Stephen Davis / drums, composition
Alexander Hawkins / piano
Michael Formanek / bass
Angelika Niescier / alto sax
Tom Challenger / tenor sax

Belfast-based drummer and improvisor Stephen Davis is one of the most sought-after musicians and collaborators working today. He is a member of Anthony Braxton’s ‘The New Standard’ and the Alexander Hawkins Trio, and has worked with Marc Ribot, Evan Parker, Kris Davis, Paul Dunmall, Django Bates, and Van Morrison to name but a few. Davis made his name in the improvising trio Bourne, Davis, Kane, whose debut album Lost Something (Edition Records, 2008) prompted The Guardian's John Fordham to acknowledge the trio's "world class status."

His new project arrived in the form of ‘Gleaming World Unit’, marking a new chapter for Davis, and a first international label release (577 Records, New York City). With a title drawing on sentiments from a letter written by Seamus Heaney, he was inspired by time spent in the Wicklow mountains, being submerged in forests for often hours at a time.

Being surrounded by offerings of the compositional power of the landscape led to a brand-new approach to tune-writing, where improvisation and composition are purposefully blurred, inviting the listener to make their own assessment. Ghosts, forests, old photographs and conversations with elders all fed into a novel sound blending elements of free jazz, punk, contemporary classical, electronics, and art-music.

“this is a vital, frequently thrilling calling card from an explosive quintet, whose leader serves compelling notice of his credentials as a composer and bandleader of some distinction.” – All About Jazz

The star-studded ensemble for this run of shows across Dublin, Belfast, and London features Davis lining up alongside renowned pianist Alexander Hawkins, a tour-de-force horn duo with alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier and tenor saxophonist Tom Challenger, and to top it off, these shows are a first venture with double bassist Michael Formanek. A lineup which, aside from Formanek on bass, took its explosive live bow at Moving on Music’s Brilliant Corners jazz festival in Belfast in 2024. The next step for Gleaming World Unit is to present the show across Europe to new audiences, and this tour will be a taste of that.

Each of the album’s eight compositions dances with listeners through a range of emotions and vibes, from playful flirtation to thought-provoking auditory art, wildly bold expressions of that feeling called freedom, some sultry seductions, and beyond. (577 Records). This is a project that inspires you to move through its relentless grooves and melody, and dig into heavier, chunkier, bordering-on-hip-hop approach to percussion. Perhaps best viewed in its dynamic live format, this is all accentuated to another level, revealing more of Davis et al’s creative exploration.

The music was commissioned by Moving on Music with support from Arts Council of Northern Ireland.