The Neil Cowley trio first burst into our consciousness with their outstanding debut album Displaced. Fizzing with the energy of rock and the surging dynamics of dance music, it accidentally placed Cowley and his trio at the forefront of the ‘Post-Jazz' scene alongside such similar spirits as Acoustic Ladyland, Jaga Jazzist, Fulborn Taversham and EST. It's a scene driven by simple musical curiosity, a post ipod, everything fits, cut-n-paste aesthetic that says the old certainties of form and genre are increasingly redundant. Indeed Cowley, a classically trained, dazzling pianist and outstanding composer, is as likely to listen to the trancey desert blues of Tinariwen or the zaney rock of Zappa as he is to Errol Garner, Ahmad Jamal or Shostakovich, and he is as likely to play The Big Chill and Glastonbury as Brecon or North Sea . As he puts it “I got the haircut and wore the t-shirt, and this is where I've landed!
It's an approach that has attracted a new, younger, audience to his music. Drawn by Cowley & co's fingerbleeding energy, hook-laden, powerfully dynamic and ridiculously catchy tunes, they are less interested in questions of is it jazz, punk-jazz or post-jazz, than "is it any good?" But it isn't just the so-called postjazzers that dig Cowley's unashamedly virtuosic music, with the Observer commenting “For two generations the gatekeepers of popular culture have sneered at virtuosity. When Cowley's audience heard the ends it could achieve they were transfixed. He may have plugged into something bigger than he realises”. Indeed, praise for Displaced came from the highest echelons of jazz – “Captivating…impressive” claimed The Guardian, “A triumph… an absolute feast.. cried Mojo, and "Thrilling.. dynamic.. distinctive “ added Jazzwise.
Loud.. Louder…Stop! is the trio's follow up to their 2006 breakthrough, and features Cowley's long-time collaborators Richard Sadler on bass and Evan Jenkins on drums. Taking its name from a critic's dismissal of their style it is marked with a bravura energy and wit; an album of massive dynamic range and contrasts, it provides a real adrenalin rush. Yet, Cowley expresses a wide gamut of emotions through his music - beautiful melodies and exquisite harmonies often underly his sensitive and romantic approach to
composition. “Loud.. Louder… Stop!” says Cowley “is an extension of Displaced. Where there was energy, we've pushed for more, where there is unity, we've pushed for more, where there were catchy melodies, we've pushed for more.” Displaced brought together three capable musicians wanting to explore their jazz musicality, but, as Cowley says “we were slightly intimidated, by the whole scene. Were we capable of dotting the i's and crossing the t's of the jazz language? With Loud.. Louder… Stop! I realise, we don't want to!”
Loud… Louder…Stop! was released on Cake on 30th March 2008. In December 2008, the release was listed in Mojo Magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2008, and named no 1 Jazz Album in The Sunday Times.
The Neil Cowley Trio play the FACTORY PERFORMANCE SPACE 8pm JULY 17.
Tickets ˆ15 +353 71 917 0431
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SLIGO JAZZ 2009
JULY 17-19
featuring
GET THE BLESSING (UK)
MATTHEW HALPIN QUARTET (IRELAND/SWEDEN)
THE ODD COUPLE with SINEAD CONWAY
FULL SCHEDULE
FRIDAY 17 JULY
FACTORY PERFORMANCE SPACE 8PM - NEIL COWLEY TRIO
Tickets ˆ15 +353 71 917 0431
TOBERGAL LANE CAFÉ 10.30PM - MATTHEW HALPIN QUARTET
Tickets @ door €10
SATURDAY 18 JULY
FACTORY PERFORMANCE SPACE 8PM - EMPIRICAL
Tickets ˆ15 +353 71 917 0431
TOBERGAL LANE CAFÉ 10.30PM - GET THE BLESSING
Tickets @ door €15
SUNDAY 19 JULY
TOBERGAL LANE CAFÉ 1pm - JAZZ BRUNCH WITH THE ODD COUPLE & SINEAD CONWAY
€15 including food Advance booking essential +353 71 9146599 |
