Charlotte Keeffe – trumpet
Will Glaser – Drums
Moss Freed – guitar
Ashley John Long – double bass
Charlotte Keeffe’s unique approach and passion for jazz, experimental and freely improvised music sees her performing regularly as a soloist and as part of a variety of different ensembles, including her own Quartet. (The) Charlotte Keeffe Quartet performed a sellout performance at Lancaster Jazz Festival in 2019 and their live recording from Jazz in the Round has been played regularly on radio stations across the UK and internationally.
Her Quartet features Ashley John Long on double bass, Ben Handysides on drums, Moss Freed on guitar and herself on trumpet and flugelhorn; they explore merging together Charlotte’s more composed music with freely improvising. (The) Charlotte Keeffe Quartet can be heard on Discus Music’s Right Here, Right Now (summer 2021) release, alongside a selection of her improvised works for solo, duo and large ensembles.
‘Fresh on the scene, trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe is a whirlwind of extended techniques and tactile puzzles, removing the mouthpiece to elicit a windy howl, using her left hand as a mute in the bell of the horn and revelling in restless possibilities.’
– Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise Magazine
(Photograph by Nick Brittain)
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Shirley Smart – cello
James Arben – tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute
James and Shirley met whilst working with Ethiopian vibes master Mulatu Astatke, and quickly discovered a shared interest in the possibilities of free improvisation that drew on their common interests and aesthetic, as well as musical dialogue and interaction in a free setting. They’ll be performing in the lovely Barn at St John’s College.
Shirley is recognised as one of the UK’s most versatile and creative cellists – being equally at home and well versed in jazz and Middle Eastern music, as well as classical music. She has worked with many leading jazz and world music groups, including Antonio Forcione, Mulato Astatke, Gilad Atzmon, Neil Cowley, Julian Ferraretto, Robert Mitchell, and Alice Zawadzki. James is a multi-instrumentalistand and a versatile creative musician. He’s performed with a vast array of artists, including Alexander Hawkins, Seb Rochford, producer Tony Visconti, St Etienne, Robert Plant, and The Hackney Colliery Band.