Arran

1ST HALF- ARRAN Arran are a modern jazz quartet that blend tight and swinging straight-ahead jazz with a wide range of influences such as Americana and ambient music, psychedelic rock, folk, fusion and occasional ventures into the avant-grade. They aim to bring a fresh guitar-driven approach to the world of jazz. Formed at Guildhall School of Music, they were brought together by a shared love of group improvisation, both in jazz, and more experimental settings. After wild-camping on the Isle of Arran in Scotland, Valentine Cheesbrough and Daniel Fawcett-Tuke were so moved by the experience that they felt the name Arran perfectly captured the spirit of the type of music they envisioned. For them the group provided a vessel through which to explore the sounds and textures found within the electric guitar, as well as other closely related instruments such as lap steel and acoustic guitar. They do this while being supported by the fluid and interactive rhythm section of Luke Brueck Seeley on drums, and James Leaver-Whitfield on bass, who create a stable platform for experimentation whilst providing insightful musical commentary and ideas. 2ND HALF- LUKE PURBRICK OCTET The Luke Purbrick Octet is an ensemble pulling many different personalities together, to share a different perspective on Luke's music. Usually playing with an intimate, highly improvised quartet, this augmented, through-composed approach allows him to further push into his love of composition. He takes influence from Bill Frisell, Maria Schneider as well as his classical interests, which he demonstrates with an arrangement of Ravel's 'Tres Doux'. The band comprises Luke Purbrick on guitar and arrangements, Samuel Hollis on double bass, Theo Hayhurst on drums, Cameron Scott on trombone, Tom Stringer on trumpet, Jacob Wilson on tenor saxophone, Sarah Homer on bass clarinet and Will Coode on alto saxophone.