The 
Club
babellabel.co.uk
May 2007
Babel artists have two nominations in the 2007 BBC Jazz Awards
Please vote now (voting ending 29th April)
Fraud - Best Album
We are thrilled to announce the debut album from James Allsopp and Tim Giles' band Fraud is up for a BBC Jazz Award for Best Album. Although not available in the shops until the 4 June official release you can purchase the CD very conveniently direct from Babel by clicking on
the sleeve (see left)
"Welcome to the new century of improvised music" Jazzwise
Vote Fraud here
Finn Peters' Finntet - Best Band
With his Finntet's lauded 2006 Babel release Su-Ling Finn has been recognized in this year's awards shortlist for Best Band, which anyone who witnessed his live performances last year can fully attest to. You can purchase Su-Ling by clicking on the photo of Finn on the left.
Vote Finn here
More BBC Awards nominations will be announced later with the possibility of Polar Bear's Seb Rochford contribution being recognised - a former Rising Star perhaps graduating to a Musician of the year? Precocious young nippers such as trumpeter Tom Arthurs and reedsman James Allsopp could be in the running for a nomination as Rising Stars. We'll let you know as soon as possible on all the awards nominations just as soon as they're announced.
Tim Giles and Phil Robson shortlisted for prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation award
Babel recording artists, the percussionist Tim Giles(Richard Fairhurst's Hungry Ants,Fraud)and guitarist Phil Robson (pic right) find themselves among an a-list of composers in the contemporary classical world as well as other musics in this year's shortlist for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation award. As well as being well-rewarded, the award has been won in previous years by composers such as ........Final Chess sessions this Sunday 29th April
In amongst Billy Jenkins' ingenious link of sporting pursuits with his idiosyncratic blues-based music is the current chess sessions currently coming to the close of an April Residency at the Vortex. They have been a resounding success with the competition hotting up for a final check mate this Sunday at the Vortex in Dalston. For the final day, alongside Billy's 'Here is the Blues!' a duo with guitarist Steve Morrison, there will be a simultaneous 10 chess board match all playing Grand master Daniel King. All standards are welcome and if you can't play you can just lie back and relax on a Sunday afternoon listening to Billy's blues.
Led Bib new release now in shops as well as available direct from Babel.
“…If you don't go near jazz because it just isn't damned noisy enough, and seems to have petered out after the pre-punk free jazz ideological furies of the Sixties and Seventies, then come back to life to try the deliciously uncivil new Led Bib album, Sizewell Tea.Led Bib sound like they could have coped supporting '61 Sun Ra, '66 Beefheart, and even '69 Led Zep. Led Bib are jazz, though, through and through, crammed with horn and blast, and as much swing as sweat” Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly
Partisans celebrate 10 years
Widely considered as the forerunner and inspiration to a lot of the incendiary bands on Babel from Acoustic Ladyland to the present Bael incumbents Fraud and Led Bib. One of the first of the new wave of UK jazz bands to be influenced as much by Jimi Hendrix as by Miles Davis or Sonny Rollins, Leading UK artists, guitarist Phil Robson and Julian Siegel formed the Partisans a decade ago and along with bassist Thad Kelly and drummer Gene Calderazzo have proved a dynamite package on the British Jazz scene. Tickets are available here for the 20 April.You can hear samples and buy their most recent album Max here
Babel Club competition of the month
(win either Max or Sourpuss)
Linked in with the tenth anniversary of Partisans, we are giving away a copy of either their Babel debut Sourpuss or Max to the
first to answer the followng question wins a copy.
Which Partisans member A) recently recorded with Joey Baron and Greg Cohen
B) recorded an album with James Genus, Billy Hart and Marc Copland?
Answers to
(please state which CD you would prefer)
In the previous newsletter, the winner of the recent duo album by Ingrid Laubrosk and Liam Noble was Paul Walker from London E10, the answer to the question Liam Noble is a regular sideman for which Babel recording artist being Christine Tobin. Congrats to Paul who will be receiving a copy of the duo CD in the post very soon.
Babel on the net The Babel Blog feed is available direct but has also been syndicated to the Vortex Jazz club web site so you can join various discussions online or just to listen to the wise, occasionally controversial opinions of the Babel gaffer on a diverse range of subjects such as Community vs Globalism,'behind the scenes' reports on the Vortex club, European Festivals and other rants on the state of jazz as it affects us. Please feel very free to join in with your comments.
You can also visit the various MySpace sites of Babel and artists including Christine Tobin, Huw Warren, Julie Sassoon, Partisans, Tom Arthurs, Billy Jenkins,Fraud where you can listen to tracks and find out the latest news and gigs.
You can look forward to some future Babel releases too in the Autumn. Lleuwen Steffan (Welsh singing star of Duw A Wyr/ God Only Knows) previews some her new English-speaking originals. Billy's Songs of Praise band has material from his tour last year and will be out in September.
Remember to go to our home page and scroll down to the latest monthly £5 CD offer!!Your Letters/emails - Something you want to get off your chest? email us at
Babel,
Thanks for another year of great music.Your label takes me back to the early years of Island and Virgin. You might not have heard of the performers but if it was on those labels it was pretty much bound to be good and tempted you to experiment with artists on their rosters. Can't say fairer than that.
(John Clough, via e-mail)
(Thanks for your flattering comparisons, John. Haven't quite reaped the financial rewards that has come to Mr Branson yet!)
We still have some copies of the We All Eat Food sampler to give away. Please email us at at the address below to get a free copy.
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