Michael Fletcher (born 1982) [1] is a British woodwind multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and researcher who works in the fields of jazz and improvised music.
In 2023, the Mike Fletcher Jazz Orchestra (MFJO) performed Picasso(s):Interactions, a large-ensemble adaptation of Fletcher's solo saxophone piece, at Victor Villegas Auditorium in Murcia, Spain. [1] [2]
He is a research fellow at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham. [3]
Fletcher was born in Birmingham. [1]
Eric Alexander is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator. Having placed second at the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition behind Joshua Redman and ahead of Chris Potter and Tim Warfield, he was soon signed by a record label and has since recorded over 20 albums as a leader and over 300 as a sideman.
Soweto Kinch is a British jazz saxophonist and rapper.
Liane Carroll is an English vocalist, pianist and keyboardist.
Mark Lockheart is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s.
The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and relatively stable bands: the First Great Quintet from 1955 to 1958, and the Second Great Quintet from late 1964 to early 1969, Davis being the only constant throughout.
TG Collective are an eclectic British-based ensemble, evolving from the successful acoustic guitar trio, Trio Gitano, in 2006. The TG Collective are based in Birmingham, England. Their sound draws on many influences, in particular Flamenco, Gypsy Jazz, Jazz and contemporary Classical music, with interchanging shapes and sizes of ensemble within a performance. The group is centered on two guitarists, set alongside a core of double bass, flute and violin and percussion, whilst also featuring flamenco dance in some performances.
Scott Colley is an American jazz double bassist and composer. As of 2024, he has been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Guided Tour in 2014 and Still Dreaming in 2019. Throughout his career, he has toured, recorded, and played with musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall, Carmen McRae, Chris Potter, Julian Lage, Brian Blade, and Pat Metheny.
Forest Floor is the third studio album by Scottish jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie, released on 8 April 2022 by Edition Records. The album was recorded 6–8 July 2021 by McCreadie, bassist David Bowden, and drummer Stephen Henderson. It was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the Scottish Album of the Year Award. The lead single "Law Hill" was released 28 March.
Andre Canniere is an American trumpet player and composer. He is based in London, England, where he's lived since 2008. Canniere has toured throughout the United States and Europe, performing at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, the London Jazz Festival, the Hague Jazz Festival and the Rochester International Jazz Festival, among others.
Where Do You Start is an album by the Brad Mehldau Trio released on the Nonesuch label in 2012.
Maciek Pysz is a jazz musician, guitarist and composer. He is known for his clear lyrical phrasing, his virtuosity and his imaginative, cinematic compositions inspired by people, places and experiences.
Bex Burch's Vula Viel is a jazz group from London, playing music based on the sound of the gyil, a wooden xylophone from West Africa, fused with elements of electronica and minimal music. The group was formed by Bex Burch, a musician from Yorkshire. Burch trained in percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was introduced to the minimalist music of Steve Reich, and then spent three years with the Dagaaba people of the Upper West Region of Ghana. There she learned music and xylophone making as the apprentice of a master xylophonist Thomas Sekgura before returning to the United Kingdom and forming Vula Viel. The name Vula Viel was given to Burch on the completion of her apprenticeship, and means "Good is Good" in the Dagaaba language, Dagaare.
Without Deception is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist Kenny Barron. The album was released on 6 March 2020 by Dare2, Holland's own label. The album was recorded in Mount Vernon, New York, and consists of 10 compositions, including the Thelonious Monk's rarity "Worry Later".
"Countdown" is a hardbop jazz standard composed by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane that was first featured on his fifth studio album, Giant Steps, in 1960. The song is a contrafact of Miles Davis's "Tune Up", which is reharmonized to the Coltrane changes. The original recording has been described as having "resolute intensity. .. [that] does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers".
Fergus McCreadie is a Scottish jazz pianist and composer based in Glasgow. His style revolves around a fusion of contemporary jazz with Scottish folk music. He has released four albums as leader of a piano trio and one solo EP to date. His third album, Forest Floor, was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize, and won the Scottish Album of the Year Award and the Scottish Jazz Award for Best Album.
Olie Brice is a British double bassist, improviser and composer. He is bandleader of the Olie Brice Quintet, the Olie Brice Trio, and the Olie Brice Octet. Brice has been part of the Nick Malcolm Quartet, Mike Fletcher Trio, Alex Ward Quintet, Paul Dunmall Brass Project, Loz Speyer's Inner Space, as well as collaborated with Dee Byrne, Tobias Delius, and Binker Golding.
Dee Byrne is a British saxophonist, composer and improviser working in contemporary jazz, avant-garde and free improvisation. She lives in London.
Loz Speyer is a trumpet and flugelhorn player, composer and bandleader. His free jazz quintet Inner Space, and his fusion of Cuban music and jazz 6-piece Time Zone, have both been running since 2002.
Nick Malcolm is a trumpeter, improviser and composer. He is bandleader of the Nick Malcolm Quartet, playing jazz–free improvisation.
Alex Ward is a British clarinetist, guitarist and composer. He lives in London.