Alive
JASPER HØIBY double bass
IVO NEAME piano
MARK GUILIANA drums
Cat No: EDN1021
UK Release Date: OUT NOW
ALBUM OF THE YEAR IN JAZZWISE AND MOJO
REVIEWS FOR ALIVE:
“Alive sounds like one of the hot UK jazz-album contenders of 2010″ GUARDIAN ****
“The sort of album that should get bigger jazz names quaking in their boots.” BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
“Look out for Phronesis – they might change your life!” BBC RADIO 3 ‘In TUNE’
“Alive is about as exciting as it can get without actually seeing this band live and in the flesh” JAZZWISE ****
“…the most electrifying experience to be had in British jazz” TELEGRAPH
“This scorching live set fizzes with a post-EST/Avishai Cohen-style energy, replete with sunny Mediterranean Brazilian flourishes and depth-charge basslines.” TIMEOUT ****
“a spirited and dramatic three-way musical conversation”. YORK PRESS
“Characterized by intense, bass-driven grooves in odd time signatures, lyrical melodies, and fantastic interplay, this album shows Høiby’s flair as a composer, whilst framing the pure strength of the performers as contemporary improvisers.”
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“The most exciting and imaginative piano trio since EST” Jon Newey (Editor of Jazzwise)
Phronesis have the ability to excite, inspire and move people in a way that few bands are able to do. Since the release of their second album Green Delay in 2009, Phronesis, led by Danish double-bassist Jasper Høiby, have captured the hearts and minds of British audiences and have developed a fierce reputation as one of the most formidable trios in the UK. With a recent acclaimed performance at Banlieues Bleues Festival in Paris behind them and their first appearance at the North Sea Jazz Festival just ahead, Phronesis release their third album ‘Alive’ (their first on Edition Records), which not only confirms their reputation but looks set to escalate them to the forefront of the European contemporary jazz scene.
Recorded over two nights at the Forge Arts Venue in London, ‘Alive’ beautifully captures the exhilarating shared adventure of Phronesis’ live performances. In Høiby’s words, ‘This is what I love about playing live, there’s a real edge and freshness that excites me’.
Flawless in execution, and driven by some of the most infectious and compelling music written in recent years, ‘Alive’ demonstrates an openness that is not always achievable in a studio setting. It is this telepathic empathy between the players and their collective desire to take the music in new directions that prompted Jon Newey (Editor of Jazzwise Magazine), to describe them in live performance as “the most exciting and imaginative piano trio since EST”.
Joining Høiby are two highly original and imaginative musicians. Ivo Neame has already demonstrated his ability as a pianist, bandleader and composer on his own highly acclaimed release ‘Caught in the Light of Day’. With Phronesis he excels, adding extraordinarily lyrical and expansive melodies over the rhythmically complex, groove-driven bass lines. Høiby turned the unavoidable circumstances which led to his regular drummer Anton Eger being unable to perform on the Forge dates, into a positive, by inviting USA drummer Mark Guiliana (Avishai Cohen/Meshell Ndegeocello) to record with the trio. As Høiby explains, ‘I knew that if any other drummer in the world would be able to add this mixture of raw explosive energy and at the same time ultra-controlled finesse, it would be Mark. He’s an expert in trio interplay with a voice that is unmistakably his own’.
With ‘Alive’, Phronesis have created a recording that is sure to stand the test of time – a sheer masterclass in the art of communication and creativity.
2011 UK tour dates:
(With support from Jazz Services Ltd, and Arts Council England)
12th Feb – Sherborne Jazz Club, Dorset
13th Feb – St Lawrence Chapel, Ashburton, Devon
14th Feb – North Devon Jazz Club, Appledore, North Devon
15th Feb – St Ives Jazz Club, Cornwall
17th Feb – St Austell Brewery, Cornwall
18th Feb – Brighton Jazz Club, East Sussex
8th March – Band on the Wall, Manchester
11th March – Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria
12th March – The Vortex, London
24th March – Bonington Theatre, Nottingham
25th March – The Southbank Centre, London
31st March – Watermill Jazz Club, Dorking, Surrey
1st April – The Fleece, Colchester, Essex
2nd April – The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, Shropshire
