Josephine Davies – Sax
Oli Hayhurst – Bass
Paul Clarvis – Drums
Some great jazz to brighten these odd times from Josephine Davies’s own band following her memorable gig at Seven Arts with the Jensen Sisters in 2019. is a Coltrane-inspired spiritual jazz trio with a focus on melodic freedom and band interaction led by saxophonist and composer Josephine Davies who won Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year in the 2019 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
Their 2017 debut album attracted wide critical acclaim in the UK and Europe while their 2018 follow up ‘In The Corners Of Clouds’received equally glowing reviews. “irrepressible tunefulness” (Downbeat); “consistently inventive” (Jazzwise); “spiritual, spiralling, slow-burning exuberance” (UK Vibe).
Satori is a contemporary jazz trio from Perrier award winning saxophonist and composer Josephine Davies, featuring drummer Paul Clarvis and bassist Oli Hayhurst. The deliberate omission of a chordal instrument leaves a more spacious texture for the three musicians to explore the basic compositional elements Davies offers. This is a new direction for her and one that showcases her creativity and strongly melodic improvisational approach. Although the focus of this band is on group interaction, exploration, and freedom from traditional set structures, Satori is also an accessible and hugely dynamic jazz ensemble. Their self-titled debut album, a live recording, was released in 2017 on Whirlwind Recordings to wide critical acclaim. This was followed a year later by their second album ‘In the Corners of Clouds’ which attracted equally glowing reviews. Comprised almost entirely of first takes, the less-rehearsed immediacy of Satori’s sound is fundamental to the ambiences which Josephine Davies seeks.
“What makes the album so striking is Davies’ refusal to abandon melody even as she lets go of defined changes. Her irrepressible tunefulness not only leads the improvisers in fruitful directions but also offers the listener an open door into the music” – Review of ‘In the Corners of Clouds’ Downbeat Magazine
“A truly gifted and imaginative saxophonist, Davies undoubtedly possesses the art of the improviser and has produced an album of exuberant lyricism and consistently engaging tunes.” – All About Jazz
Josephine Davies Originally from the Shetland Islands Josephine Davies’ family moved to England where her interest in music grew and she trained as a classical flautist, and then an alto saxophonist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In her second year she discovered John Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme. She changed her alto for a tenor and her focus to jazz. Josephine also holds a doctorate in existential philosophy and psychotherapy. Josephine’s varied artistic journey includes classical saxophone quartets and line-ups, as well as key involvement in more expansive ensembles such as the Pete Hurt Orchestra. Now based in London, her writing and playing continues to be infused with a Nordic quality, notably in her use of traditional folk music elements and her haunting tone is reminiscent of the late great tenorist Bobby Wellins. Deeply influenced by the American composer Maria Schneider, Josephine has been resident composer and tenor player for the London Jazz Orchestra since 2011 and is now embarking on a big band project of her own. She continues to be an ensemble and workshop leader at the Guildhall School. www.josephinedavies.co.uk
Oli Hayhurst Growing up in Cambridge playing clarinet, then guitar and bass guitar on the local music scene Oli then took up double bass and moved to London to study, graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2000. Whilst still a student under the late Jeff Clyne he toured with Gilad Atzmon and played with Irish folk singer Cara Dillon. He was a founder member of Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble, playing on their first two albums. In 2006 he was featured on Zoe Rahman’s Mercury nominated album, ‘Melting Pot’ which won the Best Album award in the 2006 Parliamentary Jjazz Awards and continued to play with Zoe throughout Europe and recording a further three albums until 2011. Oli has held long associations with tenor saxophonists Tim Whitehead and Sam Crockatt playing in both their groups since the early 2000s. As a member of Ray Gelato’s Giants from 2008-15 he toured Europe, North Africa and Brazil and held annual residencies at Ronnie Scott’s in London and the Blue Note Milan. He has been a regular in Pharoah Sanders’ quartet for European dates since 2012 playing with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dan Tepfer, Joe Farnsworth and William Henderson. www.olihayhurst.com
Paul Clarvis Professor of Drums and Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music, Paul can be heard on hundreds of film sodtracks, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Skyfall and The Great Gatsby. He hHas collaborated with some of the world’s best composers and performers from Birtwistle and John Adams to Stevie Wonder and Mick Jagger. He was the late Leonard Bernstein’s preferred percussionist in London and featured as a soloist on the last night of the Proms in 1996 in a concerto for saxophone and drum kit by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. In April 1998 he was chairman of the percussion judges for the BBC Young Musician of the Year and together with Sonia Slany he started Villagelife Records. Paul also helped Rick Smith with the drum arrangement for The London Olympic 2012 opening, writing Dame Evelyn Glennie’s part and together with Rick, devised how to train the 1,000 drummers that stole the show at that ceremony.
Josephine Davies YouTube Channel
Satori @Seven Arts Thursday 10 June 2021 7.30pm, doors 7.15pm) £16/14 (25 and under £8). Limited number of tickets for this live event here www.ticketsource.co.uk/jazzleeds
