Author: tom

Upcoming gigs Winter/Spring 2015

A few nice concerts in the coming months:

Sunday Jan 25th – Madwort Sax Quartet @ Jazz at the Salisbury, Green Lanes

This band’s first gig was at Jazz at the Salisbury way back in Sept 2012, I think the acoustic really suits this line-up so it should be a great gig.

Thursday Feb 26th – Ti/om @ LUME, Long White Cloud, Hoxton

A return to LUME for Ti/om featuring Tim Fairhall on double bass and myself on bass clarinet, this time possibly with a special guest.

Friday March 13th – Madwort’s Menagerie @ St Paul’s Sessions, Rossmore Road, London, NW1 6NJ

Part of a series of gigs Chris Dowding is putting on at St Paul’s church near Marylebone, I’m really excited to progress the menagerie band & compositions here and not at all phased that it’s on Friday the 13th… Oooo-eerrrr….

Wednesday March 25th – Anton Hunter’s Article XI @ Family Album, Derby

I’ll be substituting for the amazing Simon Prince in Anton Hunter’s large ensemble project Article XI.

Thursday March 26th – Andreae/Knight/Ward @ LUME, Long White Cloud, Hoxton

A brand-new trio project for 2015, featuring Sam Andreae on tenor saxophone, Richard Knight on no-input mixer & myself on alto saxophone, this unique line-up provides a fascinating palette for improvisation.

Thursday April 9th – Fairhall/Rolfsson/Ward @ Foley Street

Another new trio featuring Matilda Rolfsson playing a unique bass drum & percussion setup, alongside Tim Fairhall on double bass & myself on bass clarinet/flute. This group builds on and extends the sonic palette that Tim & I have been working on as Ti/om.

Gig round-up Autumn/Winter 2014

It’s been a busy but fun couple of months! The recent highlight was probably playing at the Clore Ballroom as part of the London Jazz Festival with Cath Roberts’ Quadraceratops, recorded for broadcast on Jazz on 3. Here I am at the gig fiddling with my reed…:

Also really fun was travelling around Scotland with Philip Clouts (brief LondonJazz review) – nice to play with Tim Fairhall in the traditional roles that our respective instruments take & also to explore some (small bits of) wilderness:
dunottar coastline

And also engineering/taking photos for the Deemer recording session:

deemer1

Upcoming gigs Autumn/Winter 2014

Sunday October 5th – Quadraceratops @ The Vortex, Dalston

After a lot of hard work by bandleader Cath Roberts, we’re very pleased to present the first Quadraceratops album at the London launch party!

Tuesday October 7th – Quadraceratops @ Freedom Principle, Manchester

The Northern leg of the album launch!

October 31st to November 7th – Philip Clouts tour @ Various places in Scotland

I’m again replacing Carlos Lopez-Real for a tour around Scotland with Philip Clouts.

London Jazz Festival

Tuesday November 18th – Paulo Duarte @ Charlie Wright’s, Hoxton

I’ll be depping for Chris Williams on alto with Paulo Duarte’s band.

Thursday November 20th – Quadraceratops @ LUME, London White Cloud, Hoxton

The first of two LJF shows by the Quadraceratops

Sunday November 23rd – Quadraceratops @ Jazz in the Round

We’re very happy to be playing on the Jazz in the Round stage at the South Bank centre. Timings TBC!

Madwort’s Menagerie at the Vortex – Review

We had a wonderful time playing the new Menagerie charts to a packed & receptive Vortex audience!

Also, Alya Al-Sultani was there who reviewed the gig for LondonJazz. She said:

“Overall thought-provoking, entertaining with clever instrumentation and the beginning of something utterly unique.”

Upcoming gigs Autumn 2014

Thursday Sept 25th – Madwort Saxophone Quartet @ Lume, Long White Cloud, Hoxton

A rare London date for the sax quartet!

Sunday October 5th – Quadraceratops @ The Vortex, Dalston

The London launch party for the Quadraceratops album!

Corey Mwamba’s New Dark Art Saxophone Quartet

Last week I was very fortunate to be part of a quartet of saxophones interpreting Corey Mwamba’s MRes project “New Dark Art”, alongside Chris Williams, Colin Webster & Cath Roberts. Corey videoed the day’s workshop as part of his study, and you can watch the day’s final performances here:

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Categorised as Depping

Madwort’s Menagerie at the Vortex

I’m very excited to be debuting my latest project at the Vortex on Sunday Aug 3rd as part of the new LUME at the Vortex season.

“After a momentary glimpse in a misfiring big band rehearsal, Tom Ward has been bugged by an overheard snippet of a weird quartet comprising bass clarinet, flute, trumpet and trombone. Transmogrifying some of his compositions for sax quartet, hybridising this with his free improv duo Ti/om and finally balancing woodwind, brass and strings with the addition of a cello, Tom is proud to present Madwort’s Menagerie. Featuring some incredible improvising musicians with a full spectrum of credits ranging from the London Improvisers Orchestra through Brass Mask, the Overground Collective, Quadraceratops and The Imaginary Delta to Sinfonia Cymru and the London Tango Orchestra.”

Tom Ward – bass clarinet, flute, composition
Julie Kjaer – flute, alto flute
Alex Bonney – trumpet
Magnus Dearness – trombone
Adam Spiers – cello
Tim Fairhall – double bass

LUME at the Vortex

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Categorised as Menagerie