Misfit City

Gregarious loop bassist Steve Lawson has announced (at pretty short notice) three gigs in England over the coming week. As ever, they’ll be a tuneful/melodic/noisy hybrid of jazz, pop, electronic and ambient influences squeezed through Steve’s battery of sound treatments, and salted by the usual mixture of stand-up comedy, general gabby friendliness and opinionation; the last of which isn’t a word, but is a pretty good definition of what Steve does when he’s not playing, and sometimes when he is playing. At a Lawson gig you get the whole brand, and then some. You can take your family; you can take your friends; you can take a donkey whose legs are in need of a bit of honing…

Steve Lawson + Echo Engine + others (SoundCellar @ The Blue Boar, 29 Market Close, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1NE, UK, Thursday June 25th – 8.30pm, £8.50 )

This is the one which counts as a full gig – a solo Steve Lawson set, after which he’ll be joined by the Echo Engine trio (Daniel Biro on keyboards, ) plus ex Bjork/D’Influence drummer Pascal Consoli and the ECM-inspired saxophonist Jon Lloyd. Up-to-date info is here and here, and you can reserve your ticket via email here.

Scott Pellegrom + Andy Edwards + Adam Gammage (Birmingham Dream Cymbals Day @ Glee Club, Birmingham, B5 4TD, UK – Sunday June 28th, 6.00pm – £10.00/£15.00)

This is actually a drum clinic appearance, at which Steve will be playing with drummer and regular collaborator Andy Edwards. Up-to-date info is here and tickets are here. Also performing are Adam Gammage (Baxter Dury band) and Scott Pellegrom.

Ian Smith’s 50th Birthday Event @ The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London, N16 8AZ, UK, Monday June 29th, 6.00pm – £13.20

Steve will be performing at this expansive celebratory gig for London Improvisers Orchestra founder Ian Smith – an event so substantial that it needs its own section further down this post. Steve will be playing in the 10pm slot alongside drummer Jason Cooper and guitarist Reeves Gabrels (both currently members of The Cure). Tickets here: more on the event in a moment.

As usual, Steve has plenty of other things going on, not least an appearance at The One Dayer: Independent Music, Money & Tech conference at Cecil Sharp House in London on July 1st, where (as a longstanding advocate of independent artist-run music careers) he’ll be one of the speakers. He’s also planning further collaborations with loop vocalist/beatboxer Beardyman (having previously played with him in a “dream team” improvising quartet alongside drummer Andy Gangadeen and guitar journeyman Gary Lucas), with fellow bass guitarists Divinity Roxx and Jonas Hellborg (the latter for an October tour) and with Jon Thorne’s semi-experimental Sunshine Brothers trio (for an August appearance at the Manchester Jazz Festival. If you want to read about what he did earlier in his career, here are links to the ‘Misfit City’ archive reviews of ‘And Nothing But The Bass‘, ‘Not Dancing For Chicken‘, ‘Conversations‘ and the first in the ‘Lessons Learned From An Ancient Feline‘ series, early steps on a path of explorations and musical hook-ups.

*****

And now, some more on the Ian Smith birthday event at the Vortex at the end of the month, which sees a remarkable lineup of British jazz players and other improvisers swarm into Dalston to pay tribute to one of their own living heroes. (Hopefully the timings I’ve cited here are right, as the layouts in the original postings are a little confusing…)

Ian Smith’s 50th Birthday Event @ The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London, N16 8AZ, UK, Monday June 29th, 6.00pm – £13.20

Ian MacGowan (aka Smith) arrived in London in 1990 from Dublin with two phone numbers in his hand: John Stevens and Derek Bailey. Those were the only two numbers he wanted at the time, but as the months went on he got to know and play with many amazing musicians – he founded The Gathering with Maggie Nichols, and the London Improvisers Orchestra with Steve Beresford and Evan Parker. He ended up playing and recording with John and Derek, and plays with anybody who wants to start from nothing. Most of tonight’s cast are old friends; some new; all are beautifully personal voices. He’ll be playing with most of them.

In the Square, 6.00pm:
Henry Lowther, Byron Wallen – trumpets
Julian Faultless – french horn
Alan Tomlinson, Sarah Gail Brand, Ed Lucas – trombones
Oren Marshall, Dave Powell – tubas
Steve Beresford – occasional conductor

In the Vortex downstairs, 7.00pm:
Pete McPhail – alto sax
Tom Wheatley – bass
Steve Noble – drums

In the Vortex upstairs, 8.00pm
B. J. Cole – pedal steel
Ansuman Biswas – percussion

In the Vortex upstairs, 9.00pm:
Rowland Sutherland – flutes
Marcio Mattos – bass

In the Vortex upstairs, 9.30pm:
Sibyl Madrigal – poetry

In the Vortex upstairs, 10.00pm:
Reeves Gabrels – guitar
Steve Lawson – bass guitar
Jason Cooper – drums

and more special guests to be confirmed.

Tickets here.

Tags: Adam Gammage, Alan Tomlinson, Andy Edwards, Andy Gangadeen, Ansuman Biswas, B. J. Cole, bass guitar music, Beardyman, Birmingham (England), Byron Wallen, Daniel Biro, Dave Powell, Divinity Roxx, Echo Engine, Ed Lucas, Gary Lucas, Henry Lowther, Ian Smith, Jason Cooper, Jon Lloyd, Jonas Hellborg, Julian Faultless, live concerts, London (England), London Improvisers Orchestra, Marcio Mattos, Oren Marshall, Pascal Consoli, Pete McPhail, Reeves Gabrels, Rowland Sutherland, Sarah Gail Brand, Scott Pellegrom, Sibyl Madrigal, SoundCellar (event), Steve Beresford, Steve Lawson, Steve Noble, The Cure, Tom Wheatley