Upcoming Gigs

Empirical scooped the title of Jazz Ensemble Of The Year last night, as the winners of the 2008 Parliamentary Jazz Awards were announced at the House of Commons in London.

Organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group, the awards are in their fourth year and have always commended the very best that the UK jazz scene has to offer. Empirical add this award to the already long list of accolades they have gained so far, and get ready for a summer of dates both at home and abroad.

NEW ALBUM AND LIVE DATES

One of the country’s most consistently fascinating musicians, Finn Peters embarks on a series of live dates to support the release of his new album Butterflies. The latest outing from the flautist and saxophonist, released on Accidental Records, sees him bringing together the wealth of experience he has accumulated during the course of his career so far to present his best work to date - Butterflies offers an intriguing insight into the mind of a musician at the height of his creative powers.

Monday April 21st @ The Purcell Room
Southbank Centre Belvedere Road London SE1 8XT
Box Office: 0871 663 2500
Tickets: £15

A fantastic double billing from two of the UK's best loved jazz artists showcasing their new albums. Soprano and baritone specialist Tony Kofi has become a respected favourite on the UK scene and abroad with his intelligent and artful saxophone playing, while Anita Wardell continues to endear herself to audiences with her incredible technique and supreme ability to make a song her own.

Tony Kofi - The Silent Truth

Bristol's hottest post-jazz rockers The Blessing topped the album charts on worldwide music download site emusic.com earlier this week with their amazing debut CD on Cake Records, All Is Yes.

London based label, Candid Records have launched a new imprint as a platform for new dynamic bands and artists at the forefront of the British jazz music world. Cake reflects a new A & R strategy and move towards instrumental jazz that is forward thinking with a contemporary edge and includes artists such as The Blessing and The Neil Cowley Trio.

Hedge Seel has now joined Air Media as our new Junior Account Manager!
Hedge's career started when he joined Kerrang magazine on an internship which lead him on to become an Editorial Assistant for Apollo magazine. Shortly after that he became a researcher and music reviewer for the Daily Telegraph Arts and Books with a regular interview column called Cultural Baggage. A stint as a press officer for Zzonked PR plugging urban/ninja tunes/dance material then followed until he found his orange seat in the Air office opposite Joe.

Welcome Hedge!

New York based composer Maria Schneider has netted TWO Grammy nominations for her fantastic 2007 release Sky Blue. This collection of five original tunes showcases Schneider's exquisite arrangements and abilty to command a full orchestra with sensitivity and precision. The album has garnered enthusiatic praise since its release this Autumn, with The Sunday Times saying, "At its best, the music flickers with an aura of rarified beauty", and The Guardian stating in its five star review that "...Maria Schneider sets a standard that few musicians can even think about."

Bristol based post-jazz rockers The Blessing play an amazing free gig at the Southbank Centre’s Ballroom on Friday 21st December at 6pm. Formed by drummer Clive Deamer and bassist Jim Barr of ‘90s trip-hop superstars Portishead, The Blessing are storming onto the new jazz scene, taking riffs and rhythms from rock and dance music and artfully welding them onto fearsomely inventive improvisation.

It is with great sadness that we have to announce of the tragic death of South African reggae legend and star of the Gallo Record Company Lucky Dube, who was murdered on the night of 18th October at around 8:20pm in what local authorities currently believe was a failed hijacking attempt. Dube was driving with his two teenage children in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, when he was attacked by three men who later fled the scene. Mercifully, Dube's children were unhurt.

"That's Kaki King. She's an amazing guitarist... She makes Eddie Van Halen look like he was in The Germs!" Dave Grohl in an interview with MOJO

Over the last few years, Kaki King has enjoyed well-earned status as the zeit-girl of instrumentalacoustic guitar; a gifted young ingenue closing rank on the canonized heroes of the genre. A case in point – she was one of only 20 guitarists named as Rolling Stone’s ‘New Gods of Guitar’.