Arthurs/Mckinnon/Sorbara
Squash Recipe
BDV 2560
- Overwrought (Tom Arthurs) mp3
- Ek-clesiastical (Bruce McKinnon)
- The Floorboard Variations (Joe Sorbara)
- Exercise #15 (Johannes Brahms) mp3
- Touched (Tom Arthurs)
- Banffalo (Bruce McKinnon)
- Refractal (Tom Arthurs)
- Cerebral Blip (Joe Sorbara)
- P2C2E (Joe Sorbara) mp3
Tom Arthurs – Trumpet & Flugelhorn, Bruce McKinnon – Piano, Joe Sorbara – Drums & Percussion
Music by Arthurs, Sorbara, Mckinnon and Brahms
"Another step on the way toward Arthurs becoming a major figure."(John Fordham, The Guardian February 2006)
First Babel release for 2006, Squash Recipe are a trio led by acclaimed F-ire Collective artist and 2004 BBC Jazz Award nominated Rising Star trumpeter/composer Tom Arthurs
Squash Recipe brings together the acclaimed British trumpeter Tom Arthurs with Canadian musicians Bruce McKinnon (piano) and Joe Sorbara (drums and percussion). It is the result of a friendship and musical relationship between the three players that began in 2001 in the cultural hotbed of the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada .The trio is shaped by common interests in multi-faceted approaches to music-making, and their recent work together has culminated in an album of intensely playful and engaging music. The release of the album will be supported by a Jazz Services funded UK tour in February 2006.
Squash Recipe was recorded in Toronto ; it includes eight original compositions by the three members of the band, as well as their arrangement of Brahms' Exercise #15. Strong, mind-bending compositions are purposefully dissected and re-assembled through sensitive improvisation, on a sonic journey that incorporates extended instrumental techniques and unexpected timbral combinations. The influences of the group are too many to mention here, ranging from Steve Coleman through Erik Satie to the Marx Brothers, and from Paul Klee to Autechre via John Zorn.
This project marks the beginning of a new chapter in the creative development of each of the artists, who are rapidly gathering individual acclaim on the emergent underground scenes in their home cities. Over the past four years Arthurs has built a reputation as one of the UK 's most creative young musicians for his work in various ensembles including the award-winning F-IRE Collective and the quintet Centripede (with whom he released his debut album on the Babel Label in 2003). Joe, as well as promoting his own series of concerts in Toronto and directing his Pickle Juice orchestras, has toured Canada and the US . Bruce's CV, meanwhile, has seen him performing with the likes of Don Byron and J.J. Johnson.
Biographies
Nominated as Rising Star in the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards, and winner of the Peter Whittingham Award 2001, Tom Arthurs ' much acclaimed debut album with quintet Centripede was released on the Babel Label in 2003. The album was launched with a highly successful Jazz Services UK tour and the group performed at the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival (Jerwood Rising Stars) and also the Bloomsbury , Ealing and F-IRE festivals. A key member of the now notorious F-IRE collective (www.f-ire.com), Tom is also working on his UK trio Arthurs.H øiby.Ritchie , and an electronic music project with Icarus' Ollie Bown. Besides his own projects Tom has recently been performing and recording with Seb Rochford, Pete Wareham, Richard Fairhurst, Max de Wardener, Ingrid Laubrock, Justin Quinn, Jonathan Bratoeff, Nois, mbira player Chartwell Dutiro, JazzXchange Dance and Music Company and electronic music manipulators Icarus. The Tom Arthurs/Ollie Bown Electric Duo will be releasing a 3-track EP on Not Applicable records soon... see www.icarus.nu for more details.
“Arthurs is already an incredibly accomplished player. A virtuoso, his sound is fat-toned and fluid… maturity is clear from the outset… it's as if he has nothing to prove” Jazzwise
“If jazz is to flourish as a living art form, young musicians such as Tom Arthurs will be a valuable commodity.”The Guardian
An active member of the New York jazz scene, Bruce McKinnon has performed with J.J. Johnson, Don Byron, Joe Lovano, Alvin Batiste, Don Braden, Conrad Herwig, Django Bates, Doug Beavers and Marc Mommaas. He began piano lessons at age five in his native Calgary , Canada . Moving to Boston to attend Harvard University , he played jazz professionally while earning a BA cum laude in Mathematics. The call of music led to New York and a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2002. Bruce has studied piano with Garry Dial and Fred Hersch, and composition with Dave Douglas, Dave Liebman and Michael Abene. He has played in the Banff International Jazz Workshop (2001, 2002) and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy (2003), where he worked with Christian McBride, Grady Tate, James Carter and Cyrus Chestnut. Bruce is a Midori Foundation Teaching Artist in New York City .
“McKinnon is a world class performer, composer, arranger, and pedagogue. He is without question a positive force in music.' Chris Rosenberg, guitarist with Ornette Coleman's "Prime Time"
Drummer, composer and improviser Joe Sorbara has developed a reputation as a diverse and energetic musical presence in Toronto 's jazz and improvised music scene. His own projects include the Pickle Juice groups, and he co-leads a number of ensembles such as i'S Open and the Bokker Buckle Band. Joe also performs and records on a regular basis with Glen Hall's Trio Muo, Ken Aldcroft's ensembles, and with Peter van Huffel. Joe has also shared the stage with John Abercrombie, Dave Douglas, Dominic Duval, Hugh Fraser, Peggy Lee, Sook Yin Lee, Joe Lovano, John Oswald, Ron Samworth, Dylan van der Schyff, and Kenny Werner. York University awarded him the Oscar Peterson Scholarship for outstanding achievement in jazz studies in 1999. Joe is a director of the AIMT.
‘What immediately struck me about [Joe] were his formidable musical skills as a performer, his thoroughness and dedication to the music, and his willingness to share his considerable knowledge. His musical experience is broad, and his adaptability to diverse situations and demands is remarkable.'Glen Hall
'[one] of the scene's most happening improvisers' Jazzwise magazine
For more info about Tom and his many projects see www.tomarthurs.co.uk
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