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Saxophonist Tom Harrison Celebrates Ellington and Strayhorn with "Unfolding In Tempo" Featuring Cleveland Watkiss - Available in October

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2016 has been a big year for the London alto saxophonist, with a major tour, high praise from Jazzwise and Timeout, and an appearance on BBC TV.
Rising star saxophonist Tom Harrison unveils his hotly anticipated second release Unfolding in Tempo on October 14th 2016. The long-awaited live album will be released on Lyte Records in October 2016 in the esteemed company of releases by jazz stars Ari Hoenig, Jean Toussaint, Jason Rebello and David Lyttle. The album documents two nights of Harrison’s hugely successful national tour of February 2016 which received high praise from the media, including features on BBC1, in Time Out and Jazzwise Magazine.

Unfolding in Tempo is a joyful celebration of the music of the jazz legend Duke Ellington and his long-time collaborator Billy Strayhorn. Harrison has hand-picked an all-star cast of British jazz musicians to interpret the compositions, each of whom brings a unique voice to the musical palette. The band features internationally recognised vocal star Cleveland Watkiss, whose credits include, Stevie Wonder, The Who and many more, as well as MOBO nominee David Lyttle and Steinway artist Robert Mitchell. Together the group create stunning interpretations of both popular and lesser-known masterpieces, including “Solitude," “The Intimacy of The Blues" and “Take the ‘A’ Train."

Reimagining the work of a master is a daunting task for any artist, but Harrison has embraced this challenge head on, allowing the personalities of the musicians in his band to come to the fore;

“Like all jazz musicians I grew up listening to Ellington. In preparing for this project, I spent a long time studying as much of his music as possible. It’s very intimidating to try to develop music that already has such a strong history and identity. I haven’t tried to reinvent the music, I’m trying to capture the feeling behind Duke’s songs, what they’re about, what they mean to me, and build a performance on that.”

The multi-award-winning vocalist Cleveland Watkiss is no stranger to the music of Ellington either, having performed it with a huge range of artists and ensembles across his career;

“Duke Ellington is the daddy of our music. I’ve performed his work many times, but in this setting I can explore his music with a freedom I’ve never had before. When the music starts, anything can happen!” Cleveland Watkiss

The result of this on-stage spontaneity, is a live album that remains faithful to the roots of Ellington’s music, but strives to challenge and develop the master’s work in an eccentric style all its own.

TOUR DATES

Friday 14th October: Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
Saturday 15th October: The Vortex Jazz Club, London
Friday 18th November: London Jazz Festival
Saturday 19th November: Hull Jazz Festival
Sunday 20th November: TBD
Monday 21st November: Turner Sims, Southampton
Friday 3rd March 2017: Birmingham Jazz
Friday 10th March 2017: Millennium Hall, Sheffield 

PRAISE

“A band of top class players”—BBC News

“...a band to watch out for, all musicians showing authority and sophistication in their playing and a great selection of material. Duke for modern times."—Matthew Wright, Jazzwise

“The sign of a good gig is when you leave the audience baying for more...a masterly performance of musicianship and vocal dexterity”—Michael Edwards, UK Vibe

“This project is something special... an evening full of joy”—Bristol Jazz Log

“Two sets of remarkable reinvention”—Cheltenham Jazz Blog

ABOUT THE BAND

Tom Harrison: For alto saxophonist/composer Tom Harrison, the art of jazz is far more than mastery of the instrument, fluency in the repertoire and respect for the tradition. For Tom, the real undertaking is to connect with that which inspired the immortals of jazz, and to cultivate it within his own work. Since graduating from the renowned Trinity College of Music in 2012, Tom Harrison has performed or recorded with a host of internationally recognised jazz musicians, including Terrell Stafford, Jason Rebello, Michael Buckley and Jean Toussaint, as well as commercial artists such as Heather Small, M- People, Talib Kweli and The Fall. His debut album was well received by the media, described as “impressive” by Jazzwise and “a strong calling card” by All About Jazz.

Cleveland Watkiss: Featuring prominently in the group is internationally renowned vocalist Cleveland Watkiss. Described by The Evening Standard as “The best male vocalist in Britain,” Cleveland Watkiss won the London Jazz Award for Best Vocalist in 2010, and was voted Wire/Guardian Jazz Awards best vocalist for three consecutive years. Watkiss was born in Hackney, East London, to Jamaican parents. Watkiss was one of the co-founders of the vastly influential Jazz Warriors big band. His vocals can be heard on their debut album, Out of Many People. Watkiss has performed with a diverse range of artists from around the world, including: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis & JALO, Bob Dylan, Art Blakey, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder and many more.

Robert Mitchell: In the early 90s, Robert Mitchell began to emerge as an important member of the London scene with two groups Quite Sane and Tomorrow's Warriors. Poles apart in their music and purpose, the diversity foretold Robert's wide- angle view of Jazz expression. This quickly led to further involvement internationally with Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Courtney Pine and Steve Williamson. Over his nearly 20 years entrenched in the art of music, Robert has recorded eight albums of his own projects, participated in over 100 projects as a sideman and has performed in more than 40 countries.

David Lyttle: David Lyttle began performing professionally at the age of four in his folk group the Lyttle Family. He first reached a national audience with jazz guitar legend Louis Stewart in 2006. Over the next five years would feature a long list of international jazz icons in his touring bands, including Greg Osby, Soweto Kinch, Terell Stafford and Jason Rebello. Since then, David has performed in over 20 countries. His MOBO nominated album ‘Faces’ featured collaborations with internationally recognised music stars, including Joe Lovano and rapper Talib Kweli. Rolling Stone magazine described Faces as “sophisticated and sharp...one of the best, robust listening experiences you're likely to have all year.”

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