Septimbre are; me - piano, Thad Kelly - bass, Daisy Palmer - drums, Andy Hague - trumpet/flugel horn, Ben Waghorn - tenor and soprano saxes, Kevin Figes - alto sax and flute and John Cornick - trombone.
Latin Perspective are; me - piano, Thad Kelly or Dave Johnston - bass, Lisa Cherian - congas, Mike Vince - drums, Andy Hague - trumpet and flugel horn and Kevin Figes - alto sax and flute.
Influences
Here are just some of many over the years;
Jazz; Brad Mehldau, Mycoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Miles Davis
Classical; Beethoven, Oliver Messiaen, Steve Reich
Rock; Radiohead, Santana, The Nice
Latin; Eddie Palmieri, Ruben Gonzalez, Jerry Gonzalez, Poncho Sanchez, Fania Allstars
Electronica; Autechre, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada
"Jim Blomfield is a marvel" Independent on Sunday.
I've been on the Bristol music scene since 1991 and have played piano/keyboard in many different projects. Regular bands I am involved with include jazz groups Andy Hague Quintet, Ben Waghorn Quartet and Kevin Figes Quartet and salsa/latin band K'chevere. I lead two bands myself - contemporary jazz ensemble 'Septimbre' which is a band that plays all original compositions and 'Latin Perspective', a six piece latin jazz band that play a mix of covers, latin arrangements of standards, and originals.
I was interested in improvisation from a very young age and started classical piano lessons at the age of seven. I was never a great reader of music and preferred to 'do my own thing'. It wasn't until I was 18 that I went about some really intensive practice and decided that I wanted to study music seriously. I developed my study of music further by studying, amongst other diverse things, composition and jazz performance at Dartington College of Arts.
Over the years I have been involved in backing many different artists including Ed Jones, Damon Brown, Bobby Wellins, Pete King, and Andy Sheppard (listen 'Passiongrow') to name but a few. Numerous nationwide appearances have included London's Ronnie Scott's Club and Jazz Cafe, and Edinburgh, Swanage, Brecon and Glastonbury festivals. In 1998 I released my own CD on ASC Records entitled 'Peaks and Troughs'. Must do another soon ... watch this space ...
My most recent project is composing for contemporary 16 piece big band Resonation together with Alto sax player Kevin Figes and bassist Jeff Spencer. You can hear some clips for this project on myspace.com/resonationbigband (or see below in friends).
WE HAVE FINALLY COMPLETED FOUR ALBUMS FOR OUR FOUNDATION TO HELP THE NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS IN NEED FEATURING LOUIE BELLSON, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND, EARL PALMER, HUBERT SUMLIN, LEVON HELM, DR. LONNIE SMITH, JIMMY COBB, CHUCK E. WEISS, JAVON JACKSON, CLEM BURKE, LARRY CAMPBELL, AIRTO MOREIRA, COUGAR & RUBEN ESTRADA, WASHBOARD CHAZ, MIKE WATT, STEVE JORDAN, DANNY 'KOOTCH' KORTCHMAR, JOHN BOUDREAUX, JAMES GADSON, TANMOY BOSE, CLIVE BUNKER, IRA COLEMAN, PETER ERSKINE, JERRY JUMONVILLE, PETE LOCKETT, SANTA DAVIS, JOHNNY VIDACOVICH, SAM CARR, BILL BRUFORD, KEITH CARLOCK, STANTON MOORE, SOUHAIL KASPAR, AFRICAN MUSICIANS, NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES, GOSPEL CHOIRS, CLASSICAL ENSEMBLES, TAP DANCING, LATIN ENSEMBLES, MARDI GRASS INDIANS, STREET MUSICIANS, DJ RE-MIXES, ETC. . . Currently looking for the right record company to release these wonderful gems. Please, help us support thee cradle of modern music!!! Regards, Fabian Jolivet
Beni's Hot Tip - Hey Jim... Stand-by jazz fanciers! Today's hot harmonic topic is - "F#23" - A really BIG chord in tertiary order - just for you... F# A# C# E G# B D F A C Eb G ! And the warped 2-octave scale is... F#,G#,A#,B,C#,D#,E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D,Eb,F,G... Hahahahahaaaa! etc., just make one up - it'll be fine! Lean on the keys - it's bound to be a voicing of this... Groove On!
I feel honored to be the first to comment on your page. Your playing is always an inpiration, exciting to listen to and always great fun. Keep up the good work mate.
Hope to see you "pretending to live in Clifton again" soon ;-)
