Horn Factory perform an impressive and extensive range of contemporary big band jazz by composers such as Buddy Rich, Bob Mintzer, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Maynard Ferguson, James Morrison, Bobby Shew, Sammy Nestico and Gordon Goodwin, plus arrangements of music normally associated with smaller groups, including Thelonious Monk, Joe Henderson, Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea and Horace Silver.

Most of the charts have been composed in the last 15 years, bringing the big band genre right up to date with music that absolutely crackles with energy!

“Eighteen fine musicians on the extended Fleece Jazz stage gave us a mighty gig. I love the sound of a horn chorus, but to have fourteen of them in chorus was really something else: loved it.”

–  Dave Lyons, Fleece Jazz

 

“. . . so full of joy that it can renew your faith not just in jazz, but in music itself”

– Independent on Sunday

A prize-winning classical prodigy on piano, John turned away from classical piano studies to pursue jazz and improvised music when he was 23, and has been involved in, and acclaimed for, a wide variety of contemporary jazz and classical projects ever since – from solo piano concerts and albums, trio and quartet tours and recordings, to large scale works for his semi-classical ensemble Cornucopia.

Formed in 2016, as a counterfoil to pianist John Law’s group Congregation (which mixed contemporary jazz with electronic sounds and backing tracks), Re-Creations began life as a fun project, with the aim of playing many different tunes from different musical genres. The fact that audiences almost always knew the songs, meant the group’s material was at the same time very accessible.

This quartet’s repertoire includes jazz classics by Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and George Gershwin, plus tunes from pop/rock/indie bands such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and Radiohead. Gradually, classical pieces have started appearing in the repertoire, including a version of the Kyrie from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Satie’s Gymnopédie.

“Melodic contemporary jazz with a strong rhythmic pulse and some strikingly memorable and original tunes”

–  Sandy Brown Jazz