Photo by Daniel Alexander
A night of top female instrumental improvising talent.
Bitches Brew showcases the diversity of talent and raw energy of female improvisers from the fields of jazz, folk, electronic music and free improvising. Launched in 2015 in response to female performers, programmers and creators being sidelined by the music industry, Bitches Brew challenges the fallacy that there aren’t enough highly talented female instrumentalists around, or that more than one ‘girl band’ in a night would just be overkill. Pushing artistic boundaries by appealing to both the jazz and contemporary music audiences, Bitches Brew is a night of music that will blow your mind and feed your soul.
“I saw Miles Davis perform Bitches Brew in Toronto in the seventies. This is no less magical.” Audience member, Toronto
“I saw Miles Davis perform Bitches Brew in Toronto in the seventies. This is no less magical.” Audience member, Toronto
Bitches Brew : Back to the Jazz Bar
Back to where it all began, Edinburgh's iconic Jazz Bar, we have a feast for all ears. Free improving, storytelling and gamelan-style loops, this edition of Bitches Brew will be special.
MARION KENNY
Marion Kenny is a charismatic live performer, highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, and one of Scotland’s leading storytellers.
“ Kenny effortlessly transfixes the audience with her magnetic presence and conversational style” - Julie Dawson, TVBOMB
She plays concert flute, Chinese bamboo flute [Dizi] Chinese reed flute [Bawu] Indian Carnatic flute [Venu], Balinese bamboo flute [Suling] Chinese harp [Guzheng] and piano.
Her passion for world culture has led her to research, perform and teach internationally, including studying music and dance at the Beijing Academy of Dramatic arts in China, Naja Raja Academy of music and dance in Bali, Indonesia, with leading flute teachers in India, Maori myths and legends in New Zealand, Aboriginal myths and legends in Australia, and The Book of Kings in Iran. Marion collaborated with RM Hubbert and co wrote and performed on his album ‘13 Lost and Found’ which won Scottish Album of the year.
marionkenny.moonfruit.com
FAYE MacCALMAN
"Faye is an improviser, performer, composer and teacher based in the North of England working across jazz, popular music and free improvisation to name a few. Faye writes for and leads exploratory alt-rock-jazz trio Archipelago, fast gaining a reputation for their song forms interwoven with stories, improvisations and melodies. She is a current recipient of the Help Musicians UK ‘Peter Whittingham Development Award’, with which she is running ‘BETWEEN WAVES’; a collaborative project for female artists and Archipelago, taking place in September-October."
SIGNY + EMMA
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
MARION KENNY
Marion Kenny is a charismatic live performer, highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, and one of Scotland’s leading storytellers.
“ Kenny effortlessly transfixes the audience with her magnetic presence and conversational style” - Julie Dawson, TVBOMB
She plays concert flute, Chinese bamboo flute [Dizi] Chinese reed flute [Bawu] Indian Carnatic flute [Venu], Balinese bamboo flute [Suling] Chinese harp [Guzheng] and piano.
Her passion for world culture has led her to research, perform and teach internationally, including studying music and dance at the Beijing Academy of Dramatic arts in China, Naja Raja Academy of music and dance in Bali, Indonesia, with leading flute teachers in India, Maori myths and legends in New Zealand, Aboriginal myths and legends in Australia, and The Book of Kings in Iran. Marion collaborated with RM Hubbert and co wrote and performed on his album ‘13 Lost and Found’ which won Scottish Album of the year.
marionkenny.moonfruit.com
FAYE MacCALMAN
"Faye is an improviser, performer, composer and teacher based in the North of England working across jazz, popular music and free improvisation to name a few. Faye writes for and leads exploratory alt-rock-jazz trio Archipelago, fast gaining a reputation for their song forms interwoven with stories, improvisations and melodies. She is a current recipient of the Help Musicians UK ‘Peter Whittingham Development Award’, with which she is running ‘BETWEEN WAVES’; a collaborative project for female artists and Archipelago, taking place in September-October."
SIGNY + EMMA
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Bitches Brew Scottish Women Inventing Music Launch
Scottish Women Inventing Music (SWIM) is a collection of music creators and industry professionals who identify as female.
Bitches Brew presents a line up of stunning musicians to celebrate the launch...
Bell Lungs
A one-woman band who has been carving a unique post-folk sound using layered vocals, electric violin, guitar, tunedpercussion, field recordings and effects pedals since 2016 to create transcendental atmospherically shifting soundscapes and snippets of songs, musing upon rural idylls, post-industrial heartlands and online culture infused with psychedelic, improvisational and folk elements.
bell-lungs.com
Kim Edgar
Based in Edinburgh, singer songwriter Kim’s intensity and intimacy in performance have led to her being described as Scotland’s very own Tori Amos (Sunday Herald). Attracting five star reviews for her recordings and live performances, Kim's songs reflect her classical piano background, and her interest in horror, fairy tales, feminism and social history, which she studied during her degree in English Language & Literature. Kim "combines narratives of courageous honesty with darkly delicious melodies" (Spiral Earth), crafting songs which are "strangely uplifting, despite the well-phrased, sombre lyrics" (The BIG Issue).
kimedgar.com
Anne Martin
The roots of her singing lie deep. She caught the tail end of a passing culture, and makes it valid for the modern day with a pathos and understanding that is accessible to all wherever they are from. Variously described as; ".. awesomely beautiful" and "percussively powerful", she brings the sound and tradition of her native Isle of Skye to the stage. Her repertoire gives a true sense of place in an international context.
annemartin.scot
Signy + Emma
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand.
Emma Smith Emma Smith studied double bass at the Royal College of Music where she was trained in classical double bass technique and repertoire. Building on the language of classical music, and exploring the story-telling aspect of folk music from different parts of the world, Emma has forged a career as a versatile composer, improviser and collaborator. She is a Serious/Cryptic AirTime Artist 2018/19 and Boom Artist in Residence with Oxford Contemporary Music.
Combining Kalimba, percussion, double bass and loops, Signy + Emma draw on gamelan and world music to layer at times meditative, at times driving patterns into an acoustic ambient soundscape.
signymusic.com
emmasmithbass.com
Bitches Brew presents a line up of stunning musicians to celebrate the launch...
Bell Lungs
A one-woman band who has been carving a unique post-folk sound using layered vocals, electric violin, guitar, tunedpercussion, field recordings and effects pedals since 2016 to create transcendental atmospherically shifting soundscapes and snippets of songs, musing upon rural idylls, post-industrial heartlands and online culture infused with psychedelic, improvisational and folk elements.
bell-lungs.com
Kim Edgar
Based in Edinburgh, singer songwriter Kim’s intensity and intimacy in performance have led to her being described as Scotland’s very own Tori Amos (Sunday Herald). Attracting five star reviews for her recordings and live performances, Kim's songs reflect her classical piano background, and her interest in horror, fairy tales, feminism and social history, which she studied during her degree in English Language & Literature. Kim "combines narratives of courageous honesty with darkly delicious melodies" (Spiral Earth), crafting songs which are "strangely uplifting, despite the well-phrased, sombre lyrics" (The BIG Issue).
kimedgar.com
Anne Martin
The roots of her singing lie deep. She caught the tail end of a passing culture, and makes it valid for the modern day with a pathos and understanding that is accessible to all wherever they are from. Variously described as; ".. awesomely beautiful" and "percussively powerful", she brings the sound and tradition of her native Isle of Skye to the stage. Her repertoire gives a true sense of place in an international context.
annemartin.scot
Signy + Emma
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand.
Emma Smith Emma Smith studied double bass at the Royal College of Music where she was trained in classical double bass technique and repertoire. Building on the language of classical music, and exploring the story-telling aspect of folk music from different parts of the world, Emma has forged a career as a versatile composer, improviser and collaborator. She is a Serious/Cryptic AirTime Artist 2018/19 and Boom Artist in Residence with Oxford Contemporary Music.
Combining Kalimba, percussion, double bass and loops, Signy + Emma draw on gamelan and world music to layer at times meditative, at times driving patterns into an acoustic ambient soundscape.
signymusic.com
emmasmithbass.com
Bitches Brew at Jazz North East: Women Make Music
Part of Jazz North East's Women Make Music Series, Bithces Brew will be presenting a delectable line-up of music...
J Frisco
Genre fluid art and music. J Frisco is a trio of soprano saxophone, electric guitar, keyboards and vocals; they create improvised music and soundscapes that are drawn from their emotions, the world, political and gender issues. They aim to engage and inspire their audience through the use of multiple genres and cross art forms, taking their listeners on a journey, often described as the ‘J Frisco Experience’. The band combine art and poetry with improvised music, aiming to change perceptions and break down boundaries through improvisation.
www.jfrisco.com
Cliona Cassidy + George Burt
As well as being an active opera singer (reaching the finals of both City of Bologna Baroque Opera and Ritorna Vincitor international opera competitions) Cliona Cassidy is also a member of the 'astonishingly brilliant' Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Fellow member George Burt began playing guitar in the rich and diverse Scottish folk and jazz scenes. Since beginning to work together in the GIO, these two improvisers have played together in a variety of settings. Tonight they combine their talents in a spontaneously composed duet.
www.clionacassidy.com
Emma Smith + Signy Jakobsdottir
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
J Frisco
Genre fluid art and music. J Frisco is a trio of soprano saxophone, electric guitar, keyboards and vocals; they create improvised music and soundscapes that are drawn from their emotions, the world, political and gender issues. They aim to engage and inspire their audience through the use of multiple genres and cross art forms, taking their listeners on a journey, often described as the ‘J Frisco Experience’. The band combine art and poetry with improvised music, aiming to change perceptions and break down boundaries through improvisation.
www.jfrisco.com
Cliona Cassidy + George Burt
As well as being an active opera singer (reaching the finals of both City of Bologna Baroque Opera and Ritorna Vincitor international opera competitions) Cliona Cassidy is also a member of the 'astonishingly brilliant' Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Fellow member George Burt began playing guitar in the rich and diverse Scottish folk and jazz scenes. Since beginning to work together in the GIO, these two improvisers have played together in a variety of settings. Tonight they combine their talents in a spontaneously composed duet.
www.clionacassidy.com
Emma Smith + Signy Jakobsdottir
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Bitches Brew #10
DILJEET BHACHU
Diljeet Bhachu is a flautist based in Glasgow and Edinburgh. A champion of music by female composers of colour, she will showcase some of her favourite music alongside her own compositions for flute and electronics, written to contribute to the gap in music for flute by female composers of colour. In her research work Diljeet explores the relationship between music and memory and worked on the 'Women’s work in the cultural industries: gendered working lives and cultural value’ project.
JENN BUTTERWORTH
Jenn Butterworth is one of the foremost folk guitarists in the UK acoustic music scene. She began her career performing worldwide with the award winning Anna Massie Band, visiting renowned festivals such as Shetland (SCO), Celtic Colours (CAN), Milwaukee Irish Fest (USA), Tonder Festival (DEN), Cambridge Folk Festival (ENG) and Celtic Connections (SCO).
An excellent collaborator, she has been a key member of a range of high profile folk music projects, including three of Celtic Connections’ New Voices, four years on the BBC Hogmanay Live show as a member of the All Star House Band and recently a member of folk supergroup ‘Songs of Separation’ involving an array of prominent folk artists including Eliza Carthy, Lady Maisery and Karine Polwart. The Songs of Separation album, conceived, arranged and recorded in just 7 days, currently holds the title of ‘Best Album’ at the Radio 2 Folk Awards.
www.jennbutterworth.co.uk
KIKAZARU
Kikazaru brings you thirty minutes of exploration, using free improvisation to move through original and found music, which could be jazz standards, old Senegalese folk tunes, ragas from Lucy's time in Delhi or John Carpenter-style film music. Combining the cerebral with the physical, the intense with the sublime, the raw with the ridiculous, Kikazaru will fry their brains to blow your minds.
Emma Smith (double bass), Graeme Stephen (guitar+loops), River of Slime (Sampler+loops), Davide L Rinaldi (drums) and Lucy Forde (flute)
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
"I feel like you just took my brain out, rinsed it and put it back again."
SLOTH RACKET
Sloth Racket is a band of UK improvisers led by baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts, with Sam Andreae on alto saxophone, Anton Hunter on guitar, Seth Bennett on bass and Johnny Hunter on drums. They play Cath’s compositions, combining written fragments with graphic notation to explore the balance between freedom and structure. The results are always different, and so far have ranged across musical territories taking in fiery free jazz, minimal improv textures and heavy riffs.
www.slothracket.co.uk
‘Lurching between riff and abstraction…maintains an elegant balance between emergent melody and the wilder activity at its fringes’ – The Wire
Bitches Brew Toronto Launch
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Curated by Aline Homzy, The Smith Sessions Presents: Bitches Brew presents female-led groups performing original music in a listening room. Aline Homzy is a classical and jazz award-winning violinist and composer. From Montreal but living in Toronto, Aline is in high-demand as an improvising violinist and as a session player in Canada. She co-leads a jazz-manouche group called Les Petits Nouveaux, which have found international success having performed at jazz festivals in Europe, the U.S.A. and Canada. She also composes music for big band, string quartet and pop ensembles. She is a recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and has received prizes and awards for her compositions, recordings, musicianship and for her project with the Homzy/Kesler Duo. Anh Phung is a multi-genre instrumentalist based in Toronto, Ontario. With flute as her primary instrument, she received a BMus in Jazz Performance from McGill University in 2012 and has continued to tour, perform, and record in a number of different genres and areas. Her performances have ranged from being a soloist with L'Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec under Yoav Talmi, to playing with members of the AACM in tribute to Alice Coltrane on the Jay Pritzger Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park, to performing at Osheaga Festival in Montreal with electro-pop band, Propofol, to playing traditional Swedish polskas for Folk Marathon's big ball in Copenhagen. |
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Emma Smith studied double bass at the Royal College of Music where she was trained in classical double bass technique and repertoire. Building on the language of classical music, and exploring the story-telling aspect of folk music from different parts of the world, Emma has forged a career as a composer and improviser which has seen her headlining Glastonbury and playing Madison Square Gardens with the Gorillaz on the Plastic Beach World Tour, as well as touring extensively with Eliza Carthy. Emma now produces Bitches Brew, where she showcases the best in female instrumental improvising talent, runs the highly creative band of improvisers Kikazaru and composes, performs and improvises with her duo ma. In 2016 Emma joined Musicians without Borders, using music in post-conflict areas to “bridge divides, connect communities, and heal the wounds of war”.
Magdelys Savigne Hailing from Santiago de Cuba, drummer/percussionist Magdelys Savigne graduated with honours in orchestral percussion from Havana's University of The Arts. A JUNO-winner and GRAMMY nominated artist with Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Magdelys is also an integral part of The Battle of Santiago (2018 JUNO nominated) and Bill King's Rhythm Express.
Magdelys Savigne Hailing from Santiago de Cuba, drummer/percussionist Magdelys Savigne graduated with honours in orchestral percussion from Havana's University of The Arts. A JUNO-winner and GRAMMY nominated artist with Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Magdelys is also an integral part of The Battle of Santiago (2018 JUNO nominated) and Bill King's Rhythm Express.
Bitches Brew Nine
This is a highly exciting edition of our favourite night of eclectic madness, take a look why...
MARION KENNY
Marion Kenny is a charismatic live performer, highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, and one of Scotland’s leading storytellers.
“ Kenny effortlessly transfixes the audience with her magnetic presence and conversational style” - Julie Dawson, TVBOMB
She plays concert flute, Chinese bamboo flute [Dizi] Chinese reed flute [Bawu] Indian Carnatic flute [Venu], Balinese bamboo flute [Suling] Chinese harp [Guzheng] and piano.
Her passion for world culture has led her to research, perform and teach internationally, including studying music and dance at the Beijing Academy of Dramatic arts in China, Naja Raja Academy of music and dance in Bali, Indonesia, with leading flute teachers in India, Maori myths and legends in New Zealand, Aboriginal myths and legends in Australia, and The Book of Kings in Iran. Marion collaborated with RM Hubbert and co wrote and performed on his album ‘13 Lost and Found’ which won Scottish Album of the year.
marionkenny.moonfruit.com
AMBLE SKUSE
Amble improvises and composes using acoustic instruments and electronics. Her composition centres on the tension between traditional acoustic performance and interactive technologies, creating sonic spaces by layering sounds and words. She recently featured on Radio 3 Late Junction's International Women's Day, improvising with Maggie Nichols and Verity Susman. She also has an album with Alastair Roberts and David McGuinness due for release on 24th March 2018.
Her work Memory Lane with Kris Drever was featured on Radio 3’s Late Junction with Max Reinhardt, and her project Remembered Imagined played to packed houses in 2013 and was reviewed in The Scotsman as “fearless innovators” and “a web of influences and interconnections”.
Amble is currently commissioned to write a bespoke piece for instruments and technology for the British ParaOrchestra. Charles Hazlewood described her as a “fierce creative spirit [that] could not be more welcome! We couldn't ignore Amble's violinistic brilliance (a true sonic adventurer)”. The work fits well with Amble’s PhD exploring performance, improvisation and composition using body sensors with disabled musicians.
ambleskuse.net
JEMIMA THEWES
Jemima Thewes is a singer/songwriter who grew up in the highlands of Scotland; an atmospheric landscape which continues to help provide the bones of her music. She sings traditional songs and her own material.
In February 2015 Jemima launched her debut EP ‘Bright Shadows’ with friends and collaborators Tim Lane (tongue drum), David Boyter (guitar/mandolin) and Susan Appelbe (cello). It has been greatly received with radio plays on stations such as Travelling Folk on BBC Radio Scotland and Late Junction on BBC Radio 3.
Cloud-hopping tales are told by warm, haunting vocals and adorned with playful instrumentation. Jemima and her band charm you along a cathartic, spell-binding and life-affirming journey. The unique combination of strings and a rare wooden box in the form of a chromatic tongue drum creates an innovative sound which along with Jemima’s compelling voice, magically stirs the emotions to the very heart of the soul.
jemimathewes.co.uk
SIGNY + EMMA
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Tickets £10 / £8
Under 18s welcome before 10pm
MARION KENNY
Marion Kenny is a charismatic live performer, highly regarded multi-instrumentalist, and one of Scotland’s leading storytellers.
“ Kenny effortlessly transfixes the audience with her magnetic presence and conversational style” - Julie Dawson, TVBOMB
She plays concert flute, Chinese bamboo flute [Dizi] Chinese reed flute [Bawu] Indian Carnatic flute [Venu], Balinese bamboo flute [Suling] Chinese harp [Guzheng] and piano.
Her passion for world culture has led her to research, perform and teach internationally, including studying music and dance at the Beijing Academy of Dramatic arts in China, Naja Raja Academy of music and dance in Bali, Indonesia, with leading flute teachers in India, Maori myths and legends in New Zealand, Aboriginal myths and legends in Australia, and The Book of Kings in Iran. Marion collaborated with RM Hubbert and co wrote and performed on his album ‘13 Lost and Found’ which won Scottish Album of the year.
marionkenny.moonfruit.com
AMBLE SKUSE
Amble improvises and composes using acoustic instruments and electronics. Her composition centres on the tension between traditional acoustic performance and interactive technologies, creating sonic spaces by layering sounds and words. She recently featured on Radio 3 Late Junction's International Women's Day, improvising with Maggie Nichols and Verity Susman. She also has an album with Alastair Roberts and David McGuinness due for release on 24th March 2018.
Her work Memory Lane with Kris Drever was featured on Radio 3’s Late Junction with Max Reinhardt, and her project Remembered Imagined played to packed houses in 2013 and was reviewed in The Scotsman as “fearless innovators” and “a web of influences and interconnections”.
Amble is currently commissioned to write a bespoke piece for instruments and technology for the British ParaOrchestra. Charles Hazlewood described her as a “fierce creative spirit [that] could not be more welcome! We couldn't ignore Amble's violinistic brilliance (a true sonic adventurer)”. The work fits well with Amble’s PhD exploring performance, improvisation and composition using body sensors with disabled musicians.
ambleskuse.net
JEMIMA THEWES
Jemima Thewes is a singer/songwriter who grew up in the highlands of Scotland; an atmospheric landscape which continues to help provide the bones of her music. She sings traditional songs and her own material.
In February 2015 Jemima launched her debut EP ‘Bright Shadows’ with friends and collaborators Tim Lane (tongue drum), David Boyter (guitar/mandolin) and Susan Appelbe (cello). It has been greatly received with radio plays on stations such as Travelling Folk on BBC Radio Scotland and Late Junction on BBC Radio 3.
Cloud-hopping tales are told by warm, haunting vocals and adorned with playful instrumentation. Jemima and her band charm you along a cathartic, spell-binding and life-affirming journey. The unique combination of strings and a rare wooden box in the form of a chromatic tongue drum creates an innovative sound which along with Jemima’s compelling voice, magically stirs the emotions to the very heart of the soul.
jemimathewes.co.uk
SIGNY + EMMA
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Tickets £10 / £8
Under 18s welcome before 10pm
Bitches Brew @ The Traverse Bar - 17.1.18
Kicking off the 2018 Traverse series we have a delectable assortment to lift the winter spirits and banish the post-Christmas blues. Another snapshot of the astounding wealth of talent amongst the top improvisers in our midsts.
Sarah-Jane Summers
"exquisite" (BBC Radio 3)
"a howling gale, brilliantly evoked" (The Wire)
A versatile, free-thinking, impassioned performer, violinist Sarah-Jane's unique style blends the emotive rawness of improvisation with the lyricism of traditional music. A tradition-bearer of the old Highland Scottish style of fiddle playing, she holds a Master’s degree in Norwegian traditional music and free improvisation from The Norwegian State Academy of Music.
VIRR, her recent album of free improvisations, was named by BBC Radio 3's Late Junction as one of the best albums of 2017, alongside Björk and Kendrick Lamar.
"Ranging from avant garde classical music over eerie folk to harsh, intense outbursts of free jazz...a unique album" (Merchants of Air)
Her duo with her husband, Juhani Silvola, has earned rave reviews, including the prestigious Top of the World status from world music magazine Songlines twice.
www.sarah-janesummers.com
Cera Impala
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cera Impala is a banjo-, ukulele-, and guitar- wielding mama who oozes wild style. Her voice is unique yet timeless, with writing style just as magical. She creates songs that feel instantly familiar. Born in Flagstaff, Arizona she has made many places her home since '94 when she left – from Portland, Oregon, to New York City, to all over California, Olympia, Washington - which explains the eclectic mix of musical styles in her songwriting.
www.ceraimpala.com
Kubov
KUBOV is a duo of violin and electronics. Incorporating minimalist textures and lush sustains as well as harrowing dissonance and distortion, their music ranges from the esoterically tingly to downright disturbing. Their eclectic sonorities are a result of the hybridisation of electronics and acoustic instrument, with which they explore and combine spaces and places, warping perspective and effecting a sonic escapism.
Signy Jakobsdottir
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Sarah-Jane Summers
"exquisite" (BBC Radio 3)
"a howling gale, brilliantly evoked" (The Wire)
A versatile, free-thinking, impassioned performer, violinist Sarah-Jane's unique style blends the emotive rawness of improvisation with the lyricism of traditional music. A tradition-bearer of the old Highland Scottish style of fiddle playing, she holds a Master’s degree in Norwegian traditional music and free improvisation from The Norwegian State Academy of Music.
VIRR, her recent album of free improvisations, was named by BBC Radio 3's Late Junction as one of the best albums of 2017, alongside Björk and Kendrick Lamar.
"Ranging from avant garde classical music over eerie folk to harsh, intense outbursts of free jazz...a unique album" (Merchants of Air)
Her duo with her husband, Juhani Silvola, has earned rave reviews, including the prestigious Top of the World status from world music magazine Songlines twice.
www.sarah-janesummers.com
Cera Impala
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cera Impala is a banjo-, ukulele-, and guitar- wielding mama who oozes wild style. Her voice is unique yet timeless, with writing style just as magical. She creates songs that feel instantly familiar. Born in Flagstaff, Arizona she has made many places her home since '94 when she left – from Portland, Oregon, to New York City, to all over California, Olympia, Washington - which explains the eclectic mix of musical styles in her songwriting.
www.ceraimpala.com
Kubov
KUBOV is a duo of violin and electronics. Incorporating minimalist textures and lush sustains as well as harrowing dissonance and distortion, their music ranges from the esoterically tingly to downright disturbing. Their eclectic sonorities are a result of the hybridisation of electronics and acoustic instrument, with which they explore and combine spaces and places, warping perspective and effecting a sonic escapism.
Signy Jakobsdottir
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
The Summer is coming to an end but the celebration of female musician brilliance continues. For the next outing Bitches Brew presents...
NICOLSON DUO
Formed in 2013 by Ailsa Aitkenhead and Emily Tse, Nicolson Duo are a bass trombone and piano ensemble. They began their unique collaboration during their time as students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and have since then explored a dynamic range of repertoire from reinterpreting baroque flute and recorder sonatas for sackbut and harpsichord, to contemporary bass trombone and piano compositions. This year Nicolson duo commissioned new works featuring bass trombone and piano combined with electronic effects pedals.
www.nicolsonduo.co.uk
ENTROPI
Entropi explores a narrative of life-pondering, space gazing and risk-taking through Dee Byrne’s compositions. Juggling order and chaos, composition and improvisation, the group takes listeners on a journey with compelling group interplay, strong themes, open-ended improvisation, dark grooves and interweaving melodic textures. The ensemble comprises alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader Dee Byrne, trumpeter Andre Canniere, keyboardist Rebecca Nash, drummer Matt Fisher and bassist Olie Brice. Having performed live together for some time, the band has achieved a striking empathy and freedom to take risks.
‘The macrocosmic concept of ‘order and chaos’ (translated musically as ‘organisation and spontaneity’) is key to Entropi’s success.’ LondonJazzNews
www.entropimusic.com
SIGNY JAKOBSDOTTIR + EMMA SMITH
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper. www.signymusic.com
MORAG BROWN
Morag Brown is a fiddler from Edinburgh whose playing brings together multiple influences from trad Scottish to Balkan and Greek violin styles. With an open and improvised approach, she loves to take older repertoire from tradition’s dustiest corner and make it into something new. Morag performs with Awry, Horovod, Matt Seattle Band and in a duo with Lewis Powell-Reid.
See Morag in action here.
NICOLSON DUO
Formed in 2013 by Ailsa Aitkenhead and Emily Tse, Nicolson Duo are a bass trombone and piano ensemble. They began their unique collaboration during their time as students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and have since then explored a dynamic range of repertoire from reinterpreting baroque flute and recorder sonatas for sackbut and harpsichord, to contemporary bass trombone and piano compositions. This year Nicolson duo commissioned new works featuring bass trombone and piano combined with electronic effects pedals.
www.nicolsonduo.co.uk
ENTROPI
Entropi explores a narrative of life-pondering, space gazing and risk-taking through Dee Byrne’s compositions. Juggling order and chaos, composition and improvisation, the group takes listeners on a journey with compelling group interplay, strong themes, open-ended improvisation, dark grooves and interweaving melodic textures. The ensemble comprises alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader Dee Byrne, trumpeter Andre Canniere, keyboardist Rebecca Nash, drummer Matt Fisher and bassist Olie Brice. Having performed live together for some time, the band has achieved a striking empathy and freedom to take risks.
‘The macrocosmic concept of ‘order and chaos’ (translated musically as ‘organisation and spontaneity’) is key to Entropi’s success.’ LondonJazzNews
www.entropimusic.com
SIGNY JAKOBSDOTTIR + EMMA SMITH
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At Bitches Brew she’ll be joined by Emma Smith on double bass, performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper. www.signymusic.com
MORAG BROWN
Morag Brown is a fiddler from Edinburgh whose playing brings together multiple influences from trad Scottish to Balkan and Greek violin styles. With an open and improvised approach, she loves to take older repertoire from tradition’s dustiest corner and make it into something new. Morag performs with Awry, Horovod, Matt Seattle Band and in a duo with Lewis Powell-Reid.
See Morag in action here.
Bitches Brew @ Edinburgh Fringe - Leith Volcano 20.8.17
ALINE HOMZY
Aline Homzy is a classical and jazz award-winning violinist and composer. From Montréal but living in Toronto, Aline is in high-demand as an improvising violinist and as a session player. She co-leads an internationally acclaimed jazz-manouche group called Les Petits Nouveaux. She also composes music for big band, string quartet, pop formations and writes for projects under her own name. She is a recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts council and has received many prizes and awards for her compositions, recordings, musicianship and for her recording with the Homzy/Kesler Duo. Aline is excited to be involved with Emma Smith’s Bitches Brew and will showcase her iridescence as an improviser and composer.
lespetitsnouveaux.bandcamp.com
LAURA JANE WILKIE
Laura is a fiddle player, writer and tutor from Easter Ross-shire. She has an individual sound and style of playing, drawing influence from her roots in Highland Scottish music as well as her love of other music traditions and styles from across the world.
She has worked with, written and toured with many acts, such as Fat-suit, Salsa Celtica, Siobhan Miller, Claire Hastings, Rachel Sermanni, Ian Carr, Ross Ainslie, Mikey Owers and "Questioio" Alana Henderson.
She will be performing at Bitches Brew with Tom Gibbs (piano), Innes White (guitar) and Rachel Lightbody (vocals).
soundcloud.com/handsupfortrad/laura-wilkie-guttersnipe
SU-A LEE + MAIRI CAMPBELL + NICKY HAIRE
"In this trio we find a true synergy of like-minded musicians, bringing their vast musical backgrounds into play to create fresh and meaningful improvisations."
Nicky Haire has had a lifelong interest in musical experimentation and improvisation, and is a leading music therapist. Su-a Lee enjoys a varied career as a performing cellist. She is Asst-Principal Cello in the SCO, but also plays with a dazzling array of stars in non-classical genres. Mairi Campbell is a pioneering and award-winning Scots singer, songwriter and viola player, currently touring her one-woman show Pulse at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
mairicampbell.scot
sualee.com
nickyhaire.com
KIKAZARU
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge, with tunes emerging from the free improvised mayhem before disintegrating again in an endless search for beauty and chaos. Lucy Forde (flute), Emma Smith (double bass), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Graeme Stephen (guitar/ loops/effects), and Davide L Rinaldi (drums).
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Aline Homzy is a classical and jazz award-winning violinist and composer. From Montréal but living in Toronto, Aline is in high-demand as an improvising violinist and as a session player. She co-leads an internationally acclaimed jazz-manouche group called Les Petits Nouveaux. She also composes music for big band, string quartet, pop formations and writes for projects under her own name. She is a recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts council and has received many prizes and awards for her compositions, recordings, musicianship and for her recording with the Homzy/Kesler Duo. Aline is excited to be involved with Emma Smith’s Bitches Brew and will showcase her iridescence as an improviser and composer.
lespetitsnouveaux.bandcamp.com
LAURA JANE WILKIE
Laura is a fiddle player, writer and tutor from Easter Ross-shire. She has an individual sound and style of playing, drawing influence from her roots in Highland Scottish music as well as her love of other music traditions and styles from across the world.
She has worked with, written and toured with many acts, such as Fat-suit, Salsa Celtica, Siobhan Miller, Claire Hastings, Rachel Sermanni, Ian Carr, Ross Ainslie, Mikey Owers and "Questioio" Alana Henderson.
She will be performing at Bitches Brew with Tom Gibbs (piano), Innes White (guitar) and Rachel Lightbody (vocals).
soundcloud.com/handsupfortrad/laura-wilkie-guttersnipe
SU-A LEE + MAIRI CAMPBELL + NICKY HAIRE
"In this trio we find a true synergy of like-minded musicians, bringing their vast musical backgrounds into play to create fresh and meaningful improvisations."
Nicky Haire has had a lifelong interest in musical experimentation and improvisation, and is a leading music therapist. Su-a Lee enjoys a varied career as a performing cellist. She is Asst-Principal Cello in the SCO, but also plays with a dazzling array of stars in non-classical genres. Mairi Campbell is a pioneering and award-winning Scots singer, songwriter and viola player, currently touring her one-woman show Pulse at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
mairicampbell.scot
sualee.com
nickyhaire.com
KIKAZARU
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge, with tunes emerging from the free improvised mayhem before disintegrating again in an endless search for beauty and chaos. Lucy Forde (flute), Emma Smith (double bass), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Graeme Stephen (guitar/ loops/effects), and Davide L Rinaldi (drums).
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Bitches Brew @ Glasgow Jazz Festival - Glasgow Glad Cafe 25.6.17
For the Glasgow International Jazz Festival 2017 Bitches Brew presents four outstanding bands with women at the helm...
MAUD THE MOTH
Maud the Moth was founded as the solo project of the singer and pianist Amaya López-C. Hailing from Madrid, and cycling through various line-ups, she now partners up with Paúl González on drums to expand its heartfelt musical universe, which draws on a wide-ranging musical background including jazz, classical, avant garde, soul and even some elements of metal.
maudthemoth.com
RACHAEL COHEN
Rachael Cohen, a London-based alto saxophonist and composer, is one of the jazz worlds brightest stars. Her playing style and skills as a composer and improviser have gained her a great deal of attention in the UK and beyond. London Jazz notes:
“....a considerable compositional and instrumental talent”
Her critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Halftime’ (on Michael Janisch’s Whirlwind Recordings) catapulted Cohen’s reputation to one of the premier new voices of her generation in the UK’s jazz and improvised music scene.
rachaelcohenmusic.com
COLLECTIVE X
Alya Al-Sultani is a singer, composer and producer. Her latest project is Collective X, a collective of musicians, producers, artists and poets. Her music for this collective aims to respond to the world it is experienced, particularly through the lens of minority experience and oppression. All of the music for the first album, released in October this year, was written in 24 hours after the EU referendum result was announced. The music is not a response to ‘Brexit’ but to the loss of reason, rise of racism and xenophobia and scapegoating of immigrants in the lead up to the referendum.
Collective X has almost 20 members. The members performing will be Alya Al-Sultani (voice), Cleveland Watkiss (voice), Mark Sanders (drums), Jay Darwish (bass), Dave Ital (guitar), Pat Thomas (keys and electronics) and Robert Menzel (tenor sax).
www.alya.love
KIKAZARU
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge, with tunes emerging from the free improvised mayhem before disintegrating again in an endless search for beauty and chaos. Lucy Forde (flute), Emma Smith (double bass), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Graeme Stephen (guitar/ loops/effects), and Davide L Rinaldi (drums).
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
MAUD THE MOTH
Maud the Moth was founded as the solo project of the singer and pianist Amaya López-C. Hailing from Madrid, and cycling through various line-ups, she now partners up with Paúl González on drums to expand its heartfelt musical universe, which draws on a wide-ranging musical background including jazz, classical, avant garde, soul and even some elements of metal.
maudthemoth.com
RACHAEL COHEN
Rachael Cohen, a London-based alto saxophonist and composer, is one of the jazz worlds brightest stars. Her playing style and skills as a composer and improviser have gained her a great deal of attention in the UK and beyond. London Jazz notes:
“....a considerable compositional and instrumental talent”
Her critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Halftime’ (on Michael Janisch’s Whirlwind Recordings) catapulted Cohen’s reputation to one of the premier new voices of her generation in the UK’s jazz and improvised music scene.
rachaelcohenmusic.com
COLLECTIVE X
Alya Al-Sultani is a singer, composer and producer. Her latest project is Collective X, a collective of musicians, producers, artists and poets. Her music for this collective aims to respond to the world it is experienced, particularly through the lens of minority experience and oppression. All of the music for the first album, released in October this year, was written in 24 hours after the EU referendum result was announced. The music is not a response to ‘Brexit’ but to the loss of reason, rise of racism and xenophobia and scapegoating of immigrants in the lead up to the referendum.
Collective X has almost 20 members. The members performing will be Alya Al-Sultani (voice), Cleveland Watkiss (voice), Mark Sanders (drums), Jay Darwish (bass), Dave Ital (guitar), Pat Thomas (keys and electronics) and Robert Menzel (tenor sax).
www.alya.love
KIKAZARU
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge, with tunes emerging from the free improvised mayhem before disintegrating again in an endless search for beauty and chaos. Lucy Forde (flute), Emma Smith (double bass), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Graeme Stephen (guitar/ loops/effects), and Davide L Rinaldi (drums).
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Bitches Brew #7 - Glasgow Glad Cafe 14.4.17
The first Bitches Brew of 2017 and Glasgow, it's all about you.
For our collective delight we have...
Cliona Cassidy
Cliona Cassidy is an experimental vocalist and member of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Drawing on folk and operatic influences, her improvised sounds are intimate, bombastic, torrential and human.
www.clionacassidy.com
Signy Jakobsdottir
Signy Jakobsdotir is an extraordinary percussionist who regularly collaborates with a broad range of musicians across the folk and jazz music scenes in Scotland and abroad. From Capercaillie to Sharleen Spiteri, John Cage to Moishes Bagel her sensitive approach has kept her in demand. At bitches brew she’ll be performing her own music which combines hand drums, kalimba, and looper.
www.signymusic.com
Kikazaru
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge, with tunes emerging from the free improvised mayhem before disintegrating again in an endless search for beauty and chaos. Lucy Forde (flute), Emma Smith (double bass), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Graeme Stephen (guitar/ loops/effects), and SPECIAL GUEST: Tom Bancroft (drums).
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Bitches Brew #6 - Edinburgh Jazz Bar 10.11.16 & Glasgow Glad Cafe 11.11.16
Bell Lung (Edinburgh only)
Bell Lung weaves layered vocal harmonies and instrumental loops together into a psychedelic soundscape that draws on natural cycles, environmental disaster and microcosmic relationships. Bell
is known for collaborating with poets, kinetic sculptures, artists, dancers and theatre-makers, and has performed in art galleries, museums, buses, ancient ruins, a disused grain silo and a hydroelectric power station across the UK, USA, Spain, Germany
and Italy.
Kate Young (Glasgow only)
Kate explores the combination of voice with her fiddle-playing
whilst applying knowledge of world traditions with her own compositions. She was brought up immersed in the folk music scene in Edinburgh, learning about Scottish traditional music, later going on to graduate from Newcastle University's BMus in Folk and Traditional Music Honors Degree with a First in Voice and Fiddle performance. As part of world-music band, Ethno in Transit, she has toured across Europe and Australia. She enjoys composing for string quartets and has worked with Mr McFall's Chamber and Northern Sinfonia Quartet.
Here her here
Semay Wu and Vanessa Grasse
Semay Wu is a cellist, composer and performance artist. Initially studying at the RNCM, where she played with bands such as Homelife, Mayming and The Earlies, her career expanded towards recordings, improvisation and electronics. Recently, she finished her Masters in Music at the Institute of Sonology, The Hague, where she was researching Gesture, incorporating interactivity through sensors and Maxmsp. Her interests lie in the articulation of gesture, the space/tension it holds, and the intentionality of the movement.
Vanessa is an Italian dance artist based in Leeds. Her work embraces improvisation, cross art-form collaboration and site-specific performance. She is interested in how we experience and practice perception in our daily living with the environment and with others, and how we sense and inhabit a place.
soundcloud.com/semay-wu
Bell Lung weaves layered vocal harmonies and instrumental loops together into a psychedelic soundscape that draws on natural cycles, environmental disaster and microcosmic relationships. Bell
is known for collaborating with poets, kinetic sculptures, artists, dancers and theatre-makers, and has performed in art galleries, museums, buses, ancient ruins, a disused grain silo and a hydroelectric power station across the UK, USA, Spain, Germany
and Italy.
Kate Young (Glasgow only)
Kate explores the combination of voice with her fiddle-playing
whilst applying knowledge of world traditions with her own compositions. She was brought up immersed in the folk music scene in Edinburgh, learning about Scottish traditional music, later going on to graduate from Newcastle University's BMus in Folk and Traditional Music Honors Degree with a First in Voice and Fiddle performance. As part of world-music band, Ethno in Transit, she has toured across Europe and Australia. She enjoys composing for string quartets and has worked with Mr McFall's Chamber and Northern Sinfonia Quartet.
Here her here
Semay Wu and Vanessa Grasse
Semay Wu is a cellist, composer and performance artist. Initially studying at the RNCM, where she played with bands such as Homelife, Mayming and The Earlies, her career expanded towards recordings, improvisation and electronics. Recently, she finished her Masters in Music at the Institute of Sonology, The Hague, where she was researching Gesture, incorporating interactivity through sensors and Maxmsp. Her interests lie in the articulation of gesture, the space/tension it holds, and the intentionality of the movement.
Vanessa is an Italian dance artist based in Leeds. Her work embraces improvisation, cross art-form collaboration and site-specific performance. She is interested in how we experience and practice perception in our daily living with the environment and with others, and how we sense and inhabit a place.
soundcloud.com/semay-wu
Macmaster/Hay
Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay are two brilliant innovators who mix electroharp, atmospheric percussion, organic samples and emotive vocals creating magical, new Scottish music. Their elegant and emotional live show conjures up visions of a beautiful, yet dangerous Scottish landscape.
They’ve released two CD’s and toured extensively throughout Britain, Europe and Australia. Individually they have performed with Sting, The Transatlantic Sessions, The Poozies, Old Blind Dogs, Hidden Orchestra and Mystery Juice.
“This is moody, meaningful new Scottish music” Scotland on Sunday
www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay are two brilliant innovators who mix electroharp, atmospheric percussion, organic samples and emotive vocals creating magical, new Scottish music. Their elegant and emotional live show conjures up visions of a beautiful, yet dangerous Scottish landscape.
They’ve released two CD’s and toured extensively throughout Britain, Europe and Australia. Individually they have performed with Sting, The Transatlantic Sessions, The Poozies, Old Blind Dogs, Hidden Orchestra and Mystery Juice.
“This is moody, meaningful new Scottish music” Scotland on Sunday
www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Bitches Brew - Sound Festival - Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen 28 & 29.10.16 8pm
Specially for Sound Festival we have an extended feature slot each night to fully explore the incredible music of these two stunning guests...
Joanna Nicholson (28th only)
Joanna Nicholson studied clarinet and piano at the junior department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and went on to complete her degree at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was awarded an Exhibition
Scholarship and several prizes. Since graduating in 1992 she has pursued a lively and varied freelance career based in Scotland.
She performs, broadcasts and records with many of the UK’s finest orchestras and ensembles, including recently the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and she has been a soloist at the BBC
Proms in London’s Albert Hall, and with the Scottish Ensemble. Her chamber music involvement includes work with Daniel’s Beard, the Dalmeny Trio, the swing klezmer trio Yiddish Song Project and Red Note Ensemble.
www.electricclarinet.co.uk
Sound Circus (29th only)
Song Circus is a Norwegian chamber ensemble of professional and improvising singers. The ensemble is specializing in the interpretation of contemporary music.
songcircus.no
Joanna Nicholson (28th only)
Joanna Nicholson studied clarinet and piano at the junior department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and went on to complete her degree at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was awarded an Exhibition
Scholarship and several prizes. Since graduating in 1992 she has pursued a lively and varied freelance career based in Scotland.
She performs, broadcasts and records with many of the UK’s finest orchestras and ensembles, including recently the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and she has been a soloist at the BBC
Proms in London’s Albert Hall, and with the Scottish Ensemble. Her chamber music involvement includes work with Daniel’s Beard, the Dalmeny Trio, the swing klezmer trio Yiddish Song Project and Red Note Ensemble.
www.electricclarinet.co.uk
Sound Circus (29th only)
Song Circus is a Norwegian chamber ensemble of professional and improvising singers. The ensemble is specializing in the interpretation of contemporary music.
songcircus.no
Bitches Brew #5: The Party in the Eye of the Storm
The Jazz Festival will be over, and the Fringe will be about to start. Bringing together four acts from four of the furthest-flung corners of the musical globe, Bitches Brew #5 will purge the fatigue of recent weeks and rinse your brains, ready for the yearly onslaught that is known locally as 'August'.
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will kick off the night with performances of new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive. www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Emma Lloyd
Tending to be quiet and intimate in nature, Emma’s performance explores the innate timbral qualities of the violin, discovering some of the often hidden sounds that can be found with her unique combination of technique and tools.
As a performer she works with composers in experimental collaborative projects including works of extreme duration, pieces with highly indeterminate notation, and those involving extended techniques and the design of new interfaces for the control of electronics.
www.emmajanelloyd.com
Inge Thomson
Inge Thomson grew up in Fair Isle, Shetland, officially the most remote community in the UK. The beautiful dramatic landscape of her upbringing can clearly be heard in her music. Songs drawn from the sea and rock come to life through a unique approach to electronic minimalism and her use of found sound. This remarkable musical backdrop coupled with a voice as mesmerising and engulfing as the sea itself lead to a hypnotising, unforgettable live experience.
www.ingethomson.com
Kikazaru
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge to create a tapestry of sound from which tunes emerge and stay long enough to envelope your senses, then disintegrate again into free improvised walls of sound, or clouds of chaos, before the next tune pulls you in a direction you never expected.
Lucy Forde (flute), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Emma Smith (double bass) - classically trained before going renegade; Davide L Rinaldi (drums),Graeme Stephen (guitar/loops/effects)
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will kick off the night with performances of new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive. www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Emma Lloyd
Tending to be quiet and intimate in nature, Emma’s performance explores the innate timbral qualities of the violin, discovering some of the often hidden sounds that can be found with her unique combination of technique and tools.
As a performer she works with composers in experimental collaborative projects including works of extreme duration, pieces with highly indeterminate notation, and those involving extended techniques and the design of new interfaces for the control of electronics.
www.emmajanelloyd.com
Inge Thomson
Inge Thomson grew up in Fair Isle, Shetland, officially the most remote community in the UK. The beautiful dramatic landscape of her upbringing can clearly be heard in her music. Songs drawn from the sea and rock come to life through a unique approach to electronic minimalism and her use of found sound. This remarkable musical backdrop coupled with a voice as mesmerising and engulfing as the sea itself lead to a hypnotising, unforgettable live experience.
www.ingethomson.com
Kikazaru
Like a trip on an ocean liner manned by Terry Gilliam himself, Kikazaru plunges fearlessly into the depths of their collective knowledge to create a tapestry of sound from which tunes emerge and stay long enough to envelope your senses, then disintegrate again into free improvised walls of sound, or clouds of chaos, before the next tune pulls you in a direction you never expected.
Lucy Forde (flute), River of Slime (sampler/loops/effects), Emma Smith (double bass) - classically trained before going renegade; Davide L Rinaldi (drums),Graeme Stephen (guitar/loops/effects)
www.emmasmithbass.com/kikazaru
Bitches Brew at the Glasgow Jazz Festival, Glad Cafe, 23rd June 7.30pm
Marking the launch of Bitches Brew in Glasgow, we have teamed up with the Glasgow Jazz Festival and Glad Cafe to bring another tremendous array of talent. Take a look...
Mairi Campbell
The incredibly talented Mairi Campbell was born and bred in Edinburgh. In 2016 she won 'Instrumentalist of the year' at the Trad music awards. An ancient meets modern vibe, Mairi brings songs
and improvisations on voice and viola and piano. www.mairicampbell.scot
Shiori Usui
Composer and pianist originally from Japan and based in Edinburgh. Many of her compositions are inspired by the sounds of the human body, the deep sea, and many other weird and wonderful organisms living on earth, and they have been performed in many concerts and festivals in the UK and abroad such as BBC Proms. www.shioriusui.com
Leah Gough-Cooper
Leah won an international scholarship in 2005 when she was 16 to attend the world-famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. She has studied with such jazz icons as Jerry Bergonzi, Ran Blake, George Garzone, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, Dave Samuels, Kenwood Dennard and Tiger Okoshi. Leah graduated from Berklee in May 2009 and graduated from the New England Conservatory with a Masters in Jazz Performance in May 2011. She currently leads her own group, Human Equivalent, and participates in various projects in New York, NY. www.leahgoughcooper.com
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive. www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Our nights have been 'Bonkers' and 'Daring'. Come and get your share...
Tickets £10 / £8
Music starts at 8pm
Mairi Campbell
The incredibly talented Mairi Campbell was born and bred in Edinburgh. In 2016 she won 'Instrumentalist of the year' at the Trad music awards. An ancient meets modern vibe, Mairi brings songs
and improvisations on voice and viola and piano. www.mairicampbell.scot
Shiori Usui
Composer and pianist originally from Japan and based in Edinburgh. Many of her compositions are inspired by the sounds of the human body, the deep sea, and many other weird and wonderful organisms living on earth, and they have been performed in many concerts and festivals in the UK and abroad such as BBC Proms. www.shioriusui.com
Leah Gough-Cooper
Leah won an international scholarship in 2005 when she was 16 to attend the world-famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. She has studied with such jazz icons as Jerry Bergonzi, Ran Blake, George Garzone, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, Dave Samuels, Kenwood Dennard and Tiger Okoshi. Leah graduated from Berklee in May 2009 and graduated from the New England Conservatory with a Masters in Jazz Performance in May 2011. She currently leads her own group, Human Equivalent, and participates in various projects in New York, NY. www.leahgoughcooper.com
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive. www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Our nights have been 'Bonkers' and 'Daring'. Come and get your share...
Tickets £10 / £8
Music starts at 8pm
Bitches Brew #4 - 21.4.16 Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, 9pm.
We've a gloriously egalitarian Bitches Brew for you this time round... though as always at Bitches Brew, the ladies are in the driving seat. Check it out:
CLIONA CASSIDY & GEORGE BURT
Cliona Cassidy is an experimental vocalist with vivid folk roots and an operatic edge. George Burt began playing guitar in the rich and diverse Scottish folk and jazz scenes. Since beginning to work together in the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, these two improvisers have played together in a variety of settings. Tonight they combine their talents in a spontaneously composed duet.
DRAWN TO WATER
Una MacGlone (Bass) brings her new band Drawn to Water: four distinctive musicians interested in playing loud but beautiful, New Wave energies, and subverting instrumental hierarchies. With Stuart Brown on Drums, Raymond MacDonald on Saxophone and Jer Reid on Guitar
MAIRI CAMPBELL
The incredibly talented Mairi Campbell was born and bred in Edinburgh. In 2016 she won 'Instrumentalist of the year' at the Trad music awards. An ancient meets modern vibe, Mairi brings songs and improvisations on voice and viola and piano.
www.mairicampbell.scot
SYNTONIC
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
CLIONA CASSIDY & GEORGE BURT
Cliona Cassidy is an experimental vocalist with vivid folk roots and an operatic edge. George Burt began playing guitar in the rich and diverse Scottish folk and jazz scenes. Since beginning to work together in the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, these two improvisers have played together in a variety of settings. Tonight they combine their talents in a spontaneously composed duet.
DRAWN TO WATER
Una MacGlone (Bass) brings her new band Drawn to Water: four distinctive musicians interested in playing loud but beautiful, New Wave energies, and subverting instrumental hierarchies. With Stuart Brown on Drums, Raymond MacDonald on Saxophone and Jer Reid on Guitar
MAIRI CAMPBELL
The incredibly talented Mairi Campbell was born and bred in Edinburgh. In 2016 she won 'Instrumentalist of the year' at the Trad music awards. An ancient meets modern vibe, Mairi brings songs and improvisations on voice and viola and piano.
www.mairicampbell.scot
SYNTONIC
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic
Bitches Brew #3 - 20.1.16 Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, 9pm.
Lifting you out of the winter slumber and chasing away the January blues, the next celebration of cutting edge improvised music will feature -
McKenzie / Bamford / Linson Trio
Free improvising trio fresh from working with Keith Tippett and Marilyn Crispell as part of GIOFest featuring Sue McKenzie (deadpan saxophone rigour), Rick Bamford (tantric drum archery) and Adam Linson (intense, anchoring bass presence).
Amy MacDougall
Gifted young alternative folk singer and composer Amy MacDougall is one of Scotland’s most promising stars. Working as a backing singer to King Creosote Amy records in her own right as Beam. Her work brings together organic and digital elements with vocal loops to create music that is both delicate and mysterious
soundcloud.com/beamthesongs
Shiori Usui
Composer and pianist originally from Japan and based in Edinburgh. Many of her compositions are inspired by the sounds of the human body, the deep sea, and many other weird and wonderful organisms living on earth, and they have been performed in many concerts and festivals in the UK and abroad such as BBC Proms.
shioriusui.com
Syntonic
Kicking into the new year, Syntonic will bring you new music from their winter wanderings down at Red Oktober HQ.
McKenzie / Bamford / Linson Trio
Free improvising trio fresh from working with Keith Tippett and Marilyn Crispell as part of GIOFest featuring Sue McKenzie (deadpan saxophone rigour), Rick Bamford (tantric drum archery) and Adam Linson (intense, anchoring bass presence).
Amy MacDougall
Gifted young alternative folk singer and composer Amy MacDougall is one of Scotland’s most promising stars. Working as a backing singer to King Creosote Amy records in her own right as Beam. Her work brings together organic and digital elements with vocal loops to create music that is both delicate and mysterious
soundcloud.com/beamthesongs
Shiori Usui
Composer and pianist originally from Japan and based in Edinburgh. Many of her compositions are inspired by the sounds of the human body, the deep sea, and many other weird and wonderful organisms living on earth, and they have been performed in many concerts and festivals in the UK and abroad such as BBC Proms.
shioriusui.com
Syntonic
Kicking into the new year, Syntonic will bring you new music from their winter wanderings down at Red Oktober HQ.
Bitches Brew #2 - 7.10.15 Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, 9pm.
Our second foray into the world of cutting edge improvised music will feature -
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic.html
Fiona Rutherford
Although Fiona's background lies mainly in traditional Scottish music, she is interested in a wide variety of styles and really appreciate how these are all so easily accessible in this modern world.
Her interest in composition has grown from a passion for composing new music for the Scottish
Harp, and she continue to be inspired by what is happening with this instrument as it enjoys a
great revival.
Besides this, Fiona has a particular interest in the usage of traditional music within larger music forms. “It is interesting to me that the stylistic features of this music can become the 'accent' of a
new piece even if it is written out with the standard tune formats. I love the fact that traditional
music is so melodic and immediate and for this reason most of my music is very melody-based.”
Kate Young
Kate Young is an experimental singer and fiddle-player. With a grounding in folk and trad music, and using her fiddle-singing techniques as a tool to transcend artistic parameters, Kate constantly seeks new and dynamic ways to collaborate with musicians and artists.
kateyoungmusic.com
Lauren Hayes
Musician and sound artist Lauren Sarah Hayes performs 'tantalising' and physical live electronic music using self-build hybrid instruments. She works with combinations of bespoke software, prepared piano, analogue monosynths, drum machines, and live electronics.
www.laurensarahhayes.com
Syntonic
Your dynamic hosts for the evening's musical merriment will be performing new music from their latest sessions at Red Oktober HQ. Expect relentless grooves, screaming solos and music that will bathe your feet and remind you why you're alive.
www.emmasmithbass.com/syntonic.html
Fiona Rutherford
Although Fiona's background lies mainly in traditional Scottish music, she is interested in a wide variety of styles and really appreciate how these are all so easily accessible in this modern world.
Her interest in composition has grown from a passion for composing new music for the Scottish
Harp, and she continue to be inspired by what is happening with this instrument as it enjoys a
great revival.
Besides this, Fiona has a particular interest in the usage of traditional music within larger music forms. “It is interesting to me that the stylistic features of this music can become the 'accent' of a
new piece even if it is written out with the standard tune formats. I love the fact that traditional
music is so melodic and immediate and for this reason most of my music is very melody-based.”
Kate Young
Kate Young is an experimental singer and fiddle-player. With a grounding in folk and trad music, and using her fiddle-singing techniques as a tool to transcend artistic parameters, Kate constantly seeks new and dynamic ways to collaborate with musicians and artists.
kateyoungmusic.com
Lauren Hayes
Musician and sound artist Lauren Sarah Hayes performs 'tantalising' and physical live electronic music using self-build hybrid instruments. She works with combinations of bespoke software, prepared piano, analogue monosynths, drum machines, and live electronics.
www.laurensarahhayes.com
Speaking to Jez Nelson on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3 about Bitches Brew on 24th August 2015. Photo by Tricia Yourkevich for the BBC
Bitches Brew #1 - 4.6.15 Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, 7pm.
Kicking off the first Bitches Brew we have a line-up close to home, including ma, Syntonic and the insanely talented Kubov.
"KUBOV is a duo of violin and electronics. Incorporating minimalist textures and lush sustains as well as harrowing dissonance and distortion, their music ranges from the esoterically tingly to downright disturbing. Their eclectic sonorities are a result of the hybridisation of electronics and acoustic instrument, with which they explore and combine spaces and places, warping perspective and effecting a sonic escapism."
"KUBOV is a duo of violin and electronics. Incorporating minimalist textures and lush sustains as well as harrowing dissonance and distortion, their music ranges from the esoterically tingly to downright disturbing. Their eclectic sonorities are a result of the hybridisation of electronics and acoustic instrument, with which they explore and combine spaces and places, warping perspective and effecting a sonic escapism."