Adam Dyer Quartet
DUNCAN EAGLES tenor saxophone
ADAM DYER piano
JAKUB CYWIŃSKI double bass
ERIC FORD drums
7:30 p.m. Friday 14 JUNE
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ADAM DYER QUARTET
The members of the Adam Dyer Quartet met at the (now sadly defunct) Hideaway Jazz Club in Streatham. Duncan Eagles ran the workshops and jam sessions there, but as his success grew he passed on the baton to Adam, who continued to run the nights with the regular drummer Eric Ford (who plays in Partikel with Duncan) and new recruit, Jakub Cywiński, on double bass. Jakub’s threat to relocate to Poland during lockdown forced a last minute idea to capture the band on record and resulted in Adam’s debut album, “River Spirit”; the music from which will be presented on this date, alongside reworking of some choice jazz standards. On hearing Adam’s music, David Hazeltine said “This sounds fresh, like early Chick Corea. Really interesting and like nothing else that’s happening at the moment”. |
Press release for “River Spirit”
River Spirit is “Kawa no Kami”, the river god of Japanese mythology. Having spent a good deal of his childhood on small wooden boats on the Norfolk Broads and the east coast of Essex, rivers are a potent source of inspiration for Adam Dyer, composer and leader on this, his debut album. It was variously written in parts of Scandinavia, London, Devon, and even a shipping container in a field in Billericay, Essex, where Adam practised piano for a year after returning from his studies in Norway. It draws upon a wide range of musical influences, and as such it’s hard to pigeonhole. Compositionally there are hints of McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea on ‘Battersea Blues’, Joe Henderson on ‘The Dragonfly’ and Keith Jarrett on ‘Almost Catching the Light’ and ‘Penthos’. Classical music also plays a role, Messiaen and Ravel, and the film music of Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto (on the title track in particular). ‘Foggy Daze’, a heavy re-working of Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day” owes a debt to Wynton Marsalis’ rhythmical treatments of standards in the late 1980s. Some tracks are in trio and others quartet format, with Duncan Eagles providing the additional musical voice. The quartet played together as the house band for The Hideaway Jazz Club, in Streatham, South London. Additionally, Duncan and Eric make up two thirds of the band Partikel, so have developed an understanding for each other’s playing over the years. A strongly melodic compositional approach unifies the album, as well as the overriding textural and rhythmic interplay between the members of the band. Eric Ford in particular seems to not only react but to telepathically anticipate, and Jakub Cywinski has a wonderful tone and sense of melodic instinct, both in his supporting lines and his solos. Duncan Eagles has a unique improvisational voice, often probing new ways to express an idea, and spinning phrases that sound utterly unique. Adam Dyer provides sensitive support as an accompanist, and as a soloist crafts his solos a little like his compositions – with both a sense of logic, development and an emotional directness. River Spirit is available as a CD or digital download (mp3, FLAC) from www.adamdyer.co.uk |
Duncan Eagles
Duncan Eagles is a London-based saxophonist who performs regularly at venues and festivals all over the world.
Throughout his career so far, he has appeared at many major venues and festivals around the world including Ronnie Scotts, Rochester Jazz Festival New York, Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho), Cheltenham International Jazz Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, EFG London Jazz Festival, Moods Jazz Club (Zurich), Wuhan Jazz Fest (China), The Kings Place, Brecon Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Jazz Festival and The Paris Cat (Melbourne). Duncan was also one of the musicians selected for Serious's Take 5 scheme for 2017 - more info on that HERE As well as running his own groups, Duncan is also very much in demand as a sideman, and has performed with some of the top names and bands in the music world including Gary Husband, Zara McFarlane, Melt Yourself Down, Mark Mondesir, Ola Onabule and Janek Gwizdala to name a few. Duncan is also recognized for his work with critically acclaimed band, Partikel who have released four albums to date, their second, third and fourth albums "Cohesion", "String Theory" and Counteraction being signed on one of the world's most exciting labels, Whirlwind Recordings, and have been met with praise form the UK, European and USA press, Cohesion being hailed as one of the top 10 releases of 2012 according to renown critic Kevin LeGendre and String Theory making it into the European Jazz Network Charts and also the Daily Telegraph's best albums of 2015 . In 2017 they were nominated for a parliamentary jazz award in the category of "Best Jazz Ensemble" alongside Phronesis and Binker and Moses. They will be releasing their fifth album “Anniversary Song” with progressive German based label Berthold Records this summer. He released his debut solo album with Ropeadope Records in 2018 and is currently preparing his second release with Ropeadope for early 2023. |
Eric Ford
ERIC FORD
" ...strong and creative" - Julian Joseph, Jazz Line-Up, BBC Radio 3 "...exquisitely subtle drumming, superbly delicate here and throughout the album.'' - Roger Farbey, All About Jazz " Ford excels on drums throughout - bold, crisp, creative,in total command of a seemingly endless range of techniques.'' - Eddie Myer, jazzviews.net "Ford's hi-hat snaps and fills, and the precision with which he plays complex patterns...are constantly striking features of this engaging debut." - John Fordham, The Guardian |
Jakub Cywiński
JAKUB CYWIŃSKI
Born in Poland, based in London, Jakub Cywiński is a double bass player and composer who currently explores his interest in collaborating with various contemporary composers and jazz musicians such as Ola Onabule, Marco Marconi , Partikel, Power of the Horns and Nicolas MeIer among others… He studied double bass as a postgraduate at the Royal College of Music. His varied freelance career has taken him to India, Russia, Lebanon and other places around the world.... |