I’ve been really busy already this year with some great projects so I thought I’d share it all with you.

I had a couple of really nice gigs last week.  First, I was with Marley Chingus at the Davenham Players Theatre on Thursday.  It was a lovely gig.  There was a really appreciative audience and it was a fantastic sounding venue; my bass drum sounded amazing!  They’re really friendly people and we were looked after really well.  Second, I played at the first Liverpool International Jazz Festival with the Blind Monk Trio.  Again, there was a really appreciative audience, many of who had just sat through an intense hour and a half of piano-less trio (Denys Baptiste’s Triumviate – very enjoyable!) and seemed only too happy to sit through some more!  The festival seemed a great success and I hope it continues next year.

On Valentine’s day, I had a very romantic gig with the beginnings of a new project involving Seth Bennett and Sam Andreae under the name “BAH!”.  We then had the first meeting with Mick Beck to form a new quartet which hopes to mix Free Improvisation with compositions.  Here’s a video of the trio gig courtesy of Andy Newcombe; I’m sure you’ll agree how romantic it was.

Other gigs I enjoyed last month were my quartet playing at Freedom Principle and the Pete Lyons Septet at the Lescar, Sheffield.  Keep an eye out for the Pete Lyons LX project (an all day event in April).

I also had a recording session with the Anton Hunter Trio.  I don’t think I’ve ever played on a recording session that’s gone as smoothly as this one did.  The results will hopefully be available by April when we will be touring the country.

Let’s hope the rest of the year continues like this!