Wednesday 2 February 2022, 8pm
'A More Attractive Way of Getting Things Done'
British bassist, improviser, composer and label founder Simon H Fell died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 61 from cancer in June 2020. It sent shock waves and great sorrow through a large community of musicians and others who had, in their own ways, been touched by his incredible generosity of spirit, passion and sheer joy at the prospect of making music.
Originally scheduled to take place a year ago these 2 nights are a way of saying thank you and farewell to a great friend and colleague, and to give back, give out and celebrate some of his joy and generosity.
NIGHT 2: Large Ensemble
In his lifelong exploration of the intersection between composition and improvisation, Simon was always attracted both to the potential of large ensembles and the opportunity to radically recast and recontextualise compositions (his own earlier works and those of his favourite composers). As well as writing a series of pieces for LIO (the London Improvisers Orchestra), Fell also undertook a number of spontaneous "conductions" (conducted improvisations) with them; and later on, when his large ensemble composition "Positions And Descriptions" was performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Simon brought in Steve Beresford to employ similar conduction techniques in dialogue with the work's more fixed elements.
On this night, a wide variety of Simon's closest musical collaborators will come together in a series of large ensembles to perform compositions, improvisations and conductions drawing both from Simon's LIO compositions and his early works for jazz ensemble.
So far confirmed for this night:
Alan Wilkinson, Alex Ward, Mark Wastell, Richard Comte, Mark Sanders, Jo Fell, Sarah Gail Brand, Rachel Musson, Steve Beresford…..more names to be confirmed nearer to the night….
The evening will begin with a duo performance from Steve Noble (drums) and Simon Rose (baritone saxophone).