Polar Bear
Held on the Tips of Fingers
BDV 2552

SHORTLISTED FOR NATIONWIDE MERCURY PRIZE 2005
Observer Music Monthly no.12 CD of 2005
BBC Jazz Award nomination 2006

One of 100 jazz albums that shook the world (Jazzwise, 2006)

Tracklisting
Was Dreaming You Called You Disappeared I Slept
Beartown mp3
Fluffy (I Want You) mp3
To Touch the Red Brick
Held on the Tips of Fingers mp3
Argumentative
The King of Aberdeen
Your Eyes the Sea
Life That Ends Too Soon

What The Press Say…

"This is not nu jazz, acid jazz, Jamie jazz, Parky jazz, Brit jazz, beardo jazz, post-jazz or twee jazz. It's dream jazz." Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly

"The big-hitters of the current new wave" Phil Johnson, Independent On Sunday - ABC

"Polar Bear blast out of the past, full of straight, cool school skills, and detonate the past, bursting with edgy, forward-looking lust." Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly "

[The album] explores a mix of trance-like, long-note music over eerie, hypnotic grooves, full-on electronics and free-improv, melancholic songs, punky thrashes and some of the best two-sax conversation to be heard on the current scene." John Fordham, The Guardian

"Polar Bear… snort, shriek and wrestle somewhere ominous and charming between the tumultuous energy of Keith Tippett's 50-piece orchestra Centipede, and the eclecticism of Tortoise" Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly

"Castanet-like handclaps trigger long, guttural sax lines; electronics fly across the speakers and give way to free-blasting; and odd, pogo-dancing themes over bumpy drumming sound like punk interpretations of Parisian café music." John Fordham, The Guardian

"…a highly creative successor to the equally distinctive Dim Lit" John Fordham, The Guardian "Here's something worth your time. Polar Bear are a significant ripple in the new wave of youthful, ahem, post-jazz". Nick Coleman, Independent On Sunday - ABC

Read reviews: Paul Morley/ Guardian / Independent / Telegraph / Times/ Straight No Chaser

'Held on The Tips Of Fingers' is fast becoming a classic UK jazz album, even though only released in 2005. It was selected by Jazzwise magazine as one of 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World, placing together with iconic albums such as Kind Of Blue and Keith Jarrett's Cologne Concert.

The band who have earned a reputation as one of the most creative acts on the UK music scene. Polar Bear's raw-boned, dramatic music mixes jazz with an electronic soundscape and a punk sensibility, underpinned by break-beat and rock rhythms. Combined with their compelling contrapuntal melodies and driving energy it's a sound that has already won them critical acclaim and a devoted audience. On this album, electronic artist Leafcutter John further expands the realms of their sonic world.

Held On The Tips Of Fingers includes nine original compositions by drummer and bandleader Sebastian Rochford, who is as likely to listen to Bjork, Devendra Banhart, Beethoven and Pig Destroyer as he is to Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

Alongside Sebastian Rochford, Polar Bear is Pete Wareham (tenor sax), Leafcutter John (electronics), Mark Lockheart (tenor sax) and Tom Herbert (bass). Held On The Tips Of Fingers features guest performances from Jonny Philips (guitar), Ingrid Laubrook (sax), Joe Bentley (trombone), Emma Smith (violin) and Hannah Marshall (cello).

Sebastian Rochford won the 'Rising Star' award at the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards. He also leads Fulborn Teversham and is a member of Acoustic Ladyland and alt-rock band Menlo Park.