improvisor from Debussy to Keith Jarrett and Kurt Rosenwinkel through to his Bristol roots of Roni Size and Massive Attack and is a combo of some of the most distinctive individual voices on the UK creative music scene, who have also received recent praise from the press as being among the most cutting edge and fresh sounding new talent in this country.
JASPER HØIBY, BASS
Copenhagen-born, London-based bassist, Jasper Høiby graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2005. Since then he has become one of the most sought after bassist in the UK and Europe. He is also the leader of the critically acclaimed trio Phronesis. Phronesis’ debut album Organic Warfare was released in November 2007 on Loop Records, and charted in the US iTunes ‘top 100 selling albums’ for two months following its release. It has to date, sold more than 12,000 downloads internationally. Their hotly anticipated second album Green Delay was released in June 2009, receiving critical acclaim from The Guardian, Jazzwise (who voted it as one of their top ten albums of 2009) and The Times. Their most recent album Alive has elevated them once again and 2011 promises to be another amazing year including Award nominations, UK and European tour dates, Canada and US tour dates and a date at the Barbican opening for Wayne Shorter. Høiby’s playing is steeped in a diverse knowledge of world music and grooves.
“…rich sound, liquid phrasing and pin-sharp rhythmic feel..” John Fordham, The Guardian
DAVE SMITH, DRUMS
Dave Smith is one of the finest young drummers on the British jazz scene. Drawing on a wide range of influences, from West African percussion to classic jazz drumming, his explosive style and musical sensitivity give him the versatility to play in many musical environments. Born in Norwich, Dave began playing drums at the age of nine. By the time he was sixteen Dave had performed at the Royal Albert Hall and had won a full scholarship to become a specialist musician at Wells Cathedral School. He then went on to study Jazz Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he graduated with a BMus in 2003. Dave is best known for his work in co-leading Outhouse, a Loop Collective group that formed in 2005. Since releasing their debut record on the Babel label, Outhouse have toured the UK and performed in Canada, Germany, France and West Africa. Outhouse projects have included working with Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, Canadian group [IKS], Stephane Payen, Jeanne Added and Le Bruit Du [Sign] from Paris, and Quebecan laptopist Pierre-Alexandre Tremblay. Dave has also worked with internationally acclaimed artists such as Donny McCaslin, Hilmar Jensson, Ralph Alessi, Eddie Henderson and Ingrid Jensson.
“One of the most exciting and in demand drummers in the UK.” Time Out
ADAM WALDMANN, SAXOPHONES
Graduating from Trinity College of music in 2006, (receiving the award for ‘Outstanding Student’ from the Jazz Faculty), saxophonist/composer Adam Waldmann received expert tutelage from British masters Julian Argüelles and Mark Lockheart as well studying under fine Dutch sax men Russell Van Den Berg and Yuri Honing. Alongside leading the critically acclaimed Kairos 4tet he has performed with some of the most notable names in Jazz. These include Shlomo, Polar Bear, Will Vinson, The Sam Crowe Group, Jules Buckley, Gwilym Simcock, Emilia Martensson, Anne-Guus Teerhuis and FinnSilver. Having recently been selected by Serious as one of eight to participate in the latest edition of their groundbreaking initiative ‘Take 5′ Adam joins the ranks of previous distinguished alumni including Soweto Kinch, Seb Rochford and Kit Downes, establishing himself as a “powerful new voice in British Jazz”.
“Adam is a beautiful sax player with a strong identity and fantastic ideas. As a soprano player particularly, he’s one of very few musicians who have developed an exciting, personal sound and concept” Mark Lockheart (Polar Bear, Perfect Houseplants)
WILL DAVIES, GUITAR
Will Davies started playing guitar at 11 and jazz at 14. His unique sound draws from a diverse range of influences including Pat Metheny, Jim Mullen, John Parricelli and Kurt Rosenwinkel, to Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix and Slash. He began performing at 15 in and around Oxford with Jules Buckley, now leader of the Heritage Orchestra, and Adam Waldmann, now leader of the Kairos 4tet and quickly began to build a reputation for himself as a unique individual talent. He continued playing while studying Philosophy at the University of Bristol from 2001-2004, and while building an airport in the State of Qatar from 2004-2006. He joined the Sam Crowe Group in 2008, and is currently writing his PhD in Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford, where he is a Jowett Senior Scholar.
“An excellent musician, certainly the equal of his colleagues and his guitar does much to give the Crowe group a distinctive flavour..” The Jazzmann