After the gigs were cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the “Shape of Jazz to Come” series will re-start with the duo of Laura Jurd and Elliot Galvin. Their performance which was recorded at the Vortex Jazz Club will be streamed on Thursday 8 April, at 8pm. The link for tickets is below.
The Text of the Vortex’s Press Release is as follows:
“Laura Jurd and Elliot Galvin have been making music together for over a decade, most notably as one half of the Mercury nominated band Dinosaur. Tonight they will be playing a set of original music written by both of them, in a rare duo setting.
Together they form a formidable creative duo each bringing their own musical personality to both their compositions and playing. Both share a common in a background in classical music as well as jazz and are in their own element whether the work is composed or freely improvised.
The Shape of Jazz to Come Series of performances was set up in 2018 with the Dave Holland – Evan Parker Fund and hosted by the Vortex Jazz Club to support emerging talent as well as innovation and quality in jazz.
Laura Jurd is a trumpeter, composer and improvisor. She leads the Mercury-nominated band Dinosaur whose latest album To the Earth (2020) (Edition Records), was received with
much critical acclaim.
Simply stupendous…a glorious, shifting collage of sound – BBC Music Magazine
At the vanguard of this new generation a Hampshire native who has been composing since she could walk. – Evening Standard
Leader / composer Jurd with her band of co-virtuosos have now pulled off what might be considered a masterpiece. – All About Jazz
…beautifully played and effortlessly confident collage of contemporary styles… – The Guardian
Jurd is the recipient of multiple awards including the BBC New Generation Artist (2015 – 2017) and an Ivor Novello Composer’s Award 2019. She has composed pieces for the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Proms, the Northern Sinfonia as well as the National Youth Orchestra.
Elliott Galvin is a pianist, composer and electronic instrumentalist. He has composed for various ensembles and performance groups, working regularly with multi-media projects that incorporate live performance, interactive sound sculptures and film. He has received critical acclaim for his four of his trio albums which includes The Influencing Machine and Modern Times, as well as an improvised duo album with Binker Golding.
“He reminds me of the young Django Bates, great improv chops, strong character as a player and a composer, evident love of the jazz tradition without wanting to repeat the past. He’s the kind of artist you always want to stay tuned in to, because you know he’s going to keep on coming up with surprises. – John Fordham, Guardian. (PRESS RELEASE TEXT ENDS)
In the interview for the Vortex Jazz Club on the video below, Laura commented saying that, ‘Something worth mentioning is that, sometimes as a composer it can get get quite lonely. You don’t have much in terms of feedback in the process of composing after you leave school, college or any kind of education. When I’ve done some writing or come up with an idea I’m always asking Elliot if he’d have a listen to it to see what he thinks, it’s nice to have a sounding board for ideas’. This collaborative spirit is also present within their band Dinosaur as Elliot noted that, ‘We’ve all grown as musicians‘.
