Troyka
“Ones to watch for 2009″ Jazzwise
“Troyka are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with; like King Crimson for the iPod generation”. Time Out
“On the strength of their powerful live shows, Troyka are widely tipped to create the kind of interest that Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear made when they first arrived on the London scene”. Observer Music Monthly ****
Chris Montague – guitars
Kit Downes – organ
Joshua Blackmore – drums
Troyka are Chris Montague (guitars and loops), Joshua Blackmore (drums) and Kit Downes (organ), three young musicians based in London whose intense live shows have seen them hotly tipped to follow in the foot steps of Polar Bear & Portico Quartet & become the next young band to explode from the capital’s fertile jazz scene.
A multi-textured trio with a febrile imagination where no role is pre-defined, their music twists and mutates in an ongoing dialogue inspired by a shared love of Aphex Twin, the angular world of iconclastic New York saxophonist Tim Berne and the blues-jazz-rock groove of legendary Steely Dan and Billy Cobham guitarist Wayne Krantz.
Review:
“Vortex Double Bill Showcases Hard Edged New Bands”
“Trio VD and Troyka, part of a burgeoning wave of new Brit jazz-rock bands emerging on the twenty-something UK jazz scene shared a double bill at the Vortex last night…. acknowledging the influence of NYC improv jazz-rock guitar master Wayne Krantz, Troyka combines biting angular melodies with fractured rhythmic figures that once again blur the line between the composed and the improvised.. it was he (Chris Montague) who combined stunning technique tempered by a masterful sense of melody and the guitar’s multiple tonalities. With several emerging jazz rock and fusion bands bubbling under on both the London and Leeds jazz scenes expect further sightings of Marshall amps in jazz clubs near you”. Mike Flynn (Timeout / Jazzwise)
Influences:
Tim Berne, Wayne Krantz, Heernt, Wayne Shorter, Aphex Twin, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Keith Jarrett
- Promotion for Troyka release / Touring
- Check out August issue of Jazzwise which will feature on Troyka
Troyka – Live at Derby Jazz
Live at the Yardbird Jazz Club in Birmingham
