Ben Davis is a cellist from the United Kingdom known for his improvisation. His group Basquiat Strings was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2007. He is a member of the F-IRE Collective.
His group, Basquiat Strings, originated as a standard string quartet (two violins, a viola and a cello). Only later did cellist Davis decide to add double bass and drums "to strengthen the rhythmic accompaniment". [1] Basquiat Strings were nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize. The band performed an Electric Prom in 2008 featuring NY sax player Elery Eskerlin.
Ben Davis studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later at the Banff School of Fine Arts with Dave Holland.
He has since pursued a varied musical career encompassing classical, world, early music, jazz and experimental. He has performed with Ingrid Laubrock, Bobby McFerrin, Mary Halvorson, Simon Nabatov, Wadada Leo Smith, Tom Rainey, Tomeka Reid, Vincent Courtois, Django Bates, Chris Biscoe, Liam Noble, Stuart Hall, Hassan Erraji, Mulatu Astatke, Joglaresa, The Dufay Collective, Evan Parker, Christine Tobin, Steve Buckley, Huw Warren, Jason Yarde, Julian Joseph, and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Ben moved to the Chicago USA in 2016 where he formed a trio with guitarist Sam Mosching and drummer Steve Hunt and a duo with guitarist Matt Gold.
Alongside the jazz and the classical influences, there are also folk elements including Macedonian tapan rhythms and Hungarian processional marches.
Sebastian Rochford is a British drummer and composer. He has recorded and released music as leader of the British band Polar Bear, as Kutcha Butcha and as part of numerous collaborations.
F-IRE Collective is a creative music community founded by Barak Schmool. It has been described as the UK's leading and perhaps most influential modern jazz group. The Collective also has a record label.
Tom Rainey is an American jazz drummer.
Ingrid Laubrock is a German jazz saxophonist, who primarily plays tenor saxophone but also performs and records on soprano, alto, and baritone saxophones.
Basquiat Strings is a British chamber jazz quintet led by the cellist Ben Davis, who composes all the music. It features an innovative line-up which hybridises the classical string quartet with the jazz rhythm section.
Jonny Phillips is an English jazz guitarist and composer. He played the violin and studied theory from the age of five, however he swapped to guitar at fifteen to study jazz, Brazilian and African music. After his studies at Newcastle College of Music, Phillips moved to London where he set up his group Oriole, with whom he has released three albums on the F-IRE Collective label. Oriole is perhaps one of the few groups to feature two Mercury nominated artists: Ben Davis on cello and Seb Rochford on drums. Phillips is now based in South London after three and a half years living in Andalusia, Spain.
Oriole are a London-based band fusing lyrical world music with jazz spontaneity, who create an aural form of Magical Realism. Oriole's members consist of many of the most well established figures in the new British Jazz scene and are perhaps one of the few groups to feature two Mercury nominated artists: Ben Davis on cello and Seb Rochford on drums. They have also released two albums on the F-IRE Collective label. The music of Oriole is composed by prolific guitarist Jonny Phillips (musician).
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme was launched in 1999 by Adam Gatehouse as part of the BBC's commitment to young musical talent.
Polar Bear is the third album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band, Polar Bear.
Held on the Tips of Fingers is the second album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear.
Paradoxical Frog is the eponymous debut album by a collective trio consisting of Kris Davis on piano, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor sax and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. It was recorded in 2009 and released on the Portuguese Clean Feed label.
Union is the second album by Paradoxical Frog, a collective trio consisting of pianist Kris Davis, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. It was recorded in 2011 and released on the Portuguese Clean Feed label.
Sleepthief is the eponymous debut album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock's free improvisation trio with British pianist Liam Noble and American drummer Tom Rainey. It was recorded in 2007 and released on the Swiss Intakt label. Laubrock and Noble played together since 2005 and recorded the duo Let's Call This.... While Rainey was visiting the UK they decided to get together and Sleepthief was born.
The Madness of Crowds is the second album by Sleepthief, a free improvisation trio led by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock with British pianist Liam Noble and American drummer Tom Rainey. It was recorded in 2010 and released by Intakt Records. The song titles as well as the album's title are taken from the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Scottish writer Charles Mackay.
Anti-House is the eponymous debut album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock's band with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist John Hébert, drummer Tom Rainey and pianist Kris Davis, credited as a guest on about half the pieces. It was recorded in 2010 and released on the Swiss Intakt label. In the summer of 2008 Laubrock relocated from London to New York, where she participated in the collective trio Paradoxical Frog, but this was her first recording as leader in the U.S.
Haste is the eponymous debut album by the free improvisation trio consisting of British pianist Veryan Weston, German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and British cellist Hannah Marshall. It was recorded live in 2011 during the XV Festival Internacional de Improvisacion Hurta Cordel in Barcelona and released on the British Emanem label.
Forensic is an album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, which was recorded in 2003 and released on the British F-IRE label, a musician-run company associated to the F-IRE Collective.
Zurich Concert is an album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, which was recorded live in 2011 at the Rote Fabrik in Zürich and released on the Swiss Intakt label.
Roulette of the Cradle is an album by German jazz saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, which was recorded in 2014 and released on the Swiss Intakt label. It was the third recording by her Anti-House quintet, the first band that she formed on her relocation to New York with guitarist Mary Halvorson, pianist Kris Davis, bassist John Hébert and drummer Tom Rainey. They are joined by clarinetist Oscar Noriega on two tracks.
Hannah Marshall is a British experimental and free improvising musician and composer.